nt, painful ones, but the ones from long ago, from a

nts were in the same crumbling brick building, and we spent our summers playing on the cracked pavement and our winters huddled tog

mple guy. My on

Her parents couldn' t afford the tuition, not even close. She was brilliant, a genius w

cry broke

own plans for community college and maybe a trade school afte

d about my age and got a job on a construction crew, hauling bricks an

she' d said, her eyes wide wit

bills into her hand. "You' re going to change the

to college.

ight cleaner at an office building. I took the shifts no one else wanted, the double shifts, the holiday shifts. I at

y single week, withou

career took off like a rocket. She was brilliant, ruthless, and unstoppable. Soon, she

or, my hands were covered in calluses, and I had a persistent cough th

d a story. And what better story than the tale of the brilliant tech mogul

of a selfless, romantic hero. She used my sacrifices to build her public image, to ma

hought she was j

round for her company, she did the unthinkable. In front of

n her eyes for the cameras. "You are the foundation of my success. You are

went viral. "Tech Queen Proposes to Childhood Sweetheart

ur struggles, all my pain, had finally led to this perfect mom

affair, paid for by her c

e, I carried her into the bedroom, m

shed m

d distant, the beautiful white wedding dress loo

flat. "This marriage is a business arrangement. It' s a transac

ld cru

?" I whispered, my voice tr

er seen before. "I' m grateful for what you did. But love? Look at m