The price of promise

The Price of Promise

The rain had not stopped for days, but inside their one-room apartment, the silence was heavier than the storm. Daniel sat on the bed, head buried in his hand s, surrounded by a pile of rejection letters. Four years after graduating, four years of searching, yet nothing.

“I’m tired, Ada,” he muttered, his voice cracking. “Everywhere I go, they look at me like I’m nothing. I can’t keep doing this.”

Ada’s heart broke at the sight of him. She had carried them for so long — taking small jobs, skipping meals, hiding her tears. She knelt beside him, pressing his hand to her chest. “You’re not nothing, Daniel. You’re brilliant. The world just hasn’t seen it yet.”

But as she spoke, a thought gnawed at her. Earlier that week she had heard about a vacancy at Williams & Co., one of the biggest firms in the city. The position matched Daniel’s skills perfectly. But everyone knew Mr. Williams, the CEO, and his reputation. He rarely gave jobs without taking something in return.

Ada told herself she wouldn’t go. But that night, when Daniel broke down again, whispering that he felt useless, her resolve crumbled. She decided: If the world won’t give him a chance, then I will carve one for him.

The next day, Ada walked into Williams’ office. He didn’t waste time. His eyes told her everything before his words did. “You want the job for your boyfriend?” he asked with a smirk. “Then you know what it will cost.”

Her stomach twisted, shame burning through her veins. She wanted to run, to scream, to spit in his face. But she saw Daniel’s face in her mind — tired, broken, desperate. For his future, for their survival, she closed her eyes and gave in.

That night, Daniel came home with the brightest smile she’d seen in years. “Ada! They called me! I got the job!” He lifted her into his arms, laughing, crying, thanking God, thanking her. Ada forced a smile, swallowing her tears. The wound inside her was too deep to show.

Weeks passed. Daniel thrived at work, but Ada grew quieter. Whenever Mr. Williams’ name came up, her heart raced. Daniel noticed, but brushed it off — until one night.

He returned home late, drunk with anger, after hearing a colleague whisper about “how Daniel’s woman paid for his job.” At first, he didn’t believe it. But the details were too sharp, too cruel, too close to the truth. He confronted Ada.

“Tell me it’s a lie, Ada. Tell me you didn’t… tell me you didn’t do this.”

Ada froze. Tears filled her eyes. She tried to speak, but no words came. At last, she whispered, “I did it for you, Daniel. I couldn’t watch you suffer anymore.”

His face twisted with rage. “For me? You sold yourself — for me? Do you think I can live with that? That every time I step into that office, I’ll remember what you did?”

Ada sobbed. “I did it because I love you! Because you were drowning, and I couldn’t let you sink! What was I supposed to do, Daniel — watch you waste away while I had the power to save you?”

Their voices rose, clashing like thunder. He called it betrayal; she called it sacrifice. He saw shame; she saw love. The room shook with their pain, neither side giving in.

Finally, Daniel turned away, tears streaming down his face. “You killed us, Ada. You killed everything we had.”

Ada stood in the doorway, trembling, broken. “No, Daniel. Poverty killed us. I only tried to fight it. But love was never enough, was it?”

The silence that followed was heavier than the storm outside. Daniel left the room, leaving Ada crumpled on the floor, her sobs echoing against the peeling walls.

And so, the job that was meant to save them became the fire that burned them apart.

Because love, no matter how fierce, sometimes cannot bear the price of a promise.