chapter 4
1135 Words
For two days, Aria tried to forget her encounter with Damian King. She buried herself in studying , late shifts at work, in anything that wouldn’t make her remember Damian King’s voice and his terrible, tempting offer. She kept reminding herself that she made the right decision. She had held onto her dignity. She was not something to be bought.
But it seemed as if the world was determined to prove her wrong.
The first blow came in her students' mailbox. A thick, official envelope from the university’s bursar office. With a trembling finger she tore it open.
“FINAL NOTICE:FAILURE TO REMIT PAYMENT..WILL RESULT IN ADMINISTRATIVE WITHDRAWAL FROM ALL COURSES..”
The word blurred in her vision. Administrative withdrawal. They were going to kick her out of the university. A week before finals. All her works, all her mother’s sacrifices, are gone. She leaned against the rows of cold metal mailboxes, clutching the paper in her fist. She could also hear Damian’s calm voice.
She shoved the letter deep into her backpack, but it felt like a stone pulling her down.
The second blow came later in the evening. She got a call from St Jude’s Hospital.
When she saw the call she was very shocked,She answered it with her heart pounding.
“Aria,” said Dr. Evans, his voice sounding tired. “It’s about your mother. She had a downturn overnight. We’ve moved her to the ICU for closer monitoring. It’s not an emergency,” he added quickly, hearing her sharp gasp. “But her body isn’t responding to the treatment anymore. We really need to have that surgery. It’s the only option left. We need to decide soon.”
Her throat tightened. “How soon?” her voice cracked.
“Days, aria . Not weeks.”
Immediately after their call, Aria rushed quickly to the hospital. Her heart was racing fast. The ICU was colder, brighter, and filled with louder beeping sounds than the regular ward.
Her mother looked smaller than ever, surrounded by a lot of machines and tubes. Her eyes were closed, she was short of breath. Aria pulled a chair close, her knees bumping the bed rail. She took her mother’s cool hand between her own.
After a few long minutes, Elena’s eyes fluttered open, her eyes were dim, filled with pain, but they softened as she saw her daughter.
“My brave girl, “ she whispers, her voice rough and unclear.
“Don’t talk, Mom. Rest.”
“Always worrying about me, “ Elena murmured, ignoring her. “ You must not, you have to live your life. Promise me.”
The words stabbed Aria’s heart. They echoed the text her mother had sent days before. Even now, fighting for her every breath, Elena’s first thought was her daughter's future.
“I am living my life,” Aria lied, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She stroked her mother’s head.
“You just focus on getting better. That’s all I want.”
“So expensive,” Elena murmured, her eyes closing again. “All for me. Not worth it, my love . Not worth your..light.”
A tear finally escaped Aria’s eyes, tracing a hot path down her cheek. Not worth it. Her mother believed her own life wasn’t worth the financial ruin of her daughter.The love behind those words was so strong, so selfless, it shattered Aria.
She sat there for an hour, just watching her mother breathe , each shallow rise and fall like a ticking clock. The words from the bursar’s letter and Dr. Evans twisted together with Damian’s offer in her mind, forming a terrifying clear equation.
Principles. Integrity . Pride.
Beautiful ideas, but useless. THey couldn’t pay bills, they couldn't buy medicine, they couldn’t keep her mother alive.
When visiting hours ended, Aria left the hospital with her face wet and the night air biting against her skin. She didn’t go back to her apartment. Instead, she walked the city streets, lit up in neon, crowded with people laughing , living untouched by her silent storm.
Eventually, found herself on a park bench overlooking the river, the light of the city sparkled across the water like a cruel joke. Far in the distance, she could pick out the tallest , most imposing tower, the headquarters of the king Global Tech Ltd.Cold, unshakable, a symbol of the power she didn’t have.
She saw her life split into two futures.
One path: she held fast to her pride. She watched her mother slip into palliative care. She dropped out of school, her dreams evaporating. She would work endlessly in low-pay jobs, drowning in debt, forever haunted by the ghost of the chances she didn’t take. Her mother’s sacrifice would be for nothing.
The other path:she said yes. She endured one year of humiliation. She lived in a gilded cage with a man who saw her as a business asset. She sold her name, her freedom, her autonomy.
But her mother would live. She ‘d get the best doctors, the best care. She sees Aria graduate. Aria would be free of debt. Free to rebuild after the year was over.
It wasn’t really a choice at all.
The truth settled in her like ice. Damian King has been right. He had seen her desperation before she dared admit it herself.On that bench, staring at the glittering skyline, Aria Vance made the deal. Not with DFamian , not yet but with herself. With her own soul.
She would do it. For her mother, for the chance that the woman who had given her everything might have a chance to see what she could become.
The decision didn’t bring peace. Only a numb empitiness. She had stepped across a line she could never return from. The Aria of two days ago no longer existed.
She pulled out her phone. Her hands were cold but steady as she found the number, The one on the black business card she kept , even though she told herself that she would throw it away.
She typed the message , each letter like a stone added to a wall around her heart.
“Mr. King. I accept your terms.”
She immediately sent the message before she could lose her nerve. The message went away into the night. She put away the phone and stared up at the dark sky. The stars were hidden by city light, but she whispered to them anyway. She had sold a year of her life.
And the strange, terrifying part was, it didn’t feel like a loss but rather felt like a trade, one she would make again, every single time for the woman sleeping in a hospital bed, her mum.
Aria finally understood. Her mum was worth it, she was worth any price.
- Writer
