sometimes let my mind drift back. Back to USC,

was a scholarship kid from a no-name town, studying finance and computer science, obsessed

perfect. We were ju

amily. I thought it was just a formality. I

to old-money Texas power. Oil, real estate, and their crown jewel, a tr

der brothers, William and James, were the worst. They circled

father do?" William asked

hanic," I ans

e word out as if it were a disease. "And

y clothes, my background, my ambitions. Jocelyn tried to defend me, but they

mense. They saw me as a threat, a low-class gold-digger who would tarnish their preci

arable. I was ready to walk away, to save he

e producer, came up

t, her face pale and determined. "They'll destroy tha

er to our children. I would manage the household, raise our kids, and endure the public role she

shielding me, turning their insults into a job description, their cont

I saw an opportunity. The capital she offered wasn't just a salary; it w

n," I was using their own money to build the

the love in her eyes slowly fade, replaced by the cold

shadows. The erosion of our love was the price.