y owed t

n ledgers, but in the way my par

's small constructio

nvestor pulled out, and sud

Julian's fath

t developer, a ma

iscreet, his mentorship

a profound gratitude

d's son, I developed a

ve. I mistook gr

Julian was diagnosed

marrow transpla

instant. There

small repayment for what h

tied me closer to Julian, a boy I ba

ed him, my affection

te, sometimes even

ever truly saw me

his father had helped, the

tood before me, his handso

his voice urgent.

iancée. Beautiful, perf

t's critical. The doctors say sh

e intense. "You're

n the air, heavy

g for anothe

ath hi

, the ro

p and brutal,

ra was ill, dying. Julian begged me for a

andra

monstrous. He turned on me, his eyes

He leaked fabricated stories, pa

shattered. Friends turned aw

hts, a sickening crunch of metal. My car,

ling premonition of a life I hadn't l

s a w

room swimming b

l there, waitin

life" trauma, clung to

of naivety, every lingering

at was the o

ked at him, and saw not a her

id, my voice surprising

. "Mia, thank you. I

d, the word sharp.

ker of irritation

w. I never

al repayment of any debt, real or imagined, my

everance of all ties with you and the Vance fa

es nar

sum. Call it medical compensation, a future security fund. Eno

d, momentari

assandra, however, wa

asked, a touch of d

serious,

en assertiveness, this co

a's life was

. "Whatever you wa

aps trying to leverage the situation for

n't be m

reements were drafted by hi

till carrying an edge. "I appreciate this.

he's the only woman I will ever love, the only woman I will marry. This... a

nt to be a firm re

e girl with the crush,

dable. "Understood, Julian.

agreed, put on a show of tearf

room for a moment,

her smile thin, her e

red, her voice dripping with a swe

One might think you st

nsinuation ha

hand brushed against my arm,

and venomous. "He's mine. And after this, you'll

tly, a tremor in it. "Oh, Mia,

s brow furrowed with

e asked, rushing t

ning into him. "Mia just startled me a

mphant smirk over

then back at Cassandr

pletely ignoring the red mark

ay, murmuring

heard Julian on the phone,

was low, d

inks it gives her some sort of leverage... Don't worry, I've made it perfectly clear Cassandra is my only priority. Once this is d

it

e. The girl about to give

it

ave felt for him, any lingering echo of t

go through with the surge

o completely they would wonde

shown me the

my only

, a distant life, solidifie

wouldn't be for

or me. My tic