Chapter 1958

I wasn't someone who liked talking about the past. In fact, I didn't talk much at all. There have been only three truly important people in my life—Zion, Liam, and Joanna. The first two gave me a second chance at life. Joanna, however, gave me a new beginning. At first, I stayed by Joanna's side simply to survive. I played on her kindness, used her sympathy as a lifeline, and managed to stay in the countryside long enough to recover. During those difficult days with her, I gradually came to understand how much determination it must have taken for her to keep me there. But she wasn't the type to talk about hardship. Joanna was cold-hearted, detached, utterly ruthless—a natural-born capitalist. Her philosophy was simple. "Suffer through the worst to stand above the rest." She had another philosophy, an even harsher one. "If I've been drenched in the rain, no one else deserves an umbrella." She refused to acknowledge other people's suffering because, to her, it simply wasn't h