𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 2

When I arrived home, my mother was baking bread by the stove. The lines on her face carried the exhaustion of years.
"You're back, my girl?" she asked, seeing me.
I nodded and quietly sat down in a chair. My tired body was weighed down by the day, but my mind was even heavier.

I couldn’t share the chaos inside me with anyone. Because of my family’s financial situation, I had to work every day. My siblings... I had to do everything I could for their future, but this pressure was consuming me. Marcus’s arrival had shaken my already fragile world even more.

For a moment, I took a deep breath, staring out the window, my mind still swirling with what he had said.

Marcus: "It’s interesting to see how hard you work here."

His words echoed in my mind. His stern demeanor—what was he really hiding inside? Maybe he genuinely wanted to help, but still, it was hard to trust him. After all, the help of the rich always came with a cost, didn’t it?

That night as I lay in bed, sleep wouldn't come. I kept thinking about the way Marcus had looked at me. Although the wealth of his family was intimidating, my curiosity about him was growing. But this curiosity was dangerous for me. For the sake of my family, I had to keep myself away from such thoughts.

At sunrise, the door to the house was knocked on hard. My siblings excitedly ran to the door, but I sat up...