Chapter 1

 

“So, that scholarship village girl really thinks you're in love with her, Elio?”

The shrill laughter sliced through the soft jazz music filling the private lounge of Velvet Bar, one of the most exclusive bars in downtown Madrid.

Aixa Morales Vega froze outside the slightly ajar teakwood door. The maroon velvet gift box in her hands suddenly felt as heavy as stone, crushing her numb fingers.

Tonight was their second anniversary.

Aixa had carefully saved her allowance to buy knitting supplies and spent countless sleepless nights making a warm scarf for Elio Santiago Alvarez. Yet tonight, she was the one receiving a surprise—one that would shatter her entire world.

“Yeah! She actually thinks I love her, when I never loved her at all.”

The familiar voice struck her like a knife.

Elio's voice.

“If she weren't smart and capable of keeping my grades perfect, I wouldn't have stayed with her for two years. She's boring.”

Laughter erupted again from Elio's wealthy, jet-setting friends.

Elio lounged casually on a luxurious leather sofa, one arm wrapped around the waist of an elegant woman dressed in a black satin gown that radiated wealth and sophistication.

Catalina Rios Mendoza.

Elio's first love, who had recently returned from studying in England.

“But she's pretty tough for a poor village girl,” one of Elio's classmates remarked while taking a sip of his drink. “Just look at her. She works part-time at the campus café and still maintains a perfect GPA. She's basically your free grade-producing machine, Elio.”

“Tough or not, she doesn't belong in our world,” Catalina said lazily, her tone dripping with disdain.

Her manicured fingers traced Elio's jaw possessively.

“Now that I'm back, Elio, you don't have to pretend to love her anymore.”

Bang!

The heavy wooden door slammed open, crashing against the wall with a thunderous impact.

The laughter instantly died.

Aixa stepped inside.

Her clothes were slightly damp from the rain, a stark contrast to the designer evening gowns worn by the women in the room.

Yet there wasn't a trace of hesitation in her stride.

Her head was held high.

Her back remained straight.

Her clear eyes locked directly onto the man she had called her boyfriend for the past two years.

“So, I was nothing more than a tool to help your grades all this time, Elio?” Aixa asked.

Elio stiffened for a moment in surprise.

But when he noticed his friends watching—and especially Catalina—his expression quickly turned cold, arrogant, and indifferent.

He didn't even bother standing up.

“Oh, look who's here. The Poor Genius,” Catalina mocked.

She rose from the sofa and sauntered toward Aixa with exaggerated elegance.

“Aixa, be realistic. Look at yourself before coming to a place like this. That cheap dress you're wearing—which looks like it came from a village thrift market—isn't even worth more than a glass of ice served at this bar. You don't belong here, let alone beside Elio.”

As she passed, Catalina deliberately slammed her shoulder into Aixa.

The impact knocked the gift box from Aixa's hands.

It hit the floor.

The lid popped open.

A maroon knitted scarf rolled across the ground, landing in a puddle of spilled alcohol and cigarette ash.

“Don't touch my things,” Aixa hissed, her voice low and razor-sharp.

Her gaze pierced Catalina's eyes without the slightest trace of fear.

“This piece of trash?” Catalina laughed.

Then, deliberately, she stepped on the scarf with her high heel and twisted her foot until the handmade fabric became stained, torn, and ruined.

“Oops. On purpose.”

Aixa's blood boiled.

The dignity she had fought so hard to preserve despite her poverty was being trampled mercilessly.

Without warning, she stepped forward and grabbed Catalina's wrist.

Her grip was so strong that Catalina cried out in pain.

“I may be poor.”

Aixa's voice trembled with fury.

“And I may come from a village far away from your glamorous city. But I've never begged for dignity. I've never lowered myself to become a parasite who exploits someone else's intelligence just to graduate. And I'm certainly not as shameless as a woman who's proud of stealing another person's boyfriend.”

Her grip tightened.

“Keep your money and your arrogance, Catalina. Because in my eyes, your morals are worth less than the dirty rags used to clean this bar.”

“How dare you! Let go of me!” Catalina screamed.

Smack!

A strong hand yanked Aixa backward.

A sharp slap landed across her left cheek.

It wasn't Catalina.

It was Elio.

The blow was so powerful that the corner of Aixa's lip split open, and a drop of warm blood trickled down her chin.

“That's enough, Aixa!” Elio barked.

He stepped protectively in front of Catalina, who immediately hid behind him while pretending to be frightened.

Elio stared at Aixa with pure disgust, as though she were some filthy pest contaminating his life.

“Get out.”

His voice was ice cold.

“Our relationship is over as of tonight. My final grades are already out. My GPA is secure, and I don't need your brain anymore.”

He sneered.

“Besides, I've only ever loved Catalina. You were nothing more than a tool. A free servant who was stupid enough to believe the sweet lies of a man from a completely different social class.”

To prove his point before everyone present—and crush whatever hope remained in Aixa's heart—Elio turned around.

He wrapped an arm possessively around Catalina's waist.

Then he lowered his head and kissed her passionately in front of everyone.

Cheers and applause immediately erupted throughout the room.

They laughed at Aixa.

They enjoyed the spectacle of a nineteen-year-old girl's humiliation.

Aixa's cheek burned from the slap.

But her heart felt far more numb.

The man she had cared for when he was sick.

The man she had prepared meals for.

The man she had trusted as her refuge after losing her parents.

He was nothing more than a monster wearing a handsome face.

Aixa wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.

She didn't scream.

She didn't cry in front of them.

With the last fragments of dignity she possessed, she turned around and walked out of that hellish room, her posture unbroken despite the mocking laughter following behind her.

The moment she stepped outside Velvet Bar, a violent storm crashed down upon her.

The freezing wind cut through her thin dress, making her shiver uncontrollably.

Under the pouring rain, tears finally spilled from her eyes and mingled with the water streaming down her face.

Amid the dazzling lights and bitter cold of Madrid, Aixa felt completely broken and utterly alone.

Then her old phone rang inside her worn cloth bag.

With trembling fingers numb from cold and shock, she answered the call.

“H-Hello?”

“Is this Miss Aixa Morales Vega? This is Madrid Central Hospital.”

The nurse's voice sounded urgent and panicked.

“Your younger brother, Leo, has suffered an acute heart failure attack due to complications from his illness. His condition is critical, and he must undergo emergency surgery tonight.”

Aixa's heart stopped.

The world that had already cracked moments ago now completely collapsed.

“Surgery? Please, do it now. Save my brother!”

“Miss Aixa, the initial deposit for the emergency heart surgery and the specialized pacemaker rental is fifty thousand euros. Hospital management requires payment confirmation or proof of transfer within the next two hours. Without financial authorization, we cannot proceed with the operation. These are mandatory regulations.”

“Fifty thousand euros?!”

Her cry was swallowed by a clap of thunder.

Where could she possibly find that kind of money?

Her savings from working part-time didn't even amount to five hundred euros.

“I don't have that much money right now! Please, I'm begging you! Leo is only ten years old. He's the only family I have left in this world. Please don't let him die! I'll find the money somehow. I'll spend the rest of my life paying it back if I have to!”

Aixa collapsed to her knees on the cold, rain-soaked sidewalk.

Her tears poured endlessly into the puddles beneath her.

She begged until her voice grew hoarse, forgetting all the strength she had shown inside the bar.

But the world was far too cruel to listen to the cries of a poor girl.

“I'm sorry, Miss. You have two hours. Without payment, we can only provide limited palliative care.”

Click.

The call ended.

“Leo... Leo, please don't leave me...”

Clutching her phone against her chest, Aixa curled into herself on the rain-drenched sidewalk.

Elio had just abandoned her.

Her little brother was fighting for his life.

And she had no one left to turn to.