PART 3
Night was beginning to fall as Emily entered her father’s office, located on the top floor of one of the "Imperial Leonor" buildings.
"I'm here," the young woman announced as she walked through the door.
"We agreed to meet an hour ago," her father reminded her, ending a phone conversation.
"I had to get out of that ugly uniform."
"You're not in that prestigious university to show off your outfits but to become a person of value," Alfred retorted, rising from his leather chair and walking toward his daughter.
"You don't care about anything I do."
"Don't care? Do you think I'm unaware of the scandal one of your many boy toys caused? All I ask is that you don't tarnish our family’s good name. When you started dating Andrew, I had the faint hope that you were finally settling down," Alfred said, standing before his daughter with irritation, rubbing his hand over his face. "But your irresponsibility overpowered your common sense, causing you to lose the only decent guy who’s ever been in your life."
"It seems you only pay attention to me when I cause scandals. Maybe I should set the tabloids on fire with gossip about me just to remind you that, besides work, you also have a daughter."
Emily was an attractive young woman. With her long legs, a slender yet curvaceous figure, deep black eyes, and dark hair tipped with blue, she easily caught the attention of men. However, the one attention she craved most—that of her father—remained out of reach. After her parents separated, her father threw himself entirely into his work, unknowingly relegating his daughter to a distant third place in his life.
"Life isn’t all about you, Emily. You live so comfortably because of my work," Alfred responded, crossing his arms.
"I wonder how people would react if the heir to the Leonor hotel chain, at just nineteen years old, got pregnant… that kind of gossip would keep your attention on me for weeks," she said with a malicious smile, looking at her father, only to be met with a slap.
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"Prepare my car," Alfred ordered after looking at his daughter with disappointment and pressing the intercom on his desk.
Without another glance at her, Emily’s father put on his jacket and began to walk toward the exit. But before leaving, he stopped right beside her.
"You haven’t matured at all—what a disappointment," he said, continuing on his way, leaving Emily alone with tears welling up in her eyes, clutching the cheek that still burned from her father’s slap.
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Meanwhile, Mike arrived home, and unlike most days, the light in Charles's office was on.
"Hey, Dad."
"Hello, Mike. How was class?" Charles asked without lifting his eyes from the documents in his hands.
"Nothing new."
"Dinner’s in the microwave," he informed, still not looking up at his son.
"Thanks," Mike replied, closing the office door and heading to his room. He dropped his backpack on the floor and collapsed onto the bed.
Mike wasn’t entirely bothered by his father’s attitude toward him. After his mother’s death, Charles, much like Alfred, had thrown himself into his work. Despite his attempts to pay enough attention to his son, his efforts often missed the mark.
"Things have only gotten more complicated," Mike thought as he stared at the ceiling, recalling the conversation with Diana. "Why does everything happen to me?"
As his mind replayed his memories with Diana, his thoughts fixated on one specific image: the necklace that her “creative” little brother had brought.
"That shape… I’ve seen it somewhere before."
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The streetlights illuminated the corners of the vast city, casting a strong glow in the night. In Andrew's luxurious apartment, all the lights were off except for those in the master bathroom and his bedroom.
As was his routine most nights, Andrew was getting ready to go out. After finishing up in the walk-in closet, he stepped into his bedroom for the final touches. He paused in front of one of the dressers, carefully picking up an earring that lay beside an old photo of him as a child, standing next to a dark-skinned girl of the same age.
Before fastening the red earring, shaped like a curved teardrop of jade, he gazed at it fondly, a sweet smile playing on his lips. With that, he grabbed the jacket draped over a chair and left his apartment, ready for another night out.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/vmL69pvN/1.jpg]