Chapter 133.
Three days later.
The house smelled like roasted chicken, warm spices, and sweet cakes baking in the oven.
It should have felt comforting, but it didn’t.
Kylie stood in the kitchen, arranging plates around the dining table while Mrs. Hayes moved between the stove and the counter, checking on dinner every few minutes.
Emilia sat on the couch in the living room.
She hadn’t moved in nearly twenty minutes.
Her elbows rested against her knees, with her hands loosely clasped between them as she stared at the floor.
She wasn’t crying anymore.
Her eyes simply looked tired, and empty.
Kylie glanced at her from the kitchen, and picked up another plate. "Mrs. Hayes?"
"Hm?"
"Do you want the glasses on the table already?"
Mrs. Hayes glanced over her shoulder. "Yes, sweetheart. Put them beside the plates."
Kylie nodded.
She carried the glasses over. Behind her, the sound of the front door opening echoed through the house.
Lucy walked inside.
She closed the door behind herself and slipped her bag from her shoulder.
"Hi."
Mrs. Hayes smiled. "Lucy."
"Hi, Mrs. Hayes."
"You’re just in time."
Lucy smiled. "Thank you for inviting me." She walked farther inside. Her eyes immediately found Emilia.
Lucy stopped for half a second. Her smile faded slightly. She hadn’t expected to see her like that.
It had been two weeks since the photographs had reached the university, and three days since everything had gone wrong.
Lucy swallowed. She forced her expression back into something lighter. "Hey, Emilia."
Emilia didn’t respond immediately. She slowly lifted her head, and her eyes met Lucy’s. "Hey."
Lucy smiled. "You okay?"
Emilia nodded. "Yeah." She gave her a small smile.
"Okay." Lucy walked toward the kitchen. She leaned against the counter when she walked in.
Mrs. Hayes smiled at her. "How hungry are you?"
"Very." Lucy laughed softly. "I skipped lunch when I saw Kylie’s text."
Kylie shook her head.
Lucy looked toward the living room again.
Emilia had lowered her eyes. Her thumb was tracing the edge of her sleeves absent minndedly.
Lucy watched her. Her heart slowly cracked. She hadn’t expected this. She had wanted the photographs to reach the school.
She had wanted Emilia to lose Adrian.
It was for Emilia. It was because Emilia didn’t understand what she was doing. Emilia deserved better even if Adrian was who he was.
However, she hadn’t imagined this. She hadn’t imagined Emilia looking like she hadn’t slept in days.
Lucy lowered her gaze.
She couldn’t tell whether the guilt was getting heavier or whether she was simply getting worse at carrying it.
"Lucy?"
She looked up.
Kylie was staring at her.
"What?"
"You zoned out."
Lucy smiled quickly. "Sorry."
Kylie narrowed her eyes. "You okay?"
"Yeah."
"You sure?"
"Completely."
Kylie studied her for another second before returning to the plates.
Lucy looked at Emilia again, then she looked at Mrs. Hayes. "Can I help with anything?"
Mrs. Hayes smiled. "You can take those napkins to the table."
"Sure."
Lucy grabbed them.
She walked into the dining room. As she placed them beside the plates, her eyes drifted toward the living room again.
Emilia hadn’t moved.
Lucy hesitated. She wanted to say something. But what could she possibly say? She couldn’t say anything to Emilia at the moment.
Not without destroying herself.
Lucy turned away. When she returned to the kitchen, Kylie was standing by the counter.
Lucy stopped beside her.
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then, quietly, she asked, "Have you ever done something you genuinely thought was good at the moment only to end up regretting it?"
Kylie spared her a glance. "No."
Lucy looked at her.
Kylie frowned lightly. "Why?"
Lucy quickly shook her head.
Kylie turned away, and continued arranging the plates.
Lucy stared at her. She wanted to say it. The words sat behind her teeth. She wanted to tell Kylie what she did, and how she thought she was helping.
Kylie was Emilia’s best friend. Lucy suddenly realized that saying anything to her could be dangerous.
After a moment, she asked casually, "Why is Emilia so down?"
Kylie glanced toward the living room. "Nothing."
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Nothing?"
"She had a bad day."
Lucy stared at her. "A really bad day?"
Kylie sighed. "Yeah."
Lucy waited.
Kylie didn’t continue.
Lucy swallowed. She wanted to ask more. But she couldn’t ask too many questions without making herself suspicious.
Luckily for Emilia, the school kept the affair away from students.
Kylie picked up another plate. "She’ll be fine."
Lucy forced a smile. "Yeah."
A few minutes later, Mrs. Hayes carried the last dish from the kitchen. "Everything’s ready."
Kylie snorted.
Mrs. Hayes shook her head. "Go call Emilia."
Lucy took a step forward.
Kylie stopped her. "I’ll get her."
Lucy nodded, and she walked toward the living room. Lucy remained in the kitchen, but her eyes followed Kylie.
"Emilia." Kylie sat beside her for a moment. "The food is ready. Varieties of your favorites."
"I’m not hungry." Emilia looked at her. "His cook made those meals too one time. They are no longer my favourites."
Kylie smiled. "Your mother cooked, Emilia. Adrian isn’t here, nor is his cook."
Emilia sighed.
Kylie slipped an arm around her. "My pretty Princess."
Emilia managed a tiny smile.
They walked toward the dining room.
Lucy watched them, and soflty looked away. She couldn’t bear it.
"Actually," Lucy said suddenly, "I think I’m going to head home."
Everyone looked at her.
Mrs. Hayes frowned. "You just arrived."
Lucy picked up her bag. "I’m sorry. I just remembered I have something to finish."
Kylie frowned. "Now?"
"Yeah." She sniffed, and forced a smile. "I’ll come another day."
Mrs. Hayes nodded reluctantly. "Alright."
Lucy walked toward the door.
Emilia looked at her. "Bye, Lucy. Thank you for coming."
Lucy stopped. She swallowed softly, sniffed quietly, and turned. "Bye, Em." Their eyes met. "I love you."
Emilia simply gave her a tired smile.
Lucy smiled back, then she opened the door.
The door closed softly behind Lucy.
For a moment, she didn’t move. She stood on the other side of it, staring blankly at the wood as though she could still see through it.
Lucy’s lips pressed together as her eyes got filled with tears. She blinked quickly, but a tear slipped down anyway.
She lifted the back of her hand and wiped it away. She took a shaky breath, forcing herself to straighten. Her fingers tightened around the strap of her bag as she lowered her gaze.