His Betrayal, My Reborn Heart

Diego Torres. He was a scholarship student I mistook fo

piring with his first love, Kia

cost me e

f back in the campus cafe, years before my mur

rty-thousand-dollar monthly allowance for

, I knew he had

pte

May'

nthly living allowance. Thirty thousand dollars.

g first on the napkin, then on Diego's face. A predatory gleam flickered

I knew. He had

?" I repeated, my tone f

ast life-a life I was now reliving. It gave me a chilling sense of déjà vu. H

shirt clung to his frame. "That's right. For Kiana. She deserves a

isive, or for those who don't support my vision." Wi

s, carrying the faint, lingering scent of cheap ramen. He was still jus

if he already own

bove his impoverished reality

I had invested he

ng him out of a misplaced sense of duty. I thought I was nurturin

doing nothing but e

a dangerous calm simmering

in a trailer park outside Bakersfield. You're barely scraping by. What exact

face. His mask of arrogance cracked

origins, a fact I had always politel

r tight. With slow, deliberate movements, I tore it in half, then into quarters, a

y through the cafe's noisy chatter and the clinking

m behind a row of bookshelves, wearing a p

nd forth between Diego and me. She wore a carefully chosen

ting like this?" Her voice was a soft

herself against him as if seeking

lling her close. "It's nothing, babe. Avery is

is eyes filled wit

n." He stroked Kiana's hair in a show of false comfort. "Don't

mance, a cruel reenactment of

marrow transplant"-a life-threatening illness she used to play

to a specialized clinic in Switzerland for that ve

tting through their charade. "Furthermore, my funding ends here

the university would be fascinated to learn how you've been embezzling your scholarship funds-pay

went

Kiana's endless demands. He had been careful, but I had access to al

d and utterly devoid of integrity." I locked eyes with Kiana. "Nor can I support a partner who

puffing out his chest again. "If that's how you really feel, I don't need your charity, Avery! My

w curious glances. He was trying to project an air of rebellious

ed an eyebrow

out the seed money, the connections, and

ut loud. I was lookin

of 'contri

ss card from my purse. I flipped it ov

call the terms of the agreement. In the event of early termination or misuse of funds, the amount must be repaid

e disbelief on his face quic

... with interest, Avery. When I'm a billionaire. You'll regret this. You'll be beggin

ely on my resources, my connections, my faith, and even the marke

re solely his own, convinced his su

ance department: "Freeze all pending scholarship disbursements to Diego Torres. Initiate reco

r tapped

st his future funding; the money he

s the message went through. He scrambled fo

was gone. He was thorough

yment agreement I had prepared

binding him to repay the $80,000 debt. He

utely terrified. She whispere

w weakness in front of Kiana. He snatched the pen and ang

ument. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have real business to attend t

and rage. He shot me one last venomous glare before storming out of the c

ame had only