Amanda’s eyes widened in realization. “No, that’s not what I meant. I just mean… you’re not what he would expect. He has plans for me—plans that don’t include someone without connections.”

  Ryan’s jaw tightened. He had always known that there would be a point where the differences between them would come to light, but hearing her say it out loud still stung.

  “I love you,” he said firmly, taking her hand in his. “And I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that I’m worthy of you.”

  Amanda’s face softened, and she leaned in, pressing a kiss to his lips. “I love you too,” she whispered. “More than anything. I just… I don’t know how to face him.”

  “Then don’t,” Ryan said, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. “Not yet. We’ll figure it out when the time comes. But for now, let’s just enjoy what we have.”

  Amanda smiled, but there was still a flicker of doubt in her eyes. Ryan knew she was afraid—afraid of what her father would do, of the expectations he had set for her, of the life she was supposed to lead. But Ryan believed they could make it work. Love could conquer anything, right?

  The next few months were filled with moments of happiness, punctuated by fleeting whispers of tension. Amanda was always careful to keep her relationship with Ryan out of her family’s knowledge. She never invited him to her home, always met him away from the places her parents might frequent, and never once mentioned his name in conversations with her friends from high society.

  Ryan tried to ignore it. He told himself that she was just being cautious, that she wasn’t ashamed of him—just scared of her father. But the cracks in their relationship, small at first, began to grow wider.

  One night, everything changed.

  Ryan had just finished studying late at the library when he received a frantic text from Amanda.

  **Amanda:** *I need you. Now.*

  His heart raced as he bolted out of the library and ran toward the student dorms. He could feel something was wrong, something big. Amanda never sounded that desperate. When he arrived, he found her sitting on the steps of her dorm building, her face pale, her eyes red from crying.

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  “What happened?” Ryan asked, kneeling in front of her.

  She looked up at him, her lips trembling. “They found out. My father… he knows about us.”

  Ryan’s stomach dropped. “How?”

  “He had someone following me. He knew I was hiding something,” she said, her voice shaking. “He confronted me tonight. He said that if I don’t break it off with you, he’ll cut me off—completely. No money, no support, nothing.”

  Ryan swallowed hard. He had always feared this moment, but now that it was here, it felt like a punch to the gut. “What… what are you going to do?”

  Amanda looked at him, her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know, Ryan. I don’t know what to do.”

  “You love me,” he said softly, almost pleadingly. “Isn’t that enough?”

  She shook her head, her tears spilling over. “I do love you, but you don’t understand. My father… he controls everything. If I lose him, I lose my future. I lose everything I’ve worked for.”

  Ryan felt a surge of anger rise in his chest. “What about us? What about everything we’ve built together? You’re willing to throw that all away because of your father?”

  Amanda sobbed, burying her face in her hands. “I don’t want to. But I don’t know how to choose.”

  Ryan’s heart ached as he reached out, pulling her into his arms. He hated Harold Hargrave in that moment, hated him for the power he held over Amanda, for the way he manipulated her life like a puppet master pulling strings.

  “We’ll figure this out,” Ryan whispered, trying to hold back his own emotions. “I won’t let him tear us apart.”

  But even as he said the words, Ryan couldn’t shake the feeling that their relationship was slipping through his fingers, like sand in an hourglass running out of time.

  That night, as they held each other under the stars once again, Ryan knew the battle for Amanda’s heart had only just begun. The Hargraves were a powerful family, and they would stop at nothing to keep him out. But Ryan was willing to fight. He just didn’t know how much more it would cost him in the end.

  The next day after their emotional night, Ryan’s worst fears came true. Amanda's father, Harold Hargrave, summoned her to his office. Ryan knew the meeting would be tense, but he believed in Amanda’s love for him. He had to.

  Amanda stood in her father’s lavish office, a towering room of glass and steel overlooking the city skyline. The tension was thick in the air, her father’s expression stone-cold as he leaned back in his leather chair, fingers steepled, watching her with calculated eyes.

  “You’re ruining your life, Amanda,” Harold began, his voice measured and calm, though a storm brewed beneath the surface. “This boy—this *nobody*—he will drag you down. Everything I’ve worked for, the future I’ve built for you, will mean nothing if you choose him. You need to let him go before it’s too late.”

  Amanda clenched her fists, her stomach twisting in knots, but she wouldn’t back down. Not this time. She knew her father’s manipulative ways, how he controlled everything and everyone around him. He had dominated her life for far too long.

  “You can’t control who I love, Dad,” Amanda said through gritted teeth, though her voice shook slightly. “I’m not a puppet you can manipulate anymore.”

  Harold stood, his towering figure casting a shadow over her. “This isn’t about love, Amanda. It’s about your future, your status, your legacy. You have no idea what you’re throwing away.”

  “I know exactly what I’m doing,” Amanda shot back, her defiance growing. “And if you try to stop me, I’ll—”

  “You’ll what?” Harold sneered. “You think you can defy me? You’re just a girl playing at being independent. You don’t even know how the world works yet.”

  Tears of frustration welled up in Amanda’s eyes. She felt trapped, suffocated by her father’s overbearing presence. But then, in a moment of desperation, the words spilled out before she could stop them.

  “I’ll end it,” she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. “I’ll end everything if you don’t let me be with him.”

  Harold froze, the sneer fading from his face. For the first time, genuine concern flickered in his cold, calculating eyes.