Chapter 15 The Law Of Karma
"I really don't get why you're pushing me to talk to her. Can't you see how odd that is? You two had a thing—"
"No, we didn't. We just had a fling." As he poured himself a drink, Scott corrected his statement. He had reached out to Ezra that evening, so they had a meeting planned. He genuinely thought he could persuade him since it was about Heather.
Ezra sighed. "That's just another reason I don't want to keep being her friend. Being friends with Heather Walls is just too hard. She's the type of woman who makes you crave more. She's the type of woman who makes you regret not having her around. I don’t want to feel that way anymore, so I refuse to be her friend." He finished his drink and grabbed the nearby newspaper. Ezra opened it and saw Heather's picture. He groaned and placed the paper back on the table. "She's everywhere!"
Scott chuckled. "You still have feelings for her, huh?"
Ezra turned his gaze toward him. His friend knew him too well. He let out a sigh, his voice dropping as he leaned back in the chair. He had to admit it. “I can’t imagine a day when I don’t.” They would still be together if she hadn’t betrayed him.
He stood from his chair and checked his watch. “I need to go. Mom said Winter will be visiting for a few days.”
Scott nodded. Ezra grabbed his car keys and left. Once Scott was sure Ezra was gone, he took out his phone and texted Heather.
“He still has feelings for you. When he gives you another chance, don’t ruin it this time. And that includes resisting if I ever try to tempt you again. I’ve already hurt my friend too much.”
Emma spotted Zoella when she peeked through the door. Zoella was seated with a book in front of her, drawing with a crayon in her hand. She was so cute that Emma couldn't help but smile.
“Are you planning to go inside, or are you just going to stand here and smile at her?”
Emma let out a sigh and turned to Phoebe. "She's just so unbelievably cute. I can't help it."
"Just remember the real reason we came here. You can’t get too attached to her."
Emma turned back to look at Zoella again. "I've been thinking about what the matron said about where Zoe will stay. I need to get an apartment before she comes to stay with me.”
"I know you’d say that, but there's no need to worry. You can stay at my place. My family won't be around anymore."
Emma gasped. "What about you? Where will you stay?" She shook her head. "Phoebe, I really don’t want to add to your stress."
"You're not stressing anyone." She took a deep breath. "I need to find Jones. We haven't talked in three years. If my plan works, you staying at my parents' house will be fine."
"Thanks, Phoebe." Emma hugged her tightly. After letting go, she opened the door fully and stepped inside.
Zoella looked up and saw a new face coming toward her. Emma looked calm and gentle as she took a seat beside the young girl.
"What are you drawing?" Emma exclaimed when she saw Zoella's artwork. She turned to Zoella. "This is amazing, especially for your age!"
"Who are you?" Zoella asked with quiet curiosity. Her voice was low, almost sad, and she gave Emma a sharp look—as if she could see right through her.
Emma smiled as she introduced herself. "I'm Emma. And I know your name. Zoella."
She wasn’t shocked that this beautiful lady knew her name. Emma wasn’t the first person who had visited. "People here call me Zoe," she said, her voice was flat, and her expression was still unreadable, before returning to her sketch.
Emma nodded. "So, why aren’t you with your friends? Why are you here by yourself?"
Zoella lifted her head to look at Emma again. She breathed in slowly and turned her eyes to the window, exhaling sharp. "Hmm. They like things that don’t interest me."
"What do you mean?"
"I like staying here and drawing. They prefer playing outside."
"Oh, I like being indoors too. We’re a great match."
Zoe put down her crayon. "The fact that you’re talking to me here means two things," she said, looking straight into Emma’s eyes with her two tiny little fingers up.
"And what are those two things?"
She raised her index finger. "One: You seem to like my hairstyle." The beads on her hair clicked as she shook her head. She had a single braid falling down her shoulder, finished with tiny heart-shaped beads that gave her the sweetest, innocent charm. "Two: I think you want me to go with you. Which one is it?"
Emma opened her mouth to reply but paused. She was trying to find the right words. Was it too early to tell her she wanted to adopt her? Should she wait until the Matron gave permission?
"Your pause tells me the second option is the right one," Zoe said quietly. "A family came a month ago. They did not want to take me after they saw I stayed here instead of playing with the other kids."
"What?” Emma was taken aback. But a part of her was glad they didn’t. If they did, finding someone like Zoe who looked like her would be difficult. Heaven was clearly on her side. “That’s their loss,” she said.
"I don’t want to trust you too quickly. You seem like a nice person." If only Zoe knew the real reason she was there. It would break her. Emma couldn’t imagine Zoe finding out the truth one day. She didn’t want to see the happiness leave the child’s face.
"You know what? You are the sweetest person I’ve ever met." Emma cupped Zoe’s face and gently played with her cheeks. "I would be so happy to have someone like you live with me. There’s just one more thing I want to talk about."
"What’s that?"
Emma let out a soft sigh. "When the time is right, I’ll tell you."
Emma felt like shouting with joy. It had been so long since she felt this happy. She held onto Phoebe tightly as they walked to the bus stop. The Matron had given them a date for when Zoe would visit Emma’s home for inspection before she could be released to her.
"This will be done in three weeks," Phoebe said as they got on the bus. She pulled her apartment key from her bag and handed it to Emma. "You need to move in tomorrow and decorate it however you want. That way, you can convince the Matron that Zoella belongs with you."
"She’s so smart. I feel terrible bringing her into this."
"Once she learns that Ezra is her father and you are her mother, she’ll understand more."
Emma shot Phoebe a sharp look. "You can't be serious."
Phoebe nodded. "It’s the only thing that will work. She will feel hurt if she thinks you both left her, and Ezra will have no choice but to accept her."
"It’s also risky. She might feel betrayed when she realizes I lied to her and used her for my own problems, and that I wasn’t really her mother."
"To succeed, you have to be tough. If you’re too soft, people will keep taking advantage of you. Just like Ezra didn’t believe you when you said you didn’t ruin that dress."
"That’s different." Emma frowned. Deep down, she knew who had ruined it. She had suspected. She was the last to leave the office, but only Bea held a grudge against her. Bea didn’t like her and had tried to get her fired the moment she found out she would be working as a Level Six.
Emma held the key tightly in her grasp. After a tiring day, she needed to consider how to rearrange Phoebe’s flat to gain the Matron’s approval. She leaned her head on Phoebe’s shoulder. “He didn’t believe me, and honestly, I can’t blame him. He spoke to me in a way that I deserved. It’s the law of karma, after all. Because I lied to him, karma is punishing me as it sees fit.”
Emma glanced up and noticed Phoebe’s expression, then Phoebe began to laugh. “Wow. I had no idea it was that deep.”
Emma frown furrowed. “Can’t you see what’s happening? This game has been in play since I lied three years ago. Karma has been dealing with me. I ran into Ezra again. I can’t escape this chaos. Karma will continue to be a pain, and it will keep punishing me even after the game ends.”