Overcoming Ryan's Manipulation

Synopsis

The email notification chimed, and I nearly knocked over my morning coffee reaching for my phone. Three weeks of obsessively checking had conditioned me like one of Pavlov's dogs. My hand trembled slightly as I swiped open the message, the Harvard logo gleaming at the top of the screen. "Dear Madison Chen, We are pleased to inform you..." My heart exploded. I read the first line seven times, making sure it wasn't a cruel hallucination. Early acceptance. Harvard. The culmination of everything I'd worked for since I could remember. "Mom!" I screamed, racing downstairs in my mismatched pajamas. "Mom!