Chapter 4
After leaving his office, I suddenly realized I might not even have that one friend left.
After helping Harper with the transfer paperwork, I wandered the streets in a daze.
I don’t know how long I walked before I found myself in that familiar alley.
I was twelve when my birth parents–the Ashfords–found me and brought me home.
But life didn’t get better. They both resented me.
Their adopted daughter, scared I’d steal all their love, kept causing trouble for me.
She led the bullying at school.
I didn’t dare tell my parents, so I just took it silently.
Which only made her bolder.
One day after school, she got a bunch of street kids to corner me in that alley.
They tore my suit to shreds.
And River appeared like some guardian angel, stepping in front of me.
He chased them off, wrapped his jacket around me, and walked me home.
That night, the Ashford house was anything but peaceful. And the next day, my brother and adopted sister were both sent abroad to study.
I told River, feeling guilty, “Thanks for helping me, but now they’re just gonna hate me more.”
He said calmly, “Then make yourself better. Who doesn’t want an amazing kid?”
“But I’m really dumb.”
He suddenly raised an eyebrow at me. “I’m smart. How about I tutor you?”
River had always been emotionally distant.
But when he tutored me, he got surprisingly intense.
I asked sheepishly, “I told you I’m dumb. Maybe we should just forget it?”
But he stubbornly said, “No way I’m this smart and can’t teach one student!”
He extended our study sessions, and we’d often stay up until midnight.
My grades improved dramatically.
Mom and Dad really did start liking me more.
And during all that time together, something shifted between River and me.
Both families were happy to encourage our relationship,
Before we knew it, we were dating.
River was too brilliant at school–I had to work my ass off just to keep up.
But he always reassured me, “Don’t worry, I’ll always be ahead of you, clearing the path.”
He was naturally aloof, didn’t say sweet things, and had no idea how hard I worked just to be worthy of him.
But having him with me every day was enough.
River was two grades ahead of me, and because he was so academically gifted, he not only skipped two grades but got into the top university in the city.
Once he started college, he had way less time to tutor me.
I had to work even harder to get into the same
univer
But right when I started college, River’s brother suddenly showed up at the Kingsley house with Serena Vale.
