Broken Memories, Intertwined Hearts novel Chapter 257

After entering university, I juggled both studying and part-time jobs on the side. By then, A City was thriving and my living conditions gradually improved. The school set up scholarships for students with financial difficulties. I didn't need much money for myself, so I sent all of it back home, which helped improve my family's situation.

However, that year, my mother passed away, as her health deteriorated due to years of overworking. From then on, I had no family left back home. In my junior year, I started an internship at the Fantasy Group; your grandparents' company, where I met your mother. She was my age, and in her third year of college. Funnily enough, we were at the same school, in the same college, just different majors.

I knew she had a soft spot for me, but as you know, I had nothing to my name back then, so I pretended to be clueless about her feelings. On the other hand, I had a childhood sweetheart, Shirley, back home.

When your mother realized I wasn't interested, she dropped the subject. She even saw through my avoidance and had an honest chat with me, telling me to focus on my work at the company. If I performed well, I could stay after graduation.

Before she left, she told me, "Being poor is not a disgrace, but it's no honor either."

That really hit me. Took me a while to snap out of it. I didn't expect her to see right through me. I was indeed feeling inferior.

How inferior? So inferior that I always associated myself with the poor. Whenever someone mentioned the poor, I felt like they were talking about me. I resented it, but I also knew it was a reality I had to face. I was indeed poor.

Back then, I was desperate to succeed, to stand out, to shake off the label of being poor.

My dear Izzy, you've never been through it. You will never understand the feeling of helplessness and powerlessness.

Ines felt a sting in her eyes. She rubbed them hard until she could see clearly before continuing to read.

After graduation, I stayed with the Fantasy Group. But in a big company like this, fresh graduates like me were a dime a dozen. Many of them were more worldly than I was. I struggled on my own in the company for two years, but I was always just a small fry.

Shirley's life was going from bad to worse, so I brought her to live with me. We started cohabiting. But because she didn't have a degree, it was hard for her to find a job in this city. I didn't allow her to work in hotels or bars, so she stayed at home. Initially, we were happy, but over time, conflicts arose more frequently over small things. Our home, which should've been a place for me to relax and rest, gradually became a place I didn't want to return to. I felt this couldn't continue, so I had a serious talk with her. She decided to return home first and would come back when my living situation improved.

I accepted this arrangement. I remember that day was the day of my promotion and raise. I wanted to share this good news with her, only to find out she had secretly married a man in town without giving me any explanation.