Life before graduating from Crestwood University had been something close to perfect for Marcus. He, his parents, and his younger sister, Amber, were a close-knit, happy family. As a student at the prestigious university, he was the envy of his peers, and having a girlfriend as wonderful as Serena felt like the cherry on top of a charmed life.
But the picture-perfect life shattered during his senior year. His parents, after taking out a ten-million-dollar mortgage on their home and pouring every last cent of their savings and loans into a new company, watched it fail spectacularly. Shortly after, his father was killed in a car accident. It wasn't just a single catastrophe; it was an avalanche that buried them, and they lost everything.
Faced with the crushing debt and the company's financial records, they were helpless. His mother, unable to bear the immense pressure, fell gravely ill and was confined to bed.
And the nightmare didn't end there. With his mother bedridden from the stress, the company's disastrous finances ensnared her in a lawsuit. As a legal representative of the company, she faced imprisonment if the debt wasn't repaid within three months. On top of that, the bank would seize their home.
In the span of a few short months, Marcus went from a carefree student to the head of a broken household. He was shouldering the weight of his father's death, his mother's illness, and a mountain of debt he had no way of paying. Without money, his mother's health would continue to decline, she would be sent to prison, and he and Amber would be homeless. Their world had been plunged into utter misery.
That was when Serena's father made his move. He sent an associate to Marcus with an offer: he would clear the entire debt, but on one condition; Marcus had to break up with Serena. It was a devastating, impossible choice, but was it really a choice at all? How could he stand by and watch his mother, already grieving the loss of her husband, be thrown in prison? How could he let his little sister be cast out onto the streets?
It was a classic case of rich people sticking to their own. What use did a dynasty like Serena's have for some ordinary kid from a bankrupt family? Her father had been looking for a way to split them up, and Marcus's disaster handed him the perfect excuse; a single, fatal blow.
Marcus signed the agreement. He would leave Serena, and in return, her father would settle the debt. The contract had a vicious, iron-clad clause: if Marcus ever broke the terms and tried to contact Serena again, her father would become his creditor. The debt would be reinstated at twenty million dollars, the house would be forfeit, and he would have the legal power to have Marcus imprisoned. The document was a secret pact, known only to the two of them.
After the breakup, Marcus clung to the hope that things might stabilize. But the hope was a fragile one. Three months later, his mother, her heart broken and her body overwhelmed, finally gave up. She passed away, leaving Marcus and Amber utterly alone.
A deep, burning hatred consumed him. He hated his powerlessness during that time, the feeling of being a lamb led to the slaughter. But what could he, an ordinary young man, have possibly done?
He also hated that his mastery of the Human Rock technique had failed him when he needed it most. It was only after his mother's death that its true power began to manifest. He was grimly certain that if his abilities had been as strong then as they were now, he would have done anything; robbed a bank, even killed someone to get the money. He would never have let Serena go.
"Marcus, I told my sister I was helping with her enrollment just so I could come see you," Jade pleaded, her voice thick. "My cousin, Serena... she's a wreck. She cries every single night. You can't just do this to her. You can't."
Seeing him lost in a silent, pained reverie, the girl pressed on, her dark eyes welling up until tears streamed down her flawless cheeks.
Jade's distress, and the mention of Serena's name, was a knife twisting in his gut. His own heart felt like it was being sliced open. But what could he possibly do?
It wasn't the threat of prison that held him back; it was Amber. In the year since the world had fallen apart, his little sister had lost both her parents. He was all she had left. How could he abandon her? He couldn't. And so, he couldn't go back to Serena.
He gently wiped the tears from her face. "Jade, you don't get it," he said, his voice soft with a pain she couldn't possibly grasp. "Just... please, drop it. It's over."
"I'm not a kid, Marcus. I understand," she insisted, shaking her head vigorously. "When you love someone, you fight for them. You're supposed to be together. No matter what."
She looked at him with such raw, desperate hope in her eyes that it made his own chest ache.
"Jade..."
Just as he was about to respond, the bathroom door creaked open. Crystal emerged, showered and dressed in a set of Lily's clothes he'd given her. The ice-cold woman shot him a single, unreadable glance before lowering her head and making a swift exit, pulling the apartment door shut behind her.
In the shower, Crystal had let the hot water cascade over her, trying to wash away the strange, unsettling feeling that had taken root in her heart. She was trying to erase the memory of his hands on her: specifically, on her proud, full chest. That shameless pervert had touched and kneaded her most private, sensitive place. It felt like a violation.
She wanted to scrub away the memory of his touch, but the more she tried, the more vivid it became. She could almost feel his rough hands, hear his heavy breathing. It was as if he were still there, shamelessly holding her, and the thought sent an unwelcome flutter through her heart.
'You disgusting pervert,' she cursed inwardly. And yet, her own hand drifted upwards, her fingers ghosting over the exact spot on her chest where his hand had been. The phantom sensation of his touch lingered, and with it, a confusing flicker of pride. Her body had attracted him, and that realization made her heart pound in a way she didn't understand.
'Crystal, what the hell is wrong with you?' she berated herself. 'Are you out of your mind?'
She couldn't let herself spiral down that path. Terrified of where her thoughts were leading, she had dressed quickly, her only thought to get out of there, to get away from him.
"Crystal..."
Marcus called out her name, his voice tight with urgency. She faltered for a split second, a barely perceptible hesitation, before continuing out the door without looking back.
"Jade, go after your sister. Make sure she's okay."
This was his fault. His own shameless behavior had caused this. He could only pray she wouldn't do anything reckless; he couldn't bear the guilt.
They caught up with her outside. Crystal had already rebuilt her icy facade, but it couldn't quite conceal the subtle, heartbreaking sadness in her eyes.
"Crystal, I'm so sorry. I..."
"I'm fine, Marcus," she said, cutting him off. Her voice was brittle. "I just need some air. I have things to do at the university, so I'm going back."
With that, she took Jade's hand and started walking toward the Crestwood campus. Marcus, his stomach churning with worry, trailed behind them at a distance, only turning back once he saw them safely pass through the university gates.
Back in the suffocating silence of his apartment, a familiar weight settled on his heart. He pulled out his phone and scrolled to Serena's number. His thumb hovered over the call button, but a wave of complete and utter futility washed over him. He couldn't press it. He could only sink back into the endless, quiet sorrow.