01
The year college entrance exams were reinstated, my fiancé stole my acceptance letter and gave it to my sister,
Sage Wilder. Then, the two of them ran away together.
The Calloways, the family who had taken me in and raised me, got down on their knees and begged me not to report their son and Sage. They reminded me of the debt I owed them, of how they had sheltered and fed me, as if that justified their betrayal.
They even locked me in the storage shed, depriving me of food and water, so their son and Sage could be together.
I caught the plague from the rats that infested the place. I was on the verge of death when Ryder Calloway, their eldest son, sneaked in with a bowl of porridge.
“Amber, what they did to you is unforgivable,” he whispered as he knelt beside me. “I’ve told my parents–I won’t marry anyone but you. Marry me and I will support you for a lifetime. I’ll help you achieve all your dreams.”
At that moment, I was too weak to question anything. I was just grateful someone still cared.
Tears welled in my eyes. Moved by his words, I married him.
By day, I helped him run his school, managing the countless little details that kept things afloat. By night, I
studied relentlessly, determined to pass the entrance exams again. I took the entrance exams for three years, yet
each time, I failed to make the cut.
Eventually, I decided to let go. Maybe higher education wasn’t meant for me. Maybe it was time to accept my role
as Ryder’s wife and dedicate myself to supporting him.
That was, until I overheard a conversation that shattered everything I thought I knew.
“Ryder, it’s been three years,” Mrs. Calloway said, her voice laced with unease. “Amber keeps scoring higher and higher. This time, she got accepted into Winthrop University. Are you really not going to let her go?”
Ryder’s response was swift and firm. “Sage is using her ID. If Amber goes to college, it’ll expose everything. For
Sage’s sake, I can’t let that happen.”
His father sighed. “But Amber has already retaken the exams three times. Besides, Sage is graduating next year. If that bothers you, we can pull some strings and find Amber a new ID or-”
Ryder cut him off with a sharp glare. “Find her a fake test result? You want Amber to take someone else’s spot and destroy another innocent person’s future? How can you even say that?”
“But Ryder, you’ve seen how hard she works,” his mother argued. “She spends all day helping you at school and at night, she studies by candlelight. She’s so exhausted that she can barely keep her eyes open, but she never complains.”
“The last two times you hid her acceptance letters, I saw her crying in secret. She thought she was stupid, that she had wasted two years for nothing.”
“She knows how much you care about these students. That’s why she moved into the school dorms–she wanted to help. She does all the hardest, dirtiest work and she treats us with nothing but kindness.”
“She’s a nice girl, Ryder. We’ve already wronged her once. If we do it again, I don’t think there’s any coming back from it.”
His parents‘ words were heartfelt, but Ryder had already made up his mind.
Ryder remained unmoved. “Enough!”
His voice was cold, final.
“I already wronged her once when I suggested Finn and Sage to steal her first acceptance letter. And I admit, tearing up her letters the past two years was cruel.”
Mrs. Calloway’s eyes widened in shock, but Ryder continued without remorse. “But Sage is different from Amber.
No Longer Yours, Dear Husband
She’s always been frail. Without an education, she has no future. Amber, on the other hand-” he scoffed, “-she
married me. I’m a principal. She’ll never have to worry about food or shelter. I’m offering her a lifetime of security. That should be enough.”
“This letter has to go. Sage’s future is more important than anything.”
With that, Ryder grabbed my acceptance letter and prepared to burn it–right in front of everyone.
I stood outside the door, clutching a bowl of chicken soup I had made to nourish his health. My hands trembled as I stared at the paper–the very dream I had worked so hard for–about to turn to ashes.
Three years ago, when college entrance exams were reinstated, Sage, Finn and I all took the test together.
On the day results were posted, Sage’s name was nowhere to be found.
I barely had time to think about how to comfort her before someone told me that my acceptance letter had already been claimed.
At the same time, Finn and Sage vanished.
Someone saw them boarding a train to the capital–the exact city where my chosen university was located.
I refused to believe it. I immediately told the Calloways, hoping they would help me contact Finn.
But instead, they scolded me and shamelessly told me to let it go.
