Chapter 1

Ethan smiled, his thumb brushing over the back of her knuckles. "Open it."

She lifted the lid, and the candlelight caught the delicate diamond bracelet inside. Her breath hitched—a practiced sound, but one that still made his chest swell. "It's beautiful. But you're already paying my tuition, my rent..."

"And I'd do it all again," he said. "This internship is huge for you. You deserve to celebrate."

They were seated at a corner table in a downtown steakhouse he had saved for months to afford. The linen was white, the wine list unpronounceable. Anya looked radiant in a simple black dress, her dark hair falling in careful waves. He had watched her transform over two years—from a nervous freshman in his coding workshop to this poised young woman. Every late night of freelance code, every skipped vacation, had been worth it.

She fastened the bracelet around her wrist and tilted it so the stones caught the light. "I'll never forget this, Ethan. Everything you've done for me."

He leaned forward. "You don't have to remember. You just have to keep being you."

Their entrees arrived—ribeye for him, salmon for her. As they ate, she talked about the internship program: a summer at a top marketing firm, mentorship tracks, networking galas. Her eyes sparkled with a hunger he admired and feared in equal measure.

"There's a welcome dinner next week," she said, dabbing her lips. "The keynote speaker is Marcus Thorne. You know, the Thorne Capital investor? He's only thirty and already worth—"

"I know who he is." Ethan kept his tone light, but the name landed like a stone in his stomach. Marcus Thorne had built a reputation on snapping up small companies and flipping them for profit. He also had a reputation for charm that opened doors a software engineer's salary never could.

"They say he's looking for new brand partnerships," Anya continued, her voice dropping into that dreamy register she used when talking about the future. "If I could just get a minute with him..."

"You'll get more than a minute," Ethan said, forcing encouragement. "You're brilliant. They'll see that."

She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "You always know what to say."

But as she withdrew her hand to check her phone—a reflex that had grown more frequent—Ethan felt the familiar ache of inadequacy. He thought of the modest apartment they shared, his secondhand car, the way Anya's gaze lingered on storefronts he couldn't afford to enter. He wanted to believe love was enough. But he also knew the world she was stepping into was full of men who didn't have to count pennies.

The plates were cleared. Coffee came. Anya's phone buzzed again, and she glanced at it with a flicker of something—surprise? Anticipation?—before setting it face-down.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Just a reminder about the orientation packet," she said smoothly. "They're very organized."

He wanted to ask more, but the waiter brought the check. Ethan paid in cash—a habit to avoid credit card interest—and left a generous tip. Anya was already standing, smoothing her dress, her attention on the window.

Outside, the evening air was cool, carrying the scent of exhaust and blooming jasmine from the planters along the street. Ethan reached for her hand, and she took it, but her grip felt distracted.

A black sedan purred to a stop at the curb. The tinted window rolled down, revealing a man in a tailored suit, his hair slicked back, his smile white and practiced.

"Anya Sharma?" The voice was smooth, confident. "I thought that was you. Marcus Thorne. I saw your application profile—impressive work on the campus marketing campaign. I was hoping we could chat before the dinner."

Anya's hand slipped from Ethan's. "Mr. Thorne, what a coincidence. I was just telling my... my friend about your keynote."

Marcus's gaze shifted to Ethan, cool and appraising, then back to Anya. "I have a table at the Four Seasons. We could discuss the internship program—and your future in it. I'll have you back in an hour."

Anya glanced at Ethan, her expression apologetic but her eyes already alight with opportunity. "Ethan, it's just business. You understand, don't you?"