---- Chapter 10 Ariel Payne POV: The hum of the private jet was a soothing white noise. | was curled up in a plush leather seat, a book open on my lap, but | wasn' t reading. Across from me, Aunt Evelena was tapping away on her laptop, her brow furrowed in concentration. Even in the relaxed setting of her jet, she exuded an aura of formidable power and competence. A wave of something akin to shame washed over me. She had built an empire from scratch in a foreign country, becoming one of the most respected lawyers in her field. And me? | had thrown away a prestigious art scholarship, my one real talent, to support a man' s dream, only to be discarded like trash when that dream came true. | had made myself small for him, shrinking my own world until he was the only thing in it. What a fool | had been. Evelena looked up, as if sensing my gaze. She closed her laptop. "Something on your mind, darling?" "l was just admiring you," | said quietly. "You' re so... impressive when you' re working." She smiled, a rare, warm expression that softened the sharp lines of her face. "Once we get you settled in A-Country, we' Il ---- find you a job. Something to keep you busy." "But | don' t speak the language," | protested, the familiar tendrils of insecurity wrapping around me. "I don' t have any skills." Evelena' s smile faded, replaced by a look of fierce determination. "Don' t you ever say that," she said, her voice sharp. "When | first came here, | had two hundred dollars in my pocket and a handful of English phrases |' d learned from a textbook. | worked as a cleaner, a waitress, anything to survive while | put myself through law school at night. Skills can be learned, Ariel. What matters is the will to learn them." Tears welled in my eyes. We were so similar, my aunt and |. We had both started with nothing, fighting for a better life. But she had fought for herself. | had fought for someone else. She reached across the aisle and took my hand. "You' re a Lindsey woman," she said, her voice soft but firm. "We are not victims. We are survivors. This isn' t an ending for you, Ariel. It's a beginning." She pulled me into a hug, and for the first time since Desmond had left me bleeding on that factory floor, | felt a flicker of hope. When we landed in A-Country, the air felt different. Cleaner. Lighter. | took a deep breath, filling my lungs. It was the first breath of my new life. Evelena' s home was a stunning modern apartment with ---- A cold satisfaction settled in my heart. He was finally feeling a fraction of the pain he had put me through. It wasn't enough, but it was a start.