“Tell her I’m unavailable,” I said. “And remind security the campus ban applies to the family of expelled students. If she refuses to leave, contact the authorities.”
“Yes, Headmaster.”
I picked up my pen and signed the scholarship approval.
“Congratulations,” I whispered, imagining the girl’s future unfolding like a door finally opening.
They had called me useless. A waste of space. A woman with nothing to offer but apology.
But sitting there, with my daughter safe and my time finally belonging to me, I understood the simplest truth:
I hadn’t wasted a dime.
I had just stopped investing in the wrong people.
