Chapter 102 102
EMILY
Zara had become my parents’ entire world.
From the moment we arrived at the mansion, they barely let her out of their sight. Every little thing she did, every word, every laugh felt like it mattered more than anything else in the room.
I stood at the entrance the first time we got there, my steps slowing as I took everything in. The house was massive, too perfect, too polished, and for a second, I genuinely thought the driver had brought us to the wrong place.
But he hadn’t.
“This is… yours?” I had asked quietly, turning to look at my mom. She only smiled, like it wasn’t something worth explaining. But damn! The place was like a castle.
Now we were on a private jet.
A private jet.
I sat back in the leather seat, my fingers resting loosely on the armrest as I stared ahead. I had always known my parents were comfortable, but this… this was something else entirely.
Something I didn’t understand.
Across from me, Zara sat between them, her small hands moving as she spoke excitedly. My dad leaned closer like she was telling him something important, while my mom nodded along with a soft smile on her face.
“Look at them,” I muttered under my breath.
Hazel followed my gaze and smiled faintly. “Of course,” she said. “She’s saying the most important thing in the world right now.”
I let out a quiet breath, leaning back slightly. “It doesn’t even matter what she’s saying,” I said. “They’re just… completely gone.”
Hazel glanced at me, her expression shifting slightly. “You don’t like it?” she asked gently.
I hesitated for a second, then shook my head. “No,” I said quickly. “It’s not that.”
But even as I said it, something about it didn’t sit right in my chest.
Hazel watched me for a moment longer before speaking again. “Are you rethinking your decision?” she asked.
I turned to her immediately, shaking my head again. “No,” I said, more firmly this time.
There was no hesitation in that answer.
I exhaled slowly, trying to ease the tightness in my chest. “It’s just… a lot,” I admitted.
Hazel nodded slightly, like she understood more than I was saying. Silence settled between us for a moment before something else crossed my mind.
“You know,” I said, turning to her, “you have the same name as someone I know.”
Hazel raised a brow slightly. “Really?”
I nodded. “Ryan’s cousin,” I said. “She was… really nice to me.”
Hazel’s expression shifted slightly at the name. “Ryan?” she repeated.
I nodded again, my gaze drifting briefly toward Zara before coming back to her. “Ryan is Zara’s father,” I said quietly. “The man in the hospital.”
“Oh,” Hazel said softly, her tone changing.
She studied me for a moment, like she was trying to piece things together. “Are you still together?” she asked carefully.
I shook my head. “No,” I said. “We’re divorced.”
There was a small pause.
“Oh,” she said again, a little more awkward this time.
I let out a small laugh, shaking my head. “You didn’t expect that, did you?”
Hazel gave a slight shrug. “Not really,” she admitted. “You don’t look like someone who’s been divorced.”
I smiled faintly at that, though it didn’t quite reach my eyes. “Yeah,” I said softly. “Well.”
She leaned back slightly, still watching me. “So what happened?” she asked. “How do you go from meeting someone to marriage to divorce that fast?”
I hesitated, my fingers curling slightly against the armrest. “We were high school sweethearts,” I said after a moment. “We just… decided to get married.”
Hazel let out a quiet scoff. “Let me guess,” she said. “He cheated.”
I shook my head slowly.
“I did.”
The words landed between us, heavier than anything else I had said.
Hazel blinked, clearly not expecting that. “Oh,” she said quietly.
I let out a small breath, looking away for a second. “You’re free to judge,” I added lightly, though my voice didn’t quite match the words.
Hazel shook her head almost immediately. “No,” she said. “I’m not doing that.”
I looked back at her, a little surprised.
“People don’t just do things for no reason,” she added. “There’s always more to it.”
I held her gaze for a moment, then looked away again, my chest tightening slightly. “Yeah,” I said softly. “There usually is, but they’re all excuses.”
Silence followed, but it wasn’t uncomfortable this time.
It just felt… heavy.
Hazel shifted slightly in her seat. “Do you feel okay talking about it?” she asked.
I shrugged lightly. “Not really,” I admitted.
She nodded, accepting that without pushing. “That’s fine,” she said.
I exhaled slowly, grateful for the shift. “What about you?” I asked, turning back to her. “What have you been doing all these years?”
Hazel smiled faintly. “I’m an artist,” she said. “A painter.”
I raised a brow slightly. “Really?”
She nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “It’s… the one thing that stuck.”
I smiled a little at that, something in my chest easing just slightly. “That’s actually really nice,” I said.
She shrugged lightly, but I could tell she appreciated it.
And just like that, the conversation shifted.
We talked about small things at first, then bigger ones, slowly filling in the gaps of the years we had lost. It wasn’t forced or heavy; it just flowed.
For a moment, it almost felt normal.
But every now and then, my eyes drifted back to Zara.
And to my parents.
And each time, that same feeling crept back in.
Something I couldn’t quite name.
Something that didn’t feel right.
I leaned my head back slightly, staring up at the ceiling of the jet. My phone sat switched off in my bag, untouched since we left.
I hadn’t turned it on.
I didn’t want to.
Because the moment I did, everything I had just walked away from would come rushing back.
Ryan.
The thought came uninvited, sharp and sudden.
I swallowed slightly, forcing it down.
No.
I had made my decision.
I closed my eyes briefly, steadying myself.
This was the right thing.
It had to be.
The slight shift of the plane pulled me out of my thoughts.
“We’re descending,” Hazel said softly beside me.
I opened my eyes, sitting up slightly as I glanced out the window. The city lights stretched endlessly below, bright and unfamiliar.
Hong Kong.
It didn’t feel real.
Hazel turned to me, her expression calm but searching. “We’re here,” she said.
I nodded slowly, my gaze still fixed outside. “Yeah,” I said quietly.
She studied me for a moment before asking, “Are you ready?”
The question lingered.
I didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, I looked past my reflection in the window, at the city waiting below. A place I didn’t know, a life I didn’t understand, and a future I hadn’t fully chosen.
Then, slowly, I nodded.
“Yeah,” I said.