I shoved Babur with all my strength, knocking him to the floor.

He looked up at me, disgust written all over his face.

"What are you doing, Valerie? If you don't get out right now, I'm calling the police and reporting you for trespassing."

Babur's voice was vicious, as if I weren't the woman he had loved for three years but a burglar breaking into his home.

Humiliation and panic rose in my chest.

But I refused to leave. I needed answers.

"I'm not going anywhere, Babur. Who was that woman? We just broke up. Are you already with someone else?"

I leaned in on purpose, as if trying to prove I still had some pull over him.

Before, that was all it took. He would wrap his arm around my waist, kiss me, carry me back to the bedroom.

This time, he scoffed and shoved me away.

"That's none of your business. Valerie, I've made myself clear. We're over."

It felt like something sharp was stabbing my heart over and over again.

"I never agreed to this," I said, my voice thick with bitterness and pleading. "I don't want to break up, Babur. Have you forgotten the three years we spent together?"

I searched his eyes, begging to find even a trace of reluctance.

But there was nothing there. No regret. No softness. Just cold contempt.

"Stop making a scene, Valerie. Don't make me hate you even more."

He lit a cigarette and sat back on the couch. Then he grabbed a magazine and tossed it in front of me.

On the cover was a handsome man, and beside him stood the girl I had just seen kissing Babur.

"Look carefully, Valerie. That's Daphne Smith. The youngest daughter of the Smith family. Her brother is the richest man in Ardania. Her mother is one of the most renowned professors in finance. And she herself is a student at Redmont University."

His tone brimmed with admiration as he praised Daphne's beauty and intelligence. Then he looked at me, a mocking curl tugging at his lips.

"And you? Valerie. A near-zero exam scorer who stayed home waiting for a man to support her like a parasite. How could you ever compare to her?"

His cruelty cut through me like a blade.

He seemed to have forgotten that I could have worked. My grades had been terrible, yes, but I also had a beautiful face, which gave me other options.

When we graduated, a talent scout had approached me about becoming a model or an actress.

Babur had refused on my behalf.

He said he would work hard and provide for me, that all I needed to do was stay beautiful and wait to be his wife.

And now he was calling me a parasite living under his roof.

Shame, humiliation, heartbreak flooded my chest.

I should have stood up and walked away, preserved what little dignity I had left.

But I couldn't let go of three years so easily.

He was the first man I had ever loved. I had even imagined the names of our future children.

I bit my lip to keep from crying.

I couldn't give up without fighting for one last chance.

If nothing else, I owed it to those three years.

I stared at his handsome face, and a desperate idea took root.

"If I get into Redmont University too… would you come back to me?"

Babur paused mid-drag. He turned to look at me, something amused flickering in his eyes.

I lowered my head in embarrassment. He must have thought I'd lost my mind.

Someone like me, who always ranked last in exams, getting into Redmont? It sounded ridiculous.

I kept my head down, letting Babur's gaze roam over me.

After a long silence, he finally spoke. "Fine. Valerie. Show me how serious you are."

He actually agreed.

A spark flared inside my chest.

In my excitement, I almost forgot he had just broken up with me. I stood up and threw my arms around him.

"Thank you, Babur. Thank you for giving me a chance."

He didn't push me away. Instead, he lightly wrapped an arm around my waist, his tone laced with something almost playful.

"I'm looking forward to your results."

For a moment, he seemed like the gentle Babur I used to know.

He drove me back to Lacey's place.

When Lacey saw me stepping out of his car, she rushed over and grabbed my hand.

"Valerie, did you get back together with Babur?"

"No, not yet. But he promised that if I get into Redmont, we'll get back together."

Just thinking about Babur returning to my side filled me with endless courage.

I clenched my fists, determination hardening inside me.

"I will get into Redmont University. I'll become a woman worthy of Babur."

I started going to the library.

After three years away from studying, I forced myself to focus on the books in front of me.

But within minutes, frustration crept in and I set the book down.

The truth was painful. I barely understood what I was reading.

Just as I was sinking into disappointment, my phone chimed. Babur had sent me a message.

"How's the studying going? I've sorted through some of my old books. You might find them useful."

I nearly jumped out of my seat.

That message felt like proof he regretted everything, like he was helping me win him back.

I agreed without hesitation.

When I arrived at his place, the rug by the door had somehow turned pink again.

"You're here. Valerie, I'll grab the books for you."

When he placed the neatly stacked books in my hands, I deliberately brushed my fingers against his palm.

"Thank you, Babur. But I don't really understand them. Could you teach me?"

"Of course. Come to the study."

I sat at his desk while he stood behind me, his arms braced on either side of my shoulders, almost as if he were holding me. His chest pressed lightly against my back, his scent surrounding me.

"What part don't you get?"

His lips hovered near my ear, his breath sending a shiver through me.

I pointed at a random paragraph.

He explained patiently, but my attention stayed fixed on his handsome face.

I wished time would freeze right there, keeping this gentle version of Babur beside me forever.

Night fell quickly. I sat there twisting my fingers nervously.

Would he send me away again? The thought gnawed at me.

But Babur took my hand and looked at me gently.

"Valerie, it's late. It's not safe for you to go back alone. Why don't you stay?"

I squeezed his hand back without thinking. Everything that followed felt inevitable. When morning sunlight streamed through the window, I was gazing down at his sleeping face.

Sweetness spread through my chest. It felt as though we had returned to the early days of our love.

Babur stopped saying those cutting, cruel things to me. He even unfroze the card he had given me.

When I cautiously asked if I could move back in, he offered to help me pick up my things from Lacey's place.

"Did you two get back together?" Lacey asked quietly. She looked exhausted.

I assumed she had just been overworked lately.

"I think so. We never said it outright, but he's treating me the way he used to." I answered with a smile.

Lacey's expression shifted again. She pulled me aside and showed me a post on Instagram.

"Does the necklace around Daphne's neck look familiar?"

I glanced at it and realized it was the same design Babur had given me before. But I brushed it off.

"It's a popular design. I guess we have similar taste, same necklace, same man. But the necklace might be identical. Babur isn't. There's only one of him, and he's mine."

The thought made me smile.

Lacey looked like she wanted to say more, but Babur had already finished loading my bags.

I waved goodbye and moved back into our home.

Everything seemed to return to normal. I was once again the rose Babur kept sheltered and pampered.

But he grew busier than ever. He left during the day and came home late at night, sometimes carrying the faint scent of women's perfume.

"It's for networking. You know how the finance world works," he said.

And I chose to believe him.

The Redmont prep books were soon abandoned in a corner.

Babur was back with me. I no longer needed admission to Redmont to win him over.

Time passed quickly, and the day came for Babur to leave for Redmont.

He didn't allow me to see him off, claiming he wouldn't be able to leave if he saw me.

What he didn't know was that after he left, I secretly bought a ticket to Baybridge.

I had already picked out an apartment there. I planned to study alongside him.

I finalized the lease with the landlord and headed to Redmont Campus to surprise him.

From a distance, I saw Babur standing at the entrance with his friends.

I ran toward him, already picturing the delight on his face when he saw me.

But as I drew closer, I heard one of his friends ask, "Babur, aren't you already with Daphne? Why are you still letting Valerie live with you?"

What?

My knees nearly gave out. Babur was seeing someone else?

That couldn't be true. It had to be a joke.

But Babur's answer shattered the last illusion I had left.

"Daphne's from a powerful family. I can't push her too far. Not like Valerie. She's pretty and easy. We're not married. Might as well have some fun with her while I can."

My chest ached so badly it was hard to breathe. The reconciliation I thought we had was nothing but my own delusion.

In his eyes, I had been nothing more than a cheap girl he could sleep with.

I forced back my tears and walked up to Babur.

"Babur, is what you said true? These past weeks, tutoring me, treating me kindly… was it all just to get me into bed?"

Babur froze for a second, clearly not expecting me to be there.

Then his expression shifted into open disdain.

"Didn't think you'd find out this soon. Figured I could keep it going for another couple of years." He said it casually, without a hint of guilt.

"Valerie, you should be grateful I even sleep with you. I'm probably the best man you'll ever have access to in your life. A woman like you, all looks and no brains, who can only cling to a man, you'll be lucky if you end up with some construction worker or plumber."

He was so arrogant, so full of himself, that I could barely recognize the gentle Babur I once knew.

Maybe I had been clinging to a ghost.

Perhaps the man who once loved me had died the day of our anniversary.

"Relax, Valerie. I know you're not exactly high society, but that's fine. After I marry Daphne, you can still be my mistress if you behave. You can keep the apartment, the card. You'll still live the carefree life you're used to. Sounds good?"

There was charity in his tone, like he was offering me mercy. He reached out to grab my hand.

I stepped aside and slapped him across the face.

"Listen carefully, Babur." I straightened my back and met his eyes without fear, like I was declaring war. "I will get into Redmont University. I'll make you see how wrong you are. Babur, I will make you regret this."

After shouting that, I turned and ran.

If I stayed even one more second, I would have broken down.

Three full years. Over a thousand days together. So many plans for our future.

How could he discard me so easily, erase me from his tomorrow like I had never existed?

I cried all night in my rented apartment.

By dawn, my decision was made.

I canceled the lease in Baybridge, returned to Asterfall, and packed up everything that had anything to do with Babur and sold it.

Only the necklace that had once given me the courage to chase him back—I held it for a long time before deciding to keep it.

I began studying those incomprehensible books with real focus.

Even when I went for spa treatments with friends, I kept a book open in my hands.

"Valerie, you don't have to work this hard. You don't even understand half of that stuff. Why not just find another man to support you? We can go back to living carefree like before," Naomi teased, glancing between me and Lacey. "Look at you two. You've been so busy lately that even spa days can't hide how exhausted you look. Especially you, Lacey."

Lacey smiled faintly. Her eyes flicked toward my neck but she said nothing.

My hand paused over the page. I looked up at Naomi seriously.

"No, Naomi. I've made up my mind. I don't want to live off a man's affection anymore, constantly fearing the day he might abandon me. I want to be proud of myself. I will get into Redmont University. I will step onto Gilded Row. I will stand higher than Babur ever will—and I'll make him realize just how extraordinary the woman he lost truly is."