"If that's the case," he said quickly, "then I'll definitely try to get close to her." And with that, he hung up.
Paulina had lived her entire life surrounded by poverty. When she was eighteen, she had been stunningly beautiful and even attracted a wealthy suitor.
But believing in foolish fairy-tale notions of love, she chose a poor man instead.
When she became pregnant, that man abandoned her, leaving her alone, disgraced, and exiled to the suburbs with no support.
Her parents cut ties, her siblings ignored her existence, and she was left with a child and an unforgiving world.
She worked five to six jobs at a time just to survive, and in the grueling grind of those years, resentment took root.
She often thought, 'If only I had married the rich man… my life wouldn't have become this miserable.'
Because of that, she raised Sterling with fierce determination. She taught him to be rational, not romantic.
