Ryan Alden entered the sophisticated, chandelier-adorned restaurant accompanied by his new girlfriend, Vanessa. He wore a meticulously tailored suit, while she held his arm, her silver dress gleaming in the ambient lighting.

“Ryan, this place is perfect,” Vanessa said, smiling as they were led to their reserved table.

Ryan surveyed the surroundings with pride. Now he could easily afford that kind of place: one of the most exclusive restaurants in the city.

However, as he sat down, his attention was fixed on a person across the room. A waitress, wearing a simple beige apron, moved silently between the tables, skillfully balancing plates. Her face was in half profile, but when she looked up briefly, Ryan’s breath caught.

No… it couldn’t be.

“Ryan? Are you okay?” Vanessa asked, noticing his sudden stillness.

He blinked, forcing a smile.
“Yeah, just… I thought I recognized someone.”

But it was her. Anna.

His ex-wife. The woman he’d divorced five years earlier, when he decided to pursue bigger dreams… dreams that effectively turned into millions, luxury cars, and high-rise apartments.

Anna looked thinner now, her hair tied back tightly. She didn’t notice him, or perhaps she pretended not to. She simply placed plates on a nearby table, nodded politely to the customers, and left.

Vanessa talked about her upcoming photoshoot, unaware that Ryan wasn’t listening. Her mind kept racing.

Why do you work here? You were supposed to be in a better position. You always said you wanted to teach. You were smart. You had potential.

As he watched her take an order at another table, he noticed something in her posture: a quiet tiredness, the kind that comes not just from a long shift, but from years of carrying a weight alone.

Later that night…

Ryan excused himself to go to the bathroom, but instead of returning to the table, he lingered near the kitchen door.

Anna came out with a tray of glasses.

“Anna?” he asked softly.

She froze. She slowly turned her head. Her eyes widened briefly, but then returned to a polite neutrality.
“Ryan.”

—Do you work here?

“Yes,” she replied succinctly. “Do you need anything? I’m busy.”

He flinched at her cold tone.
“I didn’t expect to find you here. I thought you’d be teaching by now, or…”

“Life doesn’t always go as planned, Ryan,” she said softly, glancing toward the dining room. “I have tables to wait on.”

—Anna, wait. I… I didn’t know you were having trouble.

She gave a bitter laugh.
“You didn’t know a lot of things. You were too busy building your empire to realize what I sacrificed for you.”

Ryan’s chest tightened.
“What do you mean?”

But she didn’t answer. She turned and walked back into the kitchen, leaving him in the hallway tormented by a question he’d never considered before: What had she sacrificed for him?

Ryan returned to his table, but he could no longer focus on Vanessa’s words. All that echoed in his mind was Anna’s words: “You were too busy building your empire to realize what I was sacrificing for you.”

That night, after driving Vanessa home, Ryan couldn’t stop thinking about it. For years, he’d convinced himself that his divorce from Anna had been mutual, that she, too, wanted a different life. He never stopped to consider the difficulties she faced while he pursued success.

The next day, Ryan returned to the restaurant alone.

Anna was there, adjusting her apron when he walked in. She tensed at the sight.

“What do you want, Ryan?” he asked harshly.

“I just want to understand,” he said. “What did you mean yesterday? What did you sacrifice for me?”

Anna hesitated, her eyes betraying a pain she didn’t want to show.
“You don’t need to know. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“It does matter,” Ryan insisted. “I beg you, Anna. I need to hear it.”

For a moment, it seemed as though he might leave. But something in his tone, or perhaps the weariness of keeping this secret, made her hesitate. She gestured to an empty chair.

—You have five minutes.

Ryan sat down, his heart racing.

Anna took a deep breath.
“Remember your first startup? That business that almost failed before it even began.”

He nodded slowly.
“Sure. I was up to my neck in debt. I thought I’d lose everything.”

“And you would have lost it,” Anna said gently. “But I didn’t allow it. I sold my grandmother’s house, the only inheritance I had, and gave you that money. I told you it was a loan. You never asked any questions.”

Ryan felt a knot in his stomach.
“Did you give me everything you had?”

“Yes,” she continued, her voice firm but laced with pain. “When the bills piled up, I worked extra shifts and took jobs no one wanted so you could pursue your dreams. Sometimes I skipped meals so I could pay your suppliers. I put your future before my own.”

Ryan felt like the air was being ripped from his lungs.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Because you were so sure of yourself,” he replied bitterly. “So determined to succeed, that I didn’t want to be the obstacle that held you back. And when you started making real money, you changed. You stopped coming home. You stopped seeing me. One day you told me you needed to focus on your future, and I wasn’t in that future anymore.”

Ryan remembered the night he’d said those words. At the time, he’d convinced himself it was for the best. Now they sounded cruel.

Anna looked away.
“After you left, I continued paying your debts because my name was on all the documents. I couldn’t finish my studies. I took any job available: cleaning, waiting tables, whatever I could get by.”

Ryan felt a pain in his chest.
“Anna… I didn’t know. I swear, I didn’t know.”

She gave a sad laugh.
“Of course not. You were too busy becoming the man you are today.”

Ryan leaned forward.
“Let me help you now. Let me fix this.”

Anna shook her head.
“I don’t want your money, Ryan. I want you to understand that your success didn’t come for free. Someone paid for it, and that someone was me.”

A prolonged silence enveloped them.

“Do you hate me?” Ryan asked quietly.

Anna hesitated.
“No, I don’t hate you. I once loved you too much to hate you completely. But I don’t trust you. I won’t go back to being the woman who sacrificed everything for a man who never valued her.”

Ryan swallowed.
“I don’t expect your immediate forgiveness. May I help you carry your burden? Not out of pity, but out of gratitude.”

Anna watched him for a long moment before answering softly,
“If you really mean it, don’t write a check. Do something that means something.”

Ryan nodded.
“Tell me what’s important to you right now.”

She looked around the restaurant.
“There’s a scholarship fund here for employees who want to continue their studies. I’ve been saving up to apply. If you really want to help, contribute to that fund. It helps not just me, but many others.”

Ryan felt a lump in his throat.
“I will. And I will make sure you get the opportunity you gave up for me.”

Anna gave him a small, tired smile.
“Thank you. That’s all I ever wanted.”