Yes, Killian and I had been college classmates. He’d been captivated by me from the moment I sang at the freshman welcome party. He pursued me relentlessly, the heir of the Barnes Group of Companies, determined to win me over.
I, however, wanted no part of his privileged, gilded life. I rejected him more times than I could count.
But Killian was never one to give up easily. He pursued me relentlessly for four years, undeterred by my rejections. Finally, on the night of his senior year, he showed up at my door, drunk and vulnerable.
"Penelope," he pleaded, his voice cracking as tears streamed down his face, "please give me a chance. Let me stay by your side and love you the way you deserve. I swear, you’ll be the only woman I’ll ever cherish, the most beloved in my life."
Despite the disheveled state he was in—his nose running and tears mingling with the alcohol on his breath—his eyes held a sincerity that was impossible to ignore. They shone with a love so pure it made me pause.
And in that moment, I nodded. I said yes.