She taught her classes and slowly started living again. The kids brought her dandelions and apples, colorful pictures of their house, family or pets. She reminded herself that this is what was really important. Several times the first week, she had messages from Mark. But she didn’t want to have anything to do with him, or any man for that matter. She was done with men! They were either selfish, self-centered men who didn’t really want her, or they were arrogant swines who thought they could buy everything on the planet. Neither appealed to her. So she dove into her work, resigning from the restaurant now that she didn’t have to save for a wedding she didn’t want and cleaned her apartment every day until it shined. It took a great deal of perseverance but she finally made it through the week. And each time she started thinking about Kalil and the way he made her feel, she pushed those thoughts out of her mind. It was pointless and humiliating. She would not be any man’s ….she couldn’t even finish the thought, too embarrassed that he thought he could pay her off with a silly trinket and money.