Maya’s voice wavered, but she pressed on. “It was only supposed to be a quick grocery run… but that night changed everything. No relatives stepped in from my dad’s side, and as for my mom… we never met anyone. She never wanted to talk about it, and I never asked.”
She swallowed hard, pausing, hands clenched in her lap. “Since I was of legal age, I took full custody of Jaime. Thankfully, my parents had a good insurance policy, which kept us afloat… until Jaime got sick. He was diagnosed with a heart condition. The hospital bills piled up, and I had to drop out of school to work full time. Eventually, I had no choice but to sell our home.”
Maya’s gaze drifted briefly, distant, before returning to Dahlia. “Two years ago, I got another scholarship. I took it, even though balancing everything
