Chapter 1

I always thought my boyfriend was just like me—a struggling college student working part-time to make ends meet.

So when he told me he couldn't cover his brother's medical bills, I swallowed my pride and sold my grandmother's heirloom to help him.

Later, I found out it was nothing but a cruel joke his childhood sweetheart had made up, a "test" to see if I was only after his money.

And then, with that smug, condescending smile on his face, he looked down at me and said, "Congratulations. You passed. Does it feel good?"

*****

"Natalie, I don't have enough to cover my brother's medical bills." The low, desperate voice came from behind me.

I turned and found my boyfriend, Miles Lewis, watching me with pitiful eyes, like a stray dog begging for scraps.

He was unfairly handsome—long lashes, clear eyes that sparkled with an innocence that didn't match his reality. Standing there in our cramped apartment, he still looked more like a pampered heir than a man who lived off instant noodles and split rent with me.

The way he locked onto my gaze carried a raw sincerity that was almost impossible to turn away from.

But beneath that pleading expression, all I could think of was my mounting credit card bill. A sigh escaped me before I could stop it.

Considering I'd just forked out six months' rent in advance, money was already tight.

Not long ago, Miles needed a new laptop for his senior project and insisted on a top-of-the-line model to handle the workload. So I swiped my card, maxed it out, and handed it over like it was nothing.

Now I was down to a pathetic hundred bucks in my account. The credit card bill hung over me like a storm cloud—more than eight thousand in debt, and close to a thousand bleeding out each month in installments.

Besides that, I couldn't even decide what to eat for dinner, only that it had to be cheap.

When I stayed quiet, Miles leaned in, wrapping his arms around me and resting his chin against the curve of my shoulder. His voice came low, muffled against my skin.

"Natalie, am I just dragging you down? Do you hate me for being such a burden?" he muttered.

The faint light in his eyes dimmed, leaving him like some abandoned puppy on the side of the road—helpless, listless, and unbearably heavy to look at.

I wanted to tell him I had nothing left, that I was running on fumes, but the words stuck in my throat.

Miles had always been brilliant—top of his faculty, the kind of name professors dropped with pride.

He had offers lined up before we even graduated.

Someone like him deserved glass towers and bright futures. Not this life with me, counting coins, stretching meals, and dragging ourselves through each month in survival mode.

I lowered my gaze, letting my fingers drift through his hair as if that simple touch could soften the weight pressing down on both of us.

"How could I ever hate you? Don't say things like that," I murmured.

Silence stretched before I forced myself to ask, "How much are the medical bills?"

He faltered, then whispered two words, "Twenty grand."

For a moment, the world went dark at the edges.

His younger brother had always been sick, drifting in and out of hospitals like it was second nature.

With bills piling higher than I could ever climb, no matter how many hours I worked, I hadn't managed to put aside a single cent.

Forget twenty thousand, I couldn't even scrape together two.

Miles must have noticed the way my body went stiff, because he forced a smile that never reached his eyes.

"It's too much, huh? That's all right. Forget it. Maybe it's better if he stops treatment for now," he murmured.

He brushed his cheek against mine, his voice soft but carrying that quiet sorrow he thought he hid well.

"I could always drop out of school and start working full-time. Who knows—maybe someday we'll even wind up at the same company, sitting side by side," Miles said, half a smile tugging at his lips.

The same company as me?

At his words, my mind flicked to my workplace—sleazy middle-aged bosses circling like vultures, endless overtime that bled into every night, petty tasks that piled up with no meaning, wages cut without warning, and benefits so thin they were an insult.

Worst of all, it was a life where the dead end was visible from the very first step.

But back then, I had no way out. I couldn't afford college, and the debts my father left behind hung over us like a noose. Debt collectors showed up at our door day after day, hurling threats at me and my grandmother.

In the end, I could do nothing but tear up the acceptance letter, tears streaming down my face, shattering every dream and hope I had ever held.

Would Miles really end up like me?

The thought made me shiver, and before I could even stop myself, I cut him off firmly, "You can't drop out, especially not for such reasons."

"Then, where will the money come from?" Miles asked.

"Don't worry. I'll handle it," I said, my voice low and drained as I rubbed my face.

Later that night, I sat alone on the bed, staring into the dark. Finally, I reached for the lamp and flicked it on.

The dim light spread across the room as I slowly unbuttoned my pajamas.

Resting quietly against my collarbone was a pendant of pale jade, cool and smooth against my skin.

It was my grandmother's last gift to me.

My mother abandoned me at birth, and my father was a gambler who never cared for me.

It was my grandmother who raised me, who bore every hardship without complaint and gave up everything for me.

When I was accepted into college years ago, she considered selling the pendant to pay my tuition.

But by then, my father's debts had piled so high that collectors haunted our doorstep. Even if she sold it, the money would've been taken away before it ever reached me.

And besides, she was ill and too weak to be left alone.

On her deathbed, her paper-thin fingers clutched my hand. Tears slipped through the deep lines of her face as she pressed the jade into my palm with the last of her strength.

"Natalie, I can't stay with you anymore," she said gently. "But keep this with you, and don't cry. Whenever you see it, it'll be as if Grandma is still here."

Even in her final breath, all she thought about was me.

I bit down hard on my lip, fighting the sobs clawing up my throat.

The pendant was all I had left of her, the most precious thing in my life.

All these years, no matter how desperate things became, pawning the pendant had never crossed my mind. Whenever I felt like I couldn't go on, I would clutch it tight, watch its faint glow, and almost believe she was still beside me.

In those moments, I could hear her voice whispering, "Natalie, don't be afraid. I'm still here."

But now, I was thinking of selling it.

I buried my face in my knees, shattering in silence as sobs wracked my body.

"Grandma, I'm sorry. I'm so useless… but I can't let Miles live the same broken life I did," I whispered into the darkness.

*****

I didn't know how long I wept.

Somewhere between sleep and waking, I felt rough yet gentle hands brushing the tears from my cheeks.

And in the darkness, her soft voice came again, warm and forgiving.

"It's all right, Natalie. Grandma doesn't blame you."