Chapter 10

My startup journey turned out to be way harder than I ever imagined.

At first, the platform barely had any users, and the few people on our team were working until the wee hours every day. Sometimes, we didn't even have time to eat.

There were more than a few nights when I would sit alone in the empty office and stare at the depressing numbers on the dashboard, tears slipping down my face. I thought maybe it was better to just give up.

However, every time I felt like quitting, pictures would pop into my head—how my classmates surrounded me to defend me against Cecily in Harry's office, or how Sonia stood before me as she berated my parents, or when they all smiled and wished me success on graduation day.

Thinking about them made me wipe my tears, take a deep breath, and open my laptop again.

I knew I couldn't let them down—not them and definitely not the version of me who had fought tooth and nail to change her fate.

Slowly but surely, my hard work paid off. After two years, the