Chapter 1

The last time I mentioned my engagement to Walter Reagle, everyone in the room went quiet at first.

However, after seeing Walter's annoyed look, they all started laughing.

"Who still believes in old-fashioned childhood betrothals these days?"

"Is Ms. Lawson feeling insecure?"

I ignored their teasing.

I just looked at Walter, who was lounging on the couch with his shirt collar open, showing off the lovebites on his neck and collarbone.

My heart felt like it was being stabbed.

The pain came slowly.

"We were too young to agree to something so silly," he said.

Walter looked up with a faint, mocking smile.

He gave me a lazy look. "We're grown up now, Emma.

"Let's just forget about the past."

Chapter 1

Both my childhood friend and my older brother fell for the new student in class, the impoverished Anna Jones.

My childhood sweetheart, Walter, called off our engagement, saying, "I can't stand a spoiled heiress like Emma."

My brother seemed to have forgotten what our mom had asked of him on her deathbed. "Anna's had a tough time. It's only fair to give her half of the love I have for you, right?"

On my birthday, Walter chose to spend time with Anna instead.

On the day he was supposed to be remembering our mom's passing, my brother was having a great time with Anna and her mom instead.

When they went with Anna to Nexus City to receive her impressive design award, I burned down the house that held all our memories.

I pretended to be dead and left the city.

When the news of my 'death' reached Nexus City, the two guys whom I thought were tired of me hurried back home in the middle of the night.

They stood in front of the house that was now ashes, unable to hold back their tears.

……

The last time I mentioned my engagement to Walter Reagle, everyone in the room went quiet at first.

However, after seeing Walter's annoyed look, they all started laughing.

"Who still believes in old-fashioned childhood betrothals these days?"

"Is Ms. Lawson feeling insecure?"

I ignored their teasing.

I just looked at Walter, who was lounging on the couch with his shirt collar open, showing off the lovebites on his neck and collarbone.

My heart felt like it was being stabbed.

The pain came slowly.

"We were too young to agree to something so silly," he said.

Walter looked up with a faint, mocking smile.

He gave me a lazy look. "We're grown up now, Emma.

"Let's just forget about the past."

I was stunned. As I was about to respond, the door suddenly swung open.

Anna stepped in with a tray in her hands, decked out in her waitress uniform.

She flinched when she saw me and whispered, "Emma—I mean, Ms. Lawson…"

She finished speaking with a sad look and quickly glanced at Walter.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting?"

Anna's voice shook as she spoke. She was ready to set the tray down and leave.

Suddenly, Walter kicked the coffee table in front of him.

The cups shattered, sending glass flying.

A piece of glass cut my arm, and blood started to drip, stinging sharply.

Walter did not even look at me.

His face was pale with anger as he approached Anna.

He grabbed her apron and yanked it off.

"Anna, didn’t I tell you that I don’t want you working anymore?”

Anna nodded quickly, her eyes filling with tears.

"I just don't want to keep taking your money," she said softly.

"You and Matthias have already done so much for me.

"I can earn my own money..."

"It hurts to see you like this." Walter tossed the apron aside.

"You're coming back with me now. Don't let me catch you working again!" he said.

"I'll make sure anywhere you try to work at again gets shut down."

He turned to me sharply.

"Don't expect me to be kind to people who try to push others around."

I held my bleeding arm, staring back at him silently in the middle of the noisy, messy room.

Chapter 2

The clubhouse we were in was part of the Lawson family's estate.

Walter thought I had forced Anna to work there.

However, the irony was that Anna was being pampered by both him and my brother.

She had always been treated like a princess.

She had more money than she could ever spend.

Why would she bother getting a job?

I knew the truth.

Even if I told everyone and had the supervisor back me up, Walter still would not believe me.

I was the villain in his eyes, the mean witch who used her family's power to bully his precious princess.

"Emma."

Walter hugged Anna close, protecting her.

"I can't imagine marrying a rich brat like you.

"Let's just forget about the engagement, okay?"

His words hung in the air, and the room went silent.

Anna's face went white as she shook with fear, clinging to Walter.

Her friends watched me, their eyes full of suspicion.

I could not help but laugh.

Ever since Anna's mom got involved with our family and Anna got between Walter and me, I had cried and yelled to get him to understand.

All the attention I used to get started to go to Anna and her mom instead.

How could I, spoiled as I was, stand it?

However, all my tears and tantrums did was push everyone to Anna's side.

I was tired of it all.

"Fine," I said calmly and took a few steps forward.

Walter instinctively moved Anna behind him.

"Emma, take it out on me if you're mad."

I let go of the hand that was covering my wound and showed them my palm.

The red of my blood stood out on my pale palm.

Walter's mouth tightened, and his stern eyes seemed to soften for a moment.

Chapter 3

Anna pulled away from him.

"Ms. Lawson, don't be hard on our senior.

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have come and bothered you..."

She spoke, and tears started to fall from her eyes. "I'll go now."

"Anna, I told you I'd take care of everything."

Walter felt a pang of heartache.

He gently wiped away Anna's tears and then turned to look at me.

Any trace of pity in his eyes had disappeared and was replaced by disdain.

"Emma, can you please stop bothering us?"

I cut him off, "Fine. We can break off the engagement, but I want my things back."

Walter looked puzzled. "What things?"

I reached up and untied the red string that was around my neck.

Hanging from it was a jade pendant.

It was a family treasure Walter's mom had given me when our engagement was arranged.

My mom had given him something even more precious.

It was an item that had once belonged to a royal palace, blessed by a respected religious figure from ancient times.

"Here's your pendant back. Now, return my bracelets to me."

Walter's expression turned icy.

His eyes fixed on the jade pendant in my hand.

I had treasured it since I was fifteen, and everyone knew it.

"Do you think everyone's as cheap as you?"

Walter grabbed the pendant. "You’re always carrying around junk. You’re too attached to it to let go."

He gave me a final icy stare. "I'll find it and give it to you. Then, we'll be square."

When I arrived home, my brother Matthias Lawson was waiting in the living room.

"Emma, there's something I need to tell you."

He handed me a pile of thick papers.

"I plan to transfer this office building to Anna and let her collect the rent.

"She's had a tough life, and now that she's with our family, it's time for her to have some good fortune."

I looked at the papers.

That building was my mother's inheritance, a piece of property her family owned.

I grabbed the paper emotionlessly and ripped it right down the middle.

"Emma!

"What's this supposed to mean?"

Matthias adjusted his glasses and frowned at me.

"I covered for you when you pushed Anna down the stairs back then.

"Giving her a whole building still can’t make up for what she went through.

"Did you forget what Mom said before she died?"

Matthias went quiet all of a sudden.

Mom had held onto his hand so tightly, making him promise to always look after me, care for me, and love me.

He was supposed to never let anyone hurt me or take what was mine.

"I didn't forget.

"But Anna is my sister too now, Emma.

"It's only fair to give her half of the love I have for you, right?

"Emma, you're just too stubborn and bossy."

Matthias let out a soft sigh. "Why can't you be more like Anna?"

Chapter 4

I felt like laughing, but I cried instead.

"Matthias.

"Nobody's going to take Mom's things.

"If you want to give Anna something, that's fine. Give her whatever you want from what the Lawsons have."

"What good stuff does the Lawson family even have?"

Matthias stopped talking suddenly.

Yeah, what good stuff did we have?

We had nothing good, from the people in the family to the things we owned.

I tossed the torn paper into the trash and headed upstairs.

"Mom's memorial is in a few days. Don't forget."

"How could I?" Matthias gave me an awkward smile.

"Go to bed early. I'll be in the office for a while longer."

I did not answer or look back at him.

I spent the whole night wide awake.

I gathered everything in the house that had to do with us three—Me, Walter, and Matthias.

I burned the pictures.

I broke and took apart anything that could be broken.

I packed up whatever could be given away and sent it to the orphanage.

All that was left in this little house were the memories in every corner.

It was the Lawson family's only little villa from when Mom married into the family.

After Mom passed away, my brother and I just could not bring ourselves to leave.

Dad moved out to live with Anna's mom.

Eventually, my brother stopped coming by as much.

Walter used to come over every day to play when we were younger.

It had been a long time since his last visit.

On the porch, I hugged Mom's picture.

I cried for a long time until I fell asleep with tears on my cheeks.

The day after my birthday was the anniversary of Mom's death.

That year, she hung on just long enough to see my birthday through before she left us.

I had cried so much back then.

Walter had been there for me every minute of the day, spending every second by my side.

He helped me get through the next eight years and eight birthdays.

This was the first year he had missed it, but it did not matter anymore.

Walter never showed up.

As for Anna, she just would not go away.

Her posts littered my social media feed all night.

Some nosy people even streamed it to me live.

"There's really no reason to celebrate," one of them said. "Tonight, let's just celebrate the anniversary of you buying your tablet!"

"We just wanted an excuse to eat cake," they joked.

There was a fancy, expensive two-layer cake and a tower of champagne.

There were many bags, beautiful clothes, and a little princess with a crown.

Anna was all smiles, gazing lovingly at the man next to her.

Walter was smiling gently back at her. They looked perfect together.

I logged off Messenger and set my phone down on the table.

I closed my eyes and whispered a wish to the flickering candlelight.

"Mom, please make everything go smoothly for me.

"Mom, please keep me far away from those terrible people."

Chapter 5

It was the day we were supposed to remember Mom's passing.

I waited and waited.

Dad had someone bring over fresh flowers.

However, there was no sign of Matthias.

After three unanswered calls, the fourth was finally picked up.

It was Anna's mom on the line. "Emma, is that you? Are you looking for Matthias?"

"Today is my mom's death anniversary."

"Oh dear! It's your mom's deathday? We're so forgetful. I'm so sorry.

"Our puppy just had babies today, and Matthias and Anna were so excited that they forgot all about today...

"It's too late to come over now. What should we do?"

"Mrs. Jones, who are you talking to?"

"It's Emma. She sounds upset. What should we do, Matthias?"

"Hey, Emma?" I heard Matthias's voice.

I hung up right away and blocked his number.

Mom's smiling face looked down at me from the black and white photo on her gravestone.

Her smile was full of love and kindness.

April had rolled around again.

I sat there on the ground, feeling like I was at the bottom of a freezing pit.

I hugged the photo of Mom and kissed it.

'It's alright. I'm here, and I'll never forget you, Mom,' I thought to myself.

After leaving the lawyer's office, I got back to our little house.

To my surprise, I saw Walter and two others there.

Anna was in the middle of the trio, holding a big bouquet and beaming with joy.

Matthias was the first to speak.

"Emma, look at Anna. She's done something amazing! Her design just won a major international prize."

"I just wanted to follow in your footsteps, Emma," Anna said, her voice timid and humble.

Looking over the design’s draft, Walter let out a snort. "Follow in her footsteps?

"She got her master's degree, yet she’s never won any awards like this before.

"Designing is all about having a gift, Anna. Don't sell yourself short."

Something on the draft caught my eye.

I could not resist stepping closer and grabbing it from Walter.

Each page was nearly identical to my rough draft.

Anna had stolen my ideas to win the prize!

"You copied my designs! Anna, how could you be so dishonest?!"

Anger made me shake all over, and I lifted my hand to slap her.

However, before I could, Walter grabbed my wrist tightly.

A sudden, strong push sent me tumbling to the ground in a heap.

Chapter 6

"Emma, you've been stubborn since you were little, and I've put up with it for so long.

"Anna won the prize fair and square. You’re accusing her of stealing your design, but where's your proof? Without evidence, you're just making things up."

"Emma, I swear I didn't copy your design.

"You've never liked me, so when would I even have gotten the chance to touch your computer?"

Feeling upset, Anna just crumbled into Walter's arms.

I whipped around to face Matthias.

My computer was always in the study.

He spent a lot of time there too.

Matthias looked away, his guilt clear.

Was it not obvious what was going on?

"Emma, just look at yourself."

Walter towered over me, all high and mighty.

He flung a bracelet at me, and it clattered to the floor by my feet.

"I can't figure out why I ever liked you."

I was about to snap back at him, but then I saw the necklace Anna was wearing.

My whole body shook with anger when I recognized it.

It was the tulip diamond necklace Mom had left for me.

"Matthias, how could you give her Mom's necklace?"

I pointed at Anna, my eyes blazing.

Matthias bit his lip, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Emma..."

Anna was already crying, trying to take off the necklace.

"I'm so sorry, Emma. I didn't realize it was from your mom. I'll return it right away."

Her tears kept falling.

Matthias could not stand to see her sad. "Anna, keep it. I gave it to you."

He turned to me. "It's just some jewelry. Anna likes it, so she should have it.

"I'll get you an even nicer one, Emma."

My heart felt like it was being sliced open, and my voice shook as I said, "Mom left that to me, Matthias. You can't just decide what to do with it.

"I'd rather destroy it than let that woman's daughter have it!"

Matthias's face turned red with a mix of shame and anger for just a second. "Emma, you shouldn't be so mean to Anna.”

Chapter 7

"She's got nothing to do with our family’s past rivalries.”

Anna was crying, her face in her hands.

Walter stepped up and wrapped his arms around her. "Emma, that's enough!" he said.

"It's just a silly old necklace. Let her have it."

He yanked off the necklace and threw it down hard. "Come on. I'll buy you a new one that’s way nicer and more expensive."

Matthias looked at me and let out a heavy sigh. "Emma, why do you always have to be like this and cause such a fuss?

"Anna's already having a tough time, yet you just can't seem to let her be.

"Can't you try to be a little nicer? You should be more ladylike.”

"Emma, you've won plenty of design competitions before. You'll have other chances to win big.

"Anna really needs this win. It'll help her make a name for herself so the Reagle family accepts her."

He reached out to help me up. "Emma..."

"Go away!" I pushed his hand off and started to laugh.

"Brother." That was the last time I would ever call Matthias that and the last time I would ever look at him for real.

"You'll get what's coming to you," I told him.

Matthias frowned but could not look me in the eye. "Emma, I'll make it up to you," he said.

Then, he ran off after Walter and Anna.

I knelt down, picked up the necklace, and held it close to my heart. I was frozen in place for what felt like forever.

I did not shed even a single tear.

It turned out that when a person felt the most devastated they had ever felt, they would not even be able to cry.

The sun dipped below the horizon.

A blood-red glow swallowed everything.

The television said it would get hotter in the next few days.

It was dry, so we had to be careful about fires.

Chapter 8

It was late at night.

I tossed a bunch of old letters into the flames and then grabbed a photo.

Walter and Matthias were standing next to me in the photo, both of them grinning as if it were the best day ever.

Their smiles just seemed silly now.

The photo burned up, and their grins turned to ashes.

The firelight filled my eyes.

As the flames ate the letters, I caught a few words.

My brother had written, "I'll always love and protect my sister. I’ll make sure Emma stays a little princess forever."

Walter had promised, "I'll marry Emma when I'm older, and we'll have two amazing kids—a big brother and a little sister."

They had been so serious when they made those promises.

They said I was more important to them than anything.

Those letters were old and yellow now.

The black writing had faded, just like their silly promises had.

The last of the letters burned, hot against my fingers.

I let it fall onto my dress on the floor.

The fire got bigger, catching the curtains and a wooden box, and smoke poured outside.

I just stood there, my face hot from the blaze around me and tears in my eyes from the smoke.

Walter called me out of the blue.

I did not pick up.

Matthias called right after.

I ignored him too.

I was about to block their numbers when Walter sent me a message on Messenger.

[Emma, remember that Anna is your sister no matter what.]

[I really hope you can be happy for her during the big moments in her life. She wants your blessing too.]

[Tomorrow, I'll pick up some jewelry you like and bring it to you. Try not to be stubborn anymore, okay?]

Matthias sent a message too.

[Emma, I promise I'll make it up to you. I'll do better from now on.]

[I'll get another necklace made just like the one Mom gave you. Can you please forgive me?]

I felt like laughing. Finally, I could not hold back the laughter, even though tears were streaming down my face.

I sent two messages back.

To Walter: [She’ll never have my blessing. I hope she and her mom end up in the inferno.]

To Matthias: [Why don't you ask Mom to forgive you instead?]

After sending those, I blocked them and erased all their contact information.

I grabbed my suitcase, took one last look at the memory-filled villa, turned around, and walked away without a backward glance.

I had dealt with everything that mattered. I had nothing left to hold onto now.

Not long after I left, the wind knocked a candle over.

It started as a tiny flame.

However, the dry air made the fire grow bigger and bigger.

Eventually, it swallowed up the whole villa.

The house that had been full of so many memories was now just a pile of ashes.