A Poor Scholarship Girl Tutored the Heir She Couldn’t Stand — Then He Became the Man She Never Expected to Love
Chapter 3
Sophia’s mother grew worse that month.
The doctor recommended another procedure.
The insurance covered part of it.
Not enough.
Sophia sat at the kitchen table with the hospital estimate.
Her hands shook.
She had three hundred dollars in savings.
The treatment cost twelve thousand.
She couldn’t borrow that much.
She couldn’t work enough hours.
And the scholarship office couldn’t increase her award.
She considered dropping out.
Then Adrian noticed her crying after class.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“I’m tired.”
He sat beside her.
“Tell me.”
She hesitated.
Then finally said:
“My mother needs treatment.”
Adrian became quiet.
“How much?”
“Don’t.”
“How much?”
She looked at him.
“Twelve thousand.”
He didn’t react.
“That’s it?”
Sophia stared.
“That’s it?”
“I mean, I can…”
“No.”
He stopped.
“I’m not taking your money.”
“I wasn’t offering.”
She narrowed her eyes.
He smiled.
“I was going to ask whether you needed help finding financial assistance.”
Sophia relaxed slightly.
“I already tried.”
“Then we’ll try again.”
“We?”
“Yes.”
That weekend, Adrian spent hours researching medical grants.
He contacted charitable foundations.
He called insurance representatives.
He even found a hospital assistance program Sophia had never heard of.
They reduced the cost dramatically.
Sophia stared at the final estimate.
Two thousand, four hundred dollars.
She could manage that.
“How did you do this?”
“I have resources.”
“You didn’t pay anything?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Adrian shrugged.
“You needed help.”
She looked at him.
“Thank you.”
He smiled.
“You’re welcome.”
Then he said:
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Why do you hate rich people?”
She laughed.
“I don’t.”
“You hate me.”
“I did.”
“What changed?”
She thought.
“You’re not what I expected.”
He smiled.
“That’s a dangerous sentence.”
“Why?”
“Because now you have to keep talking to me.”
She rolled her eyes.
But she was smiling.
Their tutoring sessions became more frequent.
They began studying together outside class.
They shared meals.
Adrian introduced her to a quiet coffee shop near campus.
Sophia introduced him to the public library.
He discovered she loved old books.
She discovered he hated classical music but listened because she did.
Slowly, they became friends.
Sophia didn’t notice when the friendship changed.
She only noticed it one evening when Adrian fell asleep over his textbook.
She looked at him.
For the first time, she didn’t see the heir.
She saw a tired young man.
Someone lonely.
Someone trying to figure out who he wanted to become.
She quietly placed her jacket over his shoulders.
He opened his eyes.
“You’re nice.”
“No.”
She smiled.
“Don’t ruin my reputation.”
He laughed.
And something inside her shifted.
