stitute was providing until I officially started. So, I found a job at a sm

birthday; I got a bus pass. Kelsey went on shopping sprees in Europe; I worked part-time jobs to buy my

pan when the bell above the door jingled. I

amar

ll, elaborately decorated cake.

e said, his voice soft. "It

smell of coconut made me sick. It was the sc

ch his first company, I had secretly sold a valuable painting my grandmother had left me-the only thing of true value I owned-and anonymously invested the money into his ven

ed," I said,

ked at the dirty dishwater, at my chapped hands. His

ounter. I looked at it, at the perfect swi

, turning back to the sink. It was a s

e tense silence. His expressi

the roof?" he hissed into

's Kelsey. She's at the mansio

ng for understanding. But all I

uld go,"

d, torn. "A

peated, my

aving the pathetic little

ion, another way to pull him away from me and back to her. It was a