Her voice was so quiet it barely carried across the table, as if she were talking about the weather.

"But I want you to get that money."

I stared at her.

"So, what? You're planning to sleep with me?"

"And the next day, photos of us end up circulating through every elite circle in Bayport."

Cordelia said nothing. She just stirred her coffee with one finger tracing slow circles around the rim of the spoon.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. My voice came out loud enough to turn heads.

"Cordelia, have you lost your mind?"

"My mom's surgery, I'll figure it out myself. I don't need your charity!"

She raised her head slowly. When she spoke, there wasn't a trace of hesitation.

"No. This isn't charity. This is my choice."

"Between being in bed with an old man and being in bed with you, you're the more attractive option."

"After all, you're the top-earning host, aren't you?"

I sucked in a breath and forced myself to calm down.

"We were classmates, fine, but you don't have to go this far for me!"

Cordelia looked at me as though this was a decision she had made long before I walked through the door.

"Tristan, I already told you. This is my choice."

"As for why, that's my business. You don't need to know the reason."

"But..."

I still couldn't accept sleeping with a woman I'd known for less than an hour. Even if she was the girl I once had a crush on. The prettiest girl in our class.

"There are no buts. Do you have another way out?"

I didn't.

If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here.

When I said nothing, Cordelia smiled faintly and pulled a key card from her purse.

"Tonight at eight. The Hilton. Room 888."

"Whether you show up is entirely up to you."

She flagged down a server and paid the bill.

"Cordelia!"

The name left my mouth before I could stop it.

She paused mid-step but didn't turn around.

I stared at her back and asked the only question that mattered.

"I need to know. Why are you helping me?"

Her body gave a small tremor, and when she spoke, her voice was thick with something she was trying to swallow down.

"It's not the right time."

After I left the café, I went straight to the hospital and paid off the remaining balance on my mother's account.

The attending physician pulled me aside. The surgery couldn't wait any longer, he said. Any more delays and we'd be risking her life.