Matthew, seeing me take Henry’s breakfast,
suddenly widened his eyes.
“Emily, you…”
He didn’t finish, but I understood what he
wanted to say.
Before I was hospitalized, I used to bring
Michael and Matthew breakfast every day.
Michael liked Western style, Matthew liked
Chinese.
One didn’t want spicy food, the other wanted
soy milk.
For so many years, I had become accustomed
<
to constantly giving, but no one had ever
brought me breakfast.
But Henry…
A warmth spread through my heart as I
looked at Henry.
He winked at me and continued to address
the crowd.
“What are you all staring at? We at the Shen
Corporation never resort to such dirty tricks,
and you guys aren’t worthy of my fiancée
stealing for you.”
“I hope you understand what I mean.”
Matthew’s face turned red with anger. He
looked at Ashley.
“Didn’t you say you clearly saw Emily leave
early and bring Henry to the company to
steal?”
Ashley’s usually eloquent mouth stumbled,
stuttering for a long time.
But I noticed something odd.
“After I left yesterday, I was at the hospital
getting my cast changed, and didn’t leave
until midnight.”
“Ashley, can I be in two places at once?”
Ashley’s face flushed red, while Michael and
Matthew’s eyes widened in unison.
“Weren’t you fine? Why did you have to get
く
your cast changed?”
Henry rolled his eyes.
“You two are so strange. Who would wear a
cast for fun? Of course it’s because you
pushed her and she was in a car accident,
that’s why she needed a cast.”
Michael and Matthew looked at each other,
then at Ashley.
It dawned on me then that when I was hit by
the car, Ashley was feigning a depressive
episode, and they were too busy caring for
her to even glance at me.
They didn’t know about my injuries, so they
were easily fooled by Ashley’s lies.
Ashley swallowed hard, wanting to explain.
I didn’t give her a chance. I looked directly at
the finance department.
“Bring out the financial statements. I’m taking
my share of the money today, and we’ll have
nothing to do with each other after this.”
Ashley, like a drowning person clutching at
straws, cried out.
“Look at her, brothers! Henry is a rich boy, he
must have already covered her losses, but
she’s so greedy for money, she has to touch
our company’s money…”
As soon as she finished, Henry looked at me
in confusion.
“Emily, your family business is in trouble?
Why didn’t you tell me?”
I awkwardly scratched my head.
If I directly asked my childhood sweetheart,
my arranged fiancé, for help with this kind of
thing, wouldn’t that be like selling myself for
money?
I’d rather take the flack and get my dividends
back than ask for that kind of help.
Seeing Henry’s confused face, Michael and
Matthew knew what was up.
The entire office suddenly fell into a deathly
awkward silence.
Hoppy simply picked up the lunchbox and led
me out.
“It’s such a small matter. How much do you
need? I’ll just transfer it directly to your
father’s account.”
As we walked shoulder–to–shoulder towards
the company door, Michael and Matthew’s
voices came from behind us.
“Emily, we misunderstood you.”
“Don’t go with him, we, we…”
I turned and looked at Michael and Matthew.
Seeing me turn back, a glimmer of hope
appeared in their eyes.
But my feelings had long been worn away by
く
their repeated differential treatment.
“I just want my share of the dividends. In
three years, I haven’t touched a penny of the
company’s money. I never knew it was such a
crime to take back what’s rightfully mine.”
“Calculate it yourselves, and transfer it
directly to my account.”
With that, I pulled Henry to leave. But Michael
relentlessly pushed Henry away.
Caught off guard, Henry fell to the ground. I
immediately shook off Michael and rushed to
check on him.
After making sure Henry was okay, I helped
him up, but I saw a rusty pendant on the
ground.
The pendant looked strangely familiar.
I picked it up incredulously and examined it.
Behind the rusty Mickey Mouse head, my
initials, “EQ,” were clumsily engraved.
Michael, who had been thrown off by me, had
stumbled and fallen, and now stood beside
me complaining in a somewhat whiny voice.
But I couldn’t hear a word he was saying.
When I was very young, the boy next door
saved me when I fell into the water while
playing. We often played together, and I even
jokingly said I’d marry him when I grew up.
Before I moved, I gave him my favorite
Mickey Mouse pendant.
Г
I clearly remembered engraving my initials on
the Mickey Mouse head I gave him.
Later, I moved with my parents to several
different cities and never saw him again, not
even remembering his name.
Until college, when I met Michael and
Matthew, and saw their pendants…
Later, I tentatively asked where their family
was from, and the answer was the city where
I had fallen into the water.
For so many years, I had always thought one
of them was my childhood savior.
And I also remembered that childhood
promise.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have lowered my
standards time and again, indulging them.
But it turned out that the boy from back then
was actually Henry, my childhood sweetheart.
I held the pendant, my eyes stinging as I
looked at Henry.
