Chapter 1 #2
“Your suspicion was correct,” he added. “Mr. Harold Graves is indeed the same man.”
For a second, Emma didn’t move.
Then her eyes widened.
She quickly snatched the tablet from Lloyd’s hands, her fingers tightening around the edges.
Memories she had tried to bury clawed their way back to the surface.
“Thank you. You can leave now,” she said dismissively, not even looking at him. Her full attention was already locked on the screen.
Lloyd nodded, then quietly stepped out of the office.
The moment Sophia heard Harold’s name, her fingers froze over the keyboard.
She closed the laptop and stood up abruptly, the sudden movement drawing Emma’s attention for a split second.
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
Sophia moved around the desk and bent slightly beside Emma’s chair, bracing one hand against the edge of the desk as she leaned closer to the screen.
The video began to play.
The footage was grainy, slightly blurred by time. The colors were dull, almost washed out. It was clearly from years ago.
On the screen, a much younger Emma appeared—only seventeen. She was sitting on the steps of a house, her shoulders slumped, her face pale and tear-streaked.
Behind her, the background was chaotic.
People dressed in black moved in and out of the frame. Some were speaking in hushed tones. Some were wiping tears. White funeral flowers lined the entrance. The wind stirred the black ribbons tied to the gate.
Even without sound, the atmosphere was heavy.
Sophia frowned. “What is going on?” she asked quietly, her gaze shifting between Emma and the screen.
Emma lifted her hand slightly, not looking at her. “Wait,” she said softly.
Sophia fell silent.
On the screen, young Emma lowered her head into her hands.
Her shoulders were shaking.
Then—
A boy stepped into the frame. He hesitated for only a second before sitting beside Emma on the stairs.
He said something.
The video had no sound, but his lips moved carefully, slowly, as if choosing his words.
Young Emma looked at him—and then broke down completely.
The boy wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her gently toward him. He patted her back awkwardly but tenderly, saying something that the video couldn’t capture.
But even without audio, the familiarity of that face struck Sophia like lightning.
Sophia leaned closer to the screen, her eyes narrowing.
Something about the boy’s face… the sharp jawline even at that age, the familiar brow—
“That’s…” she whispered.
She looked closer, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“Harold?”
“What is going on? What am I looking at?” Sophia asked, confusion spreading across her face as she turned to Emma.
Emma paused the video and placed the tablet back on the desk. Then she turned her chair fully to face Sophia.
“Sophia,” she said quietly, her voice low and sincere. “This is footage from my grandpa’s funeral.”
Sophia’s face changed immediately.
“You know how attached I was to him, right?” Emma continued, her fingers intertwining in her lap.
“I know,” Sophia nodded gently. “You wouldn’t go a single day without seeing him.
Even when he moved to the other house, you went every evening just to visit.
You dragged me along half the time.” A faint smile tugged at her lips.
“I still remember how Grandpa used to take us to that cute café every Sunday. He always ordered too many pastries.”
Her eyes glistened slightly.
“I miss him too.”
Emma swallowed.
“At that time,” she continued, her gaze drifting briefly toward the paused screen, “you weren’t in the city when Grandpa passed away.”
She drew in a slow breath.
“I was all alone. Do you remember I told you that I met a very nice boy that day? Someone who helped me?”
A faint memory surfaced in Sophia’s mind.
Before Sophia could answer, Emma continued. Her voice trembled slightly.
“It was him. Harold.”
Sophia stilled.
Emma’s fingers tightened together in her lap as she spoke.
“That day was… unbearable,” she said quietly. “You weren’t there. Everyone was busy with the funeral arrangements. There were flowers everywhere. Condolences. Noise.”
Her lips pressed together.
“But I felt like I was drowning.”
Her eyes glistened as she stared at her younger self frozen on the screen.
“It was the first death in my family that I had ever experienced. I didn’t know how to process it. I felt so sad… so shocked. It was like something heavy was sitting on my chest, crushing me.”
Her voice grew softer.
“And then he came.”
Sophia listened without interrupting.
“He saw me sitting there alone. He didn’t ask too many questions. He just sat beside me.” A faint, trembling smile touched Emma’s lips. “He spoke so gently. I don’t even remember what he said… but I remember how he said it.”
She swallowed.
“And then he hugged me.”
Tears gathered in her eyes, though she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand, letting out a small embarrassed laugh.
“It was like someone had lifted that storm off my chest.”
She shook her head slightly, almost in disbelief at her younger self.
“I still remember the first thought that crossed my mind when he sat down next to me.” She laughed softly through her tears. “I thought… he’s so cute. My heart skipped a beat when he said hello.”
Emma’s cheeks flushed faintly.
“It sounds silly now. It was my grandfather’s funeral… and there I was, developing my first crush.”
The room fell quiet.
Sophia looked at her carefully. “Are you sure it’s him?” she asked gently.
Emma turned to her and gave her a soft, wistful smile.
“It was the worst day of my life,” she said. “Of course I remember.”
Her gaze drifted back to the tablet.
“I wanted to thank him. After I stopped crying, I stood up to look for him… and I fainted. I hadn’t eaten anything all day.”
Her hand absentmindedly brushed her temple as if remembering the dizziness.
“When I woke up, everyone had already left. He was gone. I didn’t even know who he was.”
She paused, then continued.
“I didn’t find out until the night we went to Luxe Club together. When I saw him there… I froze.”
Sophia’s lips pressed into a thin line.
“I couldn’t believe it was the same person. That’s why I didn’t say anything at first. But every time I saw him after that, something felt familiar. I knew I had seen him before, but I couldn’t place it.”
Her fingers tapped lightly against the tablet.
“And then last night… it suddenly clicked. The way he looked at me. The way he speaks. It all came back at once.”
She let out a quiet breath.
“I asked Lloyd to investigate.”
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
“And I was right.”
Silence stretched between them.
Sophia leaned back against the edge of the desk, folding her arms loosely across her chest as she looked down at Emma.
“So now what?” she asked calmly. “You want to thank him?”
Her eyes searched Emma’s face carefully.
Emma leaned back in her chair.
Then she turned it slightly, crossing one leg over the other.
A faint smirk appeared on her lips.
“No,” she said calmly. “I want to marry him.”
Sophia’s jaw dropped.
“What—?”
She stepped back so abruptly that her heel slipped against the polished floor. She almost lost her balance and had to grab the edge of the desk to steady herself.
“Marry him?!” she repeated, staring at Emma as if she had just announced she was moving to another planet.
But before Sophia could say anything else, Emma had already risen to her feet.
Her expression had shifted completely. The softness from earlier was gone. In its place stood determination.
Without answering, she walked out of the office in long, decisive strides.
“Emma, are you serious?” Sophia shouted over her shoulder.
No answer. The door shut behind her.
Emma walked out of the office with steady, confident steps. As she strode down the hallway, she pulled out her phone and dialed Lloyed.
He picked up within seconds.
“Yes, Ms. Creed?”
“Where is Harold right now?” Emma asked directly. “I want to meet him.”
There was a brief pause as typing sounds echoed faintly through the call. “Mr. Harold is currently on a blind date. His mother arranged it.”
Emma stopped walking.
“A blind date?”
For a split second, her expression tightened.
Then her lips curved again—this time not amused, but territorial.
Then her eyes hardened with determination.
“Send me the location.”
“Yes, Ms. Creed.”
An hour later, Emma pulled her car up in front of the Wallflower Hotel’s private restaurant.
The evening sky had begun to darken, city lights flickering to life one by one. The hotel’s grand entrance shimmered under warm golden lights, luxury cars lining the driveway.
She stepped out of the car quickly, smoothing her dress down with her hands before striding toward the entrance. As she stepped inside, her eyes scanned the room calmly.
The restaurant was exactly what she expected—luxurious, refined, and expensive. The kind of place the Graves’s would choose for something as formal as a blind date.
Soft piano music drifted through the air. Tables were spaced generously apart, each decorated with fresh white lilies and flickering candles.
Harold sat at a table near the large glass windows overlooking the city.
He wore a tailored suit, but his posture was anything but relaxed. His jaw was tight. His expression was strained. He was absently playing with the straw in his glass, spinning it between his fingers.
Across from him sat a woman dressed elegantly, leaning forward enthusiastically, talking nonstop.
Harold looked… trapped.
Each time the woman laughed, his expression grew more forced.
More irritated.
Emma’s lips curved faintly.
Just as she began walking further inside—
Her shoulder suddenly collided with someone.
“Ah—!”
She instinctively reached forward to steady the other person before they could fall.
Their eyes met.
It was Hannah.
For a brief second, both women froze in surprise.
Then Hannah’s face broke into a bright smile.