“A party?”

Hope Newton furrowed her brows. Back in school, her classmates never invited her to gatherings.

She was beautiful, but her lowly background made her invisible despite her efforts to stay unnoticed. Some students, jealous of her looks, would ostracize her or whisper behind her back.

So outside of class and the dorm, she spent nearly all her time working or searching for her family.

When there were class dinners or events, she was always left out.

The first time it happened, she had innocently asked why she wasn’t invited.

The answer had stung:

“You’re so busy, we didn’t want to bother you. Focus on earning your tuition, don’t...