Love's Winding Road

The noise of students greeted Yana's ears as she stepped out of the registrar's office. She had known since last year that the dean's list full scholarship at her school would be reduced to half, but she was surprised to learn that the tuition fee was still substantial even at half.

She didn't tell her mother about it because her mom would likely work overtime again at the clothing shop when she found out. Instead, she would find a way to survive for food and condo rent since she had already paid for everything with her tuition.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized she only had $200 left, and she needed to make it last for two weeks. She knew she needed to find a side job as soon as possible, or else she would go hungry.

Yana!" she heard a call from behind. It was Mitch, her friend and dormmate.

"Hi, Mitch," she greeted, her voice tinged. "Have you enrolled?"

"Yeah, it's done," Mitch replied, concern evident in her eyes. "But I won't be heading straight back to the dorm. I have somewhere to go. Hmm, are you okay?". she asked, her voice filled with genuine concern for her friend.

I'm doing fine, Mitch," Yana responded modestly. "Hmm, let's have dinner together with Butch later. I've got plenty of food from my place, sent by my mom."

Mitch let out a gentle laugh. "Of course, Yana, that sounds like a plan for dinner. Just remember, I'm here to support you, okay?"

She smiled, realizing the value of accepting help from her friends. "Thanks, Mitch. This means a lot to me.

Mitch was someone she could describe as a fun and cheerful person, completely opposite to her somewhat serious demeanor and introverted nature. Mitch was a Psychology student, the same level as hers in the 3rd year of college. They were quite similar, both focused on their studies. The only difference was that Mitch was a bit more outgoing and friendly towards everyone. But overall, she was a good influence on her.

After their exchange of greetings, Mitch left and bid farewell.

On the other hand, she remained on campus, with no immediate plans to head back to her dorm. Knowing she would be alone there, she decided to stay and reflect for a while.

She sat down on a bench on campus and reflected. She looked around, and everyone seemed busy with their parents preparing for the upcoming school year.

She felt a twinge of envy because even though they were already in college, they still got to have their parents accompany them to school. In her case, it was just her and her mom at home, and her mom was quite busy with their small business, so she often had to walk to school alone even back when she was in high school.

She is an only child raised by her parents, but now, only her mother takes care of her because her father left for another woman when she was just 11 years old. News has it that the woman her father left with already has two children of her own.

Before her father left, he told her his address and said that she should visit him if she ever needed anything. He loved her dearly, and she couldn't understand why he would leave her and her mom behind.

One day, she visited the house her father had given as his new address and was amazed by the vastness of the surroundings. She felt a twinge of envy, even though their own house was quite large, it wasn't like the one her father's new family had. She had lived like a princess since her childhood, with her father granting her every wish. This was because her father had an architectural firm, and he used to take her to his company when she was young.Her father was also a skilled and successful architect before he became a business owner of a firm .Maybe she inherited to him her passion for design, which is why she chose to pursue architecture as her course of study.

She could still see and talk to her father every time she visited him. He even invited her to enter the mansion and dine with her new step-siblings, and step mom which she decline. Besides not being interested in getting to know his new family, she also felt a pang of resentment towards them for taking her father away.

Yana made numerous attempts to communicate with her father and visited both his mansion and his workplace in hopes of persuading him to return home. Despite frequently witnessing her mother's sadness and discreet tears, Yana persisted, almost pleading with her father. However, his decision to abandon them remained firm.

Days and months passed, and her father still didn't come home. It was incredibly heartbreaking that he could bear leaving them like that. He would call on the phone, looking for her, but she couldn't bring herself to answer because what she wanted was for him to come back home to them, but he still hadn't returned.

That's why her mother decided that they should move away and avoid any contact with her father to move on and start anew. They sold the house they were living in because it was registered in Yana's name. They settled in Garfield County, which was a 6-hour drive from Seattle.

Her mother bought a small house and a small clothing shop in Garfield County using the money they got from selling their house in Seattle. Their life was good for a few years, but their savings from the property sales slowly dwindled. This happened because her mother developed a heart condition, and she was frequently hospitalized. However, she's doing better now and managing her condition with the necessary medications.

But when she entered college, she had to return to Seattle because most of the college schools were there, and she also received a scholarship from a prestigious University in Seattle. She knew that Seattle was a big place, and the chances of crossing paths with her father were slim. Her mother stayed in Garfield and managed their small shop.

Maybe her father won't be able to find her anymore because she changed her surname. She used her mother's maiden name from when she was still single. Although her father and mother weren't married, Yana still used her father's last name back then. So, she pleaded with her mother to remove her surname and change it.

Yana removed her glasses and let her gaze wander around. All she could see was blurriness in her surroundings. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, so she wiped them away.

She knew she shouldn't be thinking about her father anymore, as she had long forgotten and erased him from her mind. But every time she saw her mother struggling financially, she couldn't help but think of her father.

How is her father doing now? Does he still remember her? The last news she heard was that his firm had boomed and expanded.

They haven't had any contact with her father for 7 years, even though she's been in Seattle for 3 years now, and her residence is close to her father's firm. She had no intention of seeking help from him; she resented him for abandoning them.

She let out a sigh. She would rather endure financial hardships than seek his assistance.

She wiped away her tears. She was still sitting on a bench on campus, not realizing that she had been lost in thought for an hour, reflecting on her past.

"It seems like we have deep thoughts, huh!"

She heard a familiar voice from her side. She turned her gaze towards the one speaking, and she saw none other than Kiel, Kiel Montenegro, a fourth-year engineering student and the leader of engineering clubs.

He sat on the opposite bench with his gang consisting of four individuals. One of them is someone she knows, who used to court her. His name is Tristan, and he happens to be Butch's cousin.

Yana felt somewhat awkward. She had a long-standing crush on the handsome Kiel but never revealed it because she knew the chances of him liking her back were slim.

He was good-looking and intelligent, with a hint of humor, but he had a reputation as a bit of a womanizer. She often spotted him on campus with various attractive women, and she had secretly been hurt by it a few times. She couldn't fathom why, among all the guys, she had developed feelings for Kiel, who had quite the reputation as a womanizer.

She didn't respond to Kiel. Instead, she swiftly took the bag beside her and hurriedly left, almost stumbling in her haste, which only deepened her embarrassment.