The two best friends had turned into bitter enemies.
Julian seemed completely convinced that as long as he cleared up the misunderstanding, I would run right back to him.
With relentless persistence, he managed to track down my university and my address in London.
That afternoon, I walked out of my classroom and spotted him standing right by the campus building.
He looked like he had been through hell over the past year, with dark circles under his hollow eyes and a thick layer of stubble coating his jaw.
The moment his eyes landed on me, they lit up with absolute desperation.
He rushed over, his words tripping over each other. “Bella, I know everything now. It was all my fault; I completely misunderstood you. Please, just forgive me.”
He reached out to grab my hand, but I took a sharp step back.
Students filed past us, casting curious glances in our direction.
I had no desire to cause a scene. “I think you have the wrong person, sir.”
I walked straight past him without looking back.
“Isabella!” His voice cracked, raw and trembling, but I kept moving forward.
Julian didn’t give up. He started waiting outside my classrooms every single day and loitering near my apartment complex.
He resorted to every desperate tactic he would have utterly despised in the past-flooding me with flowers, expensive gifts, handwritten apology letters, and even standing out in the pouring rain just to see me.
I ignored him completely. God had given me a second chance at life, and I wasn’t going to waste a single second of it on him.
One afternoon, my classmate Leo-a genuinely kind British guy-accompanied me to the library.
We were discussing our project, and his silly deadpan jokes had me doubled over with laughter.
“You two!” Julian suddenly lunged out from a side path, pointing a furious finger at Leo. “Who the hell is he?”
He looked exactly like a spoiled child whose favorite toy had just been snatched away. I gave him a cold look and kept walking.
“Don’t you walk away!”
“Sir!” Leo stepped forward, elegantly blocking Julian from getting any closer to me. “Please stop harassing my friend.”
Over Leo’s shoulder, Julian stared at me for a long moment. Then the light in his eyes went out
He turned and walked away.
But he wasn’t the last one to try. Adrian chose a much more arrogant approach, using his family’s massive wealth to donate a fortune to my university to establish a brand-new scholarship in my name.
The legal terms explicitly stated that I was to be the very first recipient. The news spread like wildfire through the international student community, and everyone knew the truth: a mafia tycoon was trying to use his billions to buy an apology-or rather, to buy me back.
Adrian honestly must have believed that no girl could ever resist such a dazzling temptation.
It was truly pathetic.
I released an official public statement through the university administration office, flatly rejecting the scholarship.
My reason was short and simple: [I appreciate Mr. Moretti’s generosity, but I’m determined to finish my degree entirely through my own hard work. Please reallocate this scholarship to a student who truly needs the financial support.”]
Just like that, his grand romantic gesture was reduced to a joke.
He was a billionaire, but all his money couldn’t buy back his ex-wife.
On graduation day, the London sky was an unbelievable shade of bright blue, and pure sunshine flooded the campus lawn.
Clutching my degree in my cap and gown, I smiled brightly for photos with Grandma and Leo.
My future felt completely wide open, bright, and beautiful.
The people I’d left behind had all gotten what they deserved.
Elena’s gambling debts turned out to be a bottomless pit, and the hush money she extorted from Adrian ran out in a matter of weeks.
Loan sharks eventually came hunting for her, forcing her to flee into hiding, her life reduced to living in dark corners and shadows.
She actually managed to track down my contact info once, sobbing into the phone and begging me to loan her cash, swearing she would do absolutely anything in return.
I blocked her instantly. What use did I have for her promises?
After my final rejection, Julian completely unraveled. He walked away from all his responsibilities within the Volkov family and began drinking himself into a stupor every single day to numb the pain.
The absolute last time I ever saw him was on a night with a torrential downpour; he stood outside my apartment building all the way until dawn. Then he finally left, and I never saw or heard from him again
Adrian’s public scandal cost him heavily. After his betrayal caused a total rupture between the Moretti and Volkov families, his family’s business took a devastating hit.
It took him years to rebuild, but the old glory never returned.
A few months later, a text came through from an unknown number: [Bella, I was wrong.]
I deleted it without even clicking it open.
A few years later, I earned my master’s degree and landed a fantastic position at a highly prestigious design firm in London.
Leo had officially become my boyfriend. He was incredibly gentle, attentive, and respectful; he remembered my birthday, planned beautiful surprises, and never once pressured me into anything.
He celebrated every single one of my accomplishments, no matter how small.
He showed me what it felt like to be in a good, healthy relationship-one that was easy, warm, and never demanding.
On a gorgeous, sun-drenched afternoon, he dropped down to one knee right in front of me, holding a stunning ring.
I looked down into his sincere, loving eyes and smiled. “Yes.”
Grandma clapped and cheered, her face glowing with joy.
The warm sunlight streamed through the window, wrapping around us.
Everything was exactly the way it was supposed to be.