She Hired the Poor Scholarship Student to Save Her Grades — Then She Fell for the One Guy She Was Afraid to Love
Chapter 12
Months later, Ethan returned for spring semester.
Madison saw him across campus.
He looked more confident.
More mature.
And still somehow familiar.
She ran toward him.
He caught her.
“I missed you.”
“Too much.”
“I know.”
They laughed.
Then Ethan handed her an envelope.
“What is this?”
“Open it.”
Inside was a photograph.
His mother.
His sister.
Madison.
Everyone was sitting around a table during a family dinner she remembered from a video call.
On the back, Ethan had written:
Home isn’t where I came from. It’s where I feel like I belong.
Madison looked up.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“You love me.”
“Unfortunately.”
He smiled.
“Good.”
They spent the afternoon walking across campus.
For the first time, Madison realized something.
She had once been afraid that loving Ethan would cost her reputation.
Instead, loving him had changed who she wanted to be.
