From "Wasted, Redeemed" a short story in "The Trio" by Alyse Bingham

She stared at the empty hourglass, asking herself when the bits of sand had joined the others at the bottom. Her eyes ceased to focus on the device and she lost herself in reflection.

An hour – wasted.

One hour was the least of things she had allowed to slip through her malcontented fingers. She had been given a chance for an excellent education, but had declined it less than gracefully.

A mind – wasted.

Finding herself destitute after nigh a year, she had thrown herself at the richest man she could find. But despite the riches and quirks that came with her position, she felt perpetually filthy, eternally tainted.

A soul – wasted.

After her initial rise to the status of near celebrity, the inevitable happened, as she knew it would: she was cast out . . . and replaced. Marred and jaded, she was passed from man to man, her wealth and health deteriorating and fragmenting along the way.

A lifetime – wasted.

But then, she saw him.