Chapter 2

When we went back out to the dining room, Wendy was all smiles. It looked like Yara had already calmed her down. She was nothing like the sharp-tongued woman she had been ten minutes ago.

Wendy put on a warm smile and said. "Ian, I heard you did well in school. You know, I even helped cover your tuition.

"The year you took the SAT, I even gave your mom an extra $50 every month."

I forced a smile.

That was also the year Yara took her SAT. Every night after she got home from her evening study sessions, Mom had to cook her a fresh late-night meal.

Because of that, Mom didn't get home before 11:00 pm once that whole year.

Wendy gave my mom just $50. But we were supposed to be endlessly grateful for it.

I looked at Yara. There wasn't even a hint of gratitude in her eyes. She looked just as condescending as her mother.

Mom had always been proud of me and couldn't help but speak up. "Ian worked hard and got a high SAT score. His tuition was completely waived."

Wendy ignored what Mom said, and she changed the subject.

"Even if his grades were good, he's still not as good as my daughter," she said. "Yara even won a college scholarship. There was only one first-place award, and she was the one who earned it.

"Ian still has a lot to work on."

What Wendy didn't know was this.

One of the key factors for the college scholarship was overall performance. Yara was the only student in the entire college to get a perfect score.

That was why my academic advisor, Roger Lane, sighed and told me that even with a perfect GPA, I still couldn't beat Yara.

Wendy didn't know that, but Yara did. Yet she never said a word.

Mom was a little unwilling to back down. She quietly argued, "Ian had the highest GPA in his entire year. That's already impressive."

Wendy suddenly hurled a cup of hot water at Mom and screamed, "You're just the housekeeper! Who gave you the right to speak here?"

Mom stood there frozen, and her eyes welled up with tears.

Her hand quickly swelled from the burn, and next to her feet were broken pieces of glass scattered all around.

I was so angry I almost lost control. I wanted to slap Wendy and take Mom away right then, but I knew better.

If the Quinns decided to press charges, I couldn't afford what they would make me pay. I might even end up behind bars.

I would only end up making Mom beg them for mercy because of me.

At that moment, I finally realized one thing. This relationship was built across a gap I could never cross.

All it would ever bring me was humiliation.

Seeing the hatred in my eyes, Wendy happily dropped her act.

"Top GPA? Who knows if he cheated?" she said. "It's like how he claims he's allergic to shrimp. Who knows if that's even true?

"His mother is greedy and classless. No wonder her son has no manners!"

Every word cut deeper than the last.

But before I could say anything back, Yara's expression hardened with impatience.

She said, "Apologize to my mom!"

I stared at her in disbelief. It felt like I was seeing her for the first time.

The girl I remembered used to stand up for me when other boys called me a poor kid and threw mud at me. She had stepped in front of me with her arms wide open without a second thought.

Whenever my father got drunk and beat me with his belt until I was crawling on the floor, she would secretly take medicine from home and treat my wounds.

The bold, spirited girl next door in my memories was the girl I had secretly loved for years.

Even after the Quinns became wealthy and moved away, my feelings for her never faded.

But now, seeing her force me to apologize, I couldn't help but think I was a complete joke.