Chapter 2

2

Daisy was waiting in the car when I stepped outside.

As we sped away, my thoughts drifted back through the cold wind.

Caleb and I were lab partners for six years throughout school.

He was a math genius, and I was the literature nerd.

We were opposites, but we were the perfect team.

In our freshman year of high school, my parents' company went bankrupt. They couldn't handle the fall and took their own lives.

In an instant, I went from a pampered princess to a burden no one wanted.

The bullying and verbal abuse became my daily routine.

But every single time, Caleb stood in front of me, taking the hits.

He even gambled his own future for me.

When a group of thugs blocked our path with bricks, he didn't hesitate.

He shielded me with his body, and his pilot school application―his dream―was soaked in his own blood.

He needed twelve stitches on his forehead that day. He was permanently disqualified from the flight physical.

But he just wiped my tears and said softly:

"It's okay, Elara. Life has more than one path."

The next day, his mother, Martha, paid my tuition when the school came calling.

I kept my head low, too guilty to even look at her.

She patted my shoulder. "Honey, this was Caleb's choice. Don't blame yourself."

I found out later that he had spent all night begging her, using every penny of his savings.

Even though his father had passed away and they weren't wealthy, they chose to save me.

When we went to different colleges, our love stayed strong despite the thousands of miles.

We'd sit on a bus for fifteen hours just to see each other for a day.

I used to think I was the luckiest girl in the world to have found him.

I owed the Thorne family everything.

So, when he decided to build his own architectural firm in the city, I followed him without question.

No one thought a poor kid could make it.

During the hardest four years, we lived in a tiny apartment under 100 square feet.

The dim lightbulb flickered constantly, and we lived on instant noodles.

He promised he would build a house just for us, and we spent nights detailing every room.

That blueprint held all our dreams for the future.

By the fourth year, things started to look up. He started his own firm.

But then, Martha was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

To let him focus on work, I took over everything, working myself to the bone.

Because of that exhaustion, I lost our first child.

When he found out that night, he cried like a baby for the first time.

"Elara, just wait. I'll give you the life you deserve."

Then, I met Skylar Reed.

She was crouching on the sidewalk, looking helpless. A fresh graduate who had been scammed out of her travel money.

She reminded me of my younger, vulnerable self, so I got her a job at Caleb's firm.

She wiped her tears and thanked me over and over. "Don't worry, Elara. I'll work so hard!"

She climbed the ladder fast, going from intern to personal assistant.

When she told me the news, I was proud of her.

The company grew from a handful of people into a multi-million dollar group. Caleb was finally a titan in the industry.

He moved me into our new house immediately. I cried with joy, thinking our struggle was over.

After that, he almost never came home.

The empty living room was so quiet I could hear myself breathe.

Worried he was working too hard to eat, I drove to the office during a rainstorm.

When I pushed the door open, a woman's lingerie was scattered on the floor.

He had Skylar pinned against the sofa, kissing her like the world was ending.

My lunchbox hit the floor, and I started shaking.

He turned around and stood in front of her, protecting her just like he used to protect me.

"Elara, I just got caught up in the moment. Don't blame Skylar. She's young, and her reputation can't be ruined."

His noble speech made my skin crawl.

The moment he became successful, the first thing he kicked to the curb... was me.