SHE ONLY DID HER CLASSMATES’ HOMEWORK FOR MONEY—UNTIL ONE LOVE LETTER CHANGED EVERYTHING
Chapter 10
Two years later, Mia returned to Westbridge University as a guest speaker.
She had become a successful editor and writer.
Her books were being published.
Her essays had won awards.
But she still felt most comfortable in quiet libraries.
Jason was finishing graduate school.
They had grown together without becoming identical.
Mia was still introverted.
Still loved solitude.
Still hated loud parties.
But she no longer feared people.
She had friends.
Colleagues.
A life outside her work.
And she no longer charged people for every conversation.
During her speech, a student asked:
“How did you become such a good writer?”
Mia smiled.
“I learned to listen.”
Another student asked:
“Where do you get inspiration?”
Mia looked toward Jason sitting near the back.
“From people.”
The students laughed.
Mia continued.
“I used to think understanding people required studying them from a distance.”
“What changed?”
“I realized you have to let them get close enough to surprise you.”
After the speech, Jason approached her.
“You were good.”
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s true.”
They walked through campus together.
Mia stopped beneath the old oak tree.
“This is where we met.”
Jason smiled.
“No.”
“This is where you hired me.”
“Technically.”
“For homework.”
“And then a love letter.”
Mia laughed.
“I still can’t believe I agreed.”
“You changed my life.”
She looked at him.
“You changed mine.”
Jason took her hand.
“Would you do it again?”
“What?”
“Write the letter.”
Mia smiled.
“No.”
Jason looked surprised.
“Why?”
“Because this time, I would tell you myself.”
He smiled.
Mia leaned closer.
“I love you.”
Jason kissed her forehead.
“I love you too.”
The university bell rang in the distance.
Students crossed the courtyard.
People laughed.
Life continued.
Mia watched them.
She no longer felt like an outsider.
She wasn’t suddenly the most social person on campus.
She didn’t need to be.
She had learned that being quiet wasn’t the same as being alone.
And being vulnerable wasn’t the same as being weak.
Sometimes, the person who hides from the world isn’t waiting for the world to change.
They’re waiting for someone to show them that opening the door won’t always end in pain.
For Mia, that person had been Jason.
And it all began with a letter she had written for someone else.
