My phone lit up with a message from a client: [Ms. Porter, are you sure you can make my husband leave without a penny after he cheated on me?]

I could not sleep after replying, so I started working on some files.

The client had paid me a lot. The figure had so many zeros it was hard to believe it was real.

Who would have thought that not long ago, I had to make a single sandwich last for two meals?

Back then, every second was expensive because of Mom's medical bills.

I was working to support the three of us.

"Why are you still with that boyfriend?" My friend kept asking me, "Is it just because he's handsome? You can't eat good looks!"

I just smiled.

They did not get it. If I did not come home to a warm hug every day, I might have fallen apart a long time ago.

Back then, I thought Alexander was the best.

He was quiet, cute, and kept to himself. He was not like my dad, who brought home all sorts of trouble.

I was his whole world, and only I could see how great he was. Since I was the one helping him out, I did not feel bad about not being the prettiest.

I really needed something to hold onto at that time.

How we met was like something out of a movie.

In my second year of college, I was at a bar late one night, about to head home, when a loud noise came from the next table.

A drunk guy was holding a tall young man's chin, trying to make him drink some strong stuff.

The young man was trying to get away, looking like a lost deer among wolves.

I could not take my eyes off his face. Without thinking, I grabbed an empty bottle and ran over to help.

After they fell, I grabbed the young man's hand, and we ran out of the bar as fast as we could.

When we stopped, I was out of breath.

He gave me a big hug, his chin perched on my head, and said in the nicest voice, "You're so kind, unlike the others."

I was a bit out of it and thought he meant the mean guys in the bar.

It took me a while to realize he was talking about people who knew who he really was and were after him.

At that time, he had a hidden gun and wore a simple-looking watch that could buy three bars like the one we just ran out of. The family of the guy who bothered him at the bar had a car accident not long after.

However, I did not know any of that back then. I just thought he was cool and slick, and he made my heart skip a beat.

It turned out we went to the same school. I was studying law, and he was into art.

I hung out in his studio a lot, took him out to eat, and watched him paint.

Being together just felt right.

We had two peaceful years, and as graduation got close, we were thinking about getting engaged.

However, then Camila showed up.

She was four years younger than us, a junior in Alexander's department, and as beautiful as a porcelain doll.

I should not have been bothered. I had seen plenty of girls gaze at Alexander with wide-eyed wonder, and she was only a freshman.

However, when I first laid eyes on Camila, I could not shake a feeling of unease.

Maybe it was the way Alexander watched her for just a bit too long.

That night, I was extra affectionate in bed.

"Promise me," I whispered close to his ear, holding him tight. "Promise you will never lie to me. When you love me, it has to be just me."

I failed to realize that promises were only ever true in the moment they were spoken.

He kept promising, again and again, showering me with kisses.

I had to ignore the bright notification that flashed on his phone screen under his pillow.

Camila.

I was swamped with my thesis, studying for the bar exam, and interning. My days were a whirlwind of activity.

Visits to Alexander's studio grew rare, and I barely had time to brush my hair.

Whispers started to spread around campus.

"Alexander and her? They're an odd match. It looks like she snagged a male model."

"Totally. He looks way better next to that freshman."

However, if Alexander ever caught wind of the rumors, he would shut them down with a stern look.

Whenever she saw me, Camila would sweetly talk to me and often try to gift me fancy skincare products.

"No, really, you shouldn't." I declined the cream she offered for the third time. "I'm not used to these things."

"Alice!" she said with a playful pout, latching onto my arm. "Take it, please. I felt like you were a sister to me from the moment we met."

Slowly, I started to drop my guard.

Once we became friends, she even volunteered to help me keep an eye on Alexander.

"Alice, you should focus on your work!" she said with a twinkle in her big eyes. "If any girl tries to get close to Alexander, I'll be the first to shoo her away!"

Sometimes, Alexander would get so lost in painting that he forgot to answer my texts. She would send me pictures to let me know he was okay: [He's safe in the art studio.]

I used to feel bad about not liking her at first, so I decided to treat them to dinner on Alexander's birthday.

I planned a surprise and did not tell Alexander, just Camila.

"Wow!" Camila's eyes lit up as she pressed a finger to her lips. "Mum's the word! I'll blindfold him and bring him over for a huge surprise!"

I saved up for two whole months.

On his birthday, I booked a fancy restaurant that cost a thousand dollars per person and picked out the perfect gifts.

However, they never showed up, even when the restaurant was closing.

I sent more than ninety texts, but no one answered.

Worried they might be in trouble, I packed up the food and hurried home. I tripped on the stairs, spilling soup all over myself, and the gifts got dirty too.

When I got home, looking like a complete mess, I found Camila in my pajamas, lying on my bed with a smile.

Alexander was there too, putting ice on her ankle.

"Where did you go?" he asked me, sounding colder and blunter than ever.

"Camila came over to cook us dinner for my birthday, and you weren't home! She even hurt her ankle looking for you!"

I was shaking. "I sent you so many messages! I reserved..."

Camila held up Alexander's phone. "I didn't see any messages. I was busy playing games on it."

I lost my cool.

"Camila!" I pointed at her, my hand shaking. "You're nothing but a manipulator!"

Alexander stood up quickly. "Be quiet!"

Camila's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to surprise Alice! I didn't know she disliked me so much."

She tried to get out of bed, but her legs gave out as soon as she stood up. Alexander quickly caught her, and she fell into his arms, her cheek against his chest.

I spun around and ran out of the apartment.

After a while, Alexander found me in a corner of the park, looking really upset. He said nothing and just took me back home.

Camila was gone, but I could still smell her perfume in the air.

I cried out, "I don't want to sleep in the bed she slept in!"

Without a word, he took the mattress out and threw it away. He got a new one that very night and put me in bed.

I was shocked. He was rough, and his eyes were dark. He kissed me like he was trying to claim me.

"You thought you could run? Weren't you so confident?

"How could you leave me and even want to run away?"

The next morning, I woke up feeling sore all over. Alexander was making breakfast like nothing had happened.

I wanted to talk about what happened, but when I mentioned Camila and the restaurant, he cut me off.

"That's enough. We're moving past what happened last night. Don't lie or say bad things about Camila. She's young and doesn't think too much about things."

I was speechless.

He looked at me, disappointed. "Have you changed after working so much? Do you think everyone has a hidden motive?

"I can't believe you've become someone I can't stand."

I looked at Alexander's teary eyes, my head spinning.

He looked annoyed and seemed to realize he had said too much.

"I'm sorry. You should rest. I'll go get your favorite food."

I did not wait for him to come back. I got dressed and went straight to school to work on my paper.

After that day, things changed. My friends started giving me weird looks, and even my favorite professor seemed frosty. Walking by, I would catch bits of their hushed gossip.

"She's so annoying. She's just jealous because the younger girl is prettier."

"Wow! She's mean, always competing with other girls."

Camila stopped pretending to be nice and told everyone how mean I was to her, playing the innocent victim.

I felt left out at school, and even Alexander started to act distant.

He did not know that I had to start taking medication for the stress from money and school matters. This put me in a depressive state.

At the graduation dance, I did not even try to dress up. Standing next to Alexander in his fancy suit, I felt like a plain Cinderella.

"I'm surprised you're still here," a girl said to me with a fake smile. "You don't deserve him."

"We're all just trying to do our best," I said, not letting her get to me.

She looked at Alexander strangely and said, "Your dad wouldn't like this."

However, Alexander's dad was a kind baker. Why wouldn't he like me?

Before I could figure it out, Camila showed up looking like a princess. She walked right up to Alexander and asked him to dance the first dance, which was usually just for couples.

I did not have the energy to fight over a boy or play games. Alexander glanced at me, saw I did not care, and took Camila to the dance floor. People said they looked good together and glanced at me, as if they felt sorry for me.

I just smiled a little before going home to work on my paper and study for my law test.

Late that night, just as I crawled into bed, Alexander stumbled in, smelling like a brewery. He did not even say hello before he started scolding me.

"Why did you go?"

Exhausted, I pushed him off. "Cut it out. I've got a paper to turn in and a registration for in the morning. I've set six alarms. Make sure you wake me up too!"

Half asleep, I heard him sigh, a sound full of disappointment. "You're different now. All you think about is your stupid work."

When I finally woke up, it was already afternoon.

All my alarms had been turned off, my paper was late, and the deadline for the bar exam registration had come and gone.

I tried calling Alexander like crazy, but he did not pick up.

Then, I saw Camila's latest post and figured out where he had been.

There he was in her photos. He was hanging out with her at an art show in a group of nine, all smiles.

I got up and rushed to school to plead with my professor for one more chance.

He just waved me off, looking annoyed. "Look at how many classes you've missed this year. You're not focused on school, just on dating and messing things up for the juniors. You've just earned yourself another year before graduation!"

I had missed a lot of classes because I was working to pay for Mom's medical bills, but my grades were still top-notch!

I could not afford another year of tuition.

Without the certificate I would get before graduation, my internship efforts would be for nothing. No law firm would hire me.

Then, my phone buzzed with two new messages.

One from Alexander, and one from the hospital.

[I took Camila to an art show, but nothing's going on between us. You should think about what matters more, me or money! And don't stress about the bar exam, I've got it covered. I'm better at this than you think.]

[Ms. Porter, please pay the $2000 nursing fee as soon as possible.]

Seeing those two messages side by side was like a slap in the face.

Suddenly, the room started spinning.

When I snapped back to reality, an empty bottle of sleeping pills was in my hand.

However, life had a twisted sense of humor. I ended up passing out right in front of some church doors.

The kind nuns put together all their money to rush me to the hospital and saved my life.

The oldest nun looked at me with such sadness in her eyes.

"My dear, you're so young. Why would you want to stop living?"

When had anyone last been so kind to me?

I cried and cried. After coming so close to dying, what could possibly be so bad that I could not handle it?

Once I got out of the hospital, I blocked every avenue I had to contact Alexander and sent him one last text: [Forget it. I hope you and Camila are happy.]

I had to start working right away instead of going back to school, so I could pay for Mom's doctor bills.

It was tough without a lawyer's license or a diploma, but I never thought about giving up on life again. I was not the one who deserved to die.

I worked super hard, using my smarts and making friends to get ahead.

At first, Alexander tried to find me like crazy.

However, after I deliberately sent him a picture of me with another guy, he stopped showing up.

Five years later, I had a new name, Ivy, and I was known as the 'Victory Queen' in my field. I also had an adorable daughter.

I closed my client's file and rubbed my forehead.

I stopped thinking about the past. I needed to take my daughter to get her passport tomorrow. She was so excited about her school trip to Fiorenza.

It was time to bury those bad old days.

However, I never expected the past to come knocking at my door first.