Canvas of a New Life

The day Joe Tanner’s parents died and his classmates cornered him in cruel bullying, I was the one who jumped into the river to save him—and lost my heart to him in that moment.

For the next ten years, I poured everything I had into him.

I hid my own admission letter to Great Eastern University.

I washed dishes until my hands cracked, hauled bricks until my shoulders bled, even sold the pocket watch my mother left me—all so he could study without worry.

I watched him rise from a ridiculed illegitimate child to a celebrated professor at the very peak of academia.

All I ever wanted in return was a home we could call ours. But the day he achieved success, he forgot the woman who had built his world.

So, I made my choice—

If he could abandon my love, then I would walk away without looking back.

After pushing the last suitcase into the corner, I dialed my best friend, Sasha Cason.

"I'm leaving Joe. I'm going back alone."

On the other end, Sasha practically exploded.

"Belle, are you out of your mind? Ten years! You sacrificed ten years of your life for him! And now, just when Joe finally becomes a university professor, you're walking away?"

Her voice trembled with anger.

"He's made it, and you're just going to step aside? Weren't you in love with him?"

I did not answer. I listened quietly, then ended the call.

The screen lit up with a new message. It was from Ivy—Joe's admirer.

[Have you decided to leave him?]

I glanced out the window before typing back three words: [Yes, I have.]

My thoughts drifted to the past.

Back in high school, Joe had been the target of everyone's bullying because he was born out of wedlock.

A few boys cornered him by the river and shoved him into the water. I, a girl who could not even swim, jumped into the freezing river after him. I nearly drowned but managed to drag him back to shore.

I could still see it–the way he was soaked to the bone, face pale as paper, but his hand clung to mine with desperate strength.

At that moment, I felt that anything I did for him would be worth it.

When our admission letters from Great Eastern University arrived, I saw the name embossed in gold on the paper. I also saw the yearning—and the shame—in Joe's eyes.

He was an orphan. He could not afford those sky-high tuition fees.

So, I quietly hid my own letter and went out the next day to find work, just so Joe could study in peace.

I washed greasy dishes in the back of restaurants until my hands turned raw and white from detergent. I carried bricks on construction sites until my thin shoulders bled from the strain. I shouldered the cost of living for both of us, sacrificing everything to keep his dream alive.

When Joe found out, he pulled me into his