13
398words
On a whim, I read for a while.
I didn't expect my birthday to unlock her phone.
That's how I learned about their game.
I knew Nathan lost her favor by failing the challenge.
So I couldn't lose.
With Emily's generosity, if I gave up$500 million, she'd give me far more.
I played the" money means nothing" card, fully earning her trust.
How laughable. A group of rich kids toying with emotions, naming their chat" His True Heart."
True heart? How much is that worth?
Money is what matters.
Money brings security, confidence, power, choice.
On the way home, I buy myself a sophisticated outfit.
It'll come in handy when I start at the company next week.
Yesterday, Mr.Harper rewarded me with a role managing a subsidiary.
Passing a toy store, I got Lily the LEGO bear she'd wanted.
I ponder how to explain that" Mommy" is now" Auntie."
Lily accepts it calmly." It's okay. Mommy's a traitor, right? She chose Uncle Nathan over me. Then she didn't choose Daddy either. So Mommy's not my most important person—Daddy is. And I'm Daddy's most important person."
I didn't expect a four-year-old to say this. I crouch, hugging her tightly.
I'll make Lily a true princess, paving her path with gold.
Emily's heartbroken.
She holes up in her villa, then lingers outside Crestwood Heights for hours.
Eventually, she goes back to her parents' estate.
Her parents are sunbathing in the yard.
She heads to the second floor and enters James's old room.
She lies on his bed, sleeping.
She'll stay here for a while.
When she wakes up, she opens his drawers. Not much inside.
His elementary school eraser, high school glasses, a ring from a summer job.
And several diaries.
She reads them, one by one.
Childhood memories make her smile.
Gradually, James's diaries turn into love letters, filled with a boy's secret crush on his older sister.
The more Emily reads, the more her vision blurs.
The last page has one line:
James loves Emily. Will Emily ever love James?
It's as if 18 - year - old James is asking 28 - year - old Emily across time.
She instinctively reaches for a pen to write her answer, but realizes she doesn't have one.
She checks the other drawers.
No pen there either.
