BRAIDED BROOD

Chapter 10

Inside Emily’s family home, two entertainment reporters had squeezed into Yara’s bedroom, cameras rolling. They had arrived tracking rumors about Huxley’s secret fiancée, and Yara was milking every second of the attention, convinced they were there to launch her career.

She sat in front of her mirror, doing a live broadcast while showing off a tub of face cream. In the corner, her mother, Darus, stood clapping softly, glowing with pride that her daughter was finally getting the celebrity treatment she deserved.

"‘Julee Entertainment Now’ is in the house… for Yara’s beauty show today. Tada!" She showed the fans to the reporters. Both mom and daughter clapped together.

"I can’t believe I’m on TV!" Yara screamed softly. "I guess I’ll become a celebrity soon. All right. Let me start my beauty show now."

As Yara began dabbing the cream onto her cheeks, the two reporters glanced down at the surveillance photo on their tablet, then looked back up at Yara. They exchanged a skeptical whisper. It was obvious to both of them that the girl putting on makeup wasn't the girl in the photograph.

"Just apply this salmon oil serum to your face, and all your wrinkles will vanish. I’ll show you how to make a mask…" Yara chatted happily to the rolling cameras.

The front door slammed shut in the sitting room.

"I’m home!" Emily’s voice called out tiredly.

The reporters froze. Catching a glimpse of Emily in the hallway, their eyes went wide.

"Excuse me, you’re the National Jackpot Girl, right?" The reporters rushed to meet Emily, hoisting their cameras onto their shoulders as both men rushed out to surround Emily in the cramped living room.

Settled, Emily asked. "Who are you, people?"

Darus snapped out of her daze and rushed forward, waving her arms to block the lenses. "Tsk! She’s not the one you should be filming. What are you doing right now? Why are you filming her? She’s nobody! Get back in the bedroom!"

Yara stomped out of the room, her face slick with serum and her eyes flaring with jealousy. "Why are you filming her instead of me?"

"Because she’s Kyle Huxley's rumored fiancée," the reporters fired back, thrusting a microphone toward Emily’s face. "How do you feel about being called the National Jackpot girl?"

Emily shrank back against the wall, her heart racing. "It’s... It’s not what you think."

Darus turned pale. Recovering her temper, she grabbed the reporters by their jackets and physically pushed them toward the front door. "Out! Get out of my house this instant! I thought you were here to interview my Yara!" Then she shut the door hard.

Yara turned slowly, glaring daggers at Emily. "What on earth is going on? You are the National Jackpot Girl. How could a girl like you possibly be Kyle Huxley’s fiancée?! And how were you able to go to the wedding?"

“Something happened,” Emily spoke out in a rush.

“So, what happened exactly?”

Emily bowed her head. “I can’t tell you, but I didn’t go because I wanted to. I’m telling the truth.”

Yara scoffed, her voice pitching up. “Emily, stop being so stuck up. Aren’t you trying to get out of your miserable life…by seducing some rich guy? So why do you keep pretending that something important happened?”

“I really have nothing to do with him.” Emily’s voice broke into a sob. “And I don’t want to use anyone to change my life. I’m not going to mooch off someone else’s life.”

Without warning, Yara splashed the serum in her hand all over Emily's body. “Get out! I said get out!”

“Yara!” Emily gasped.

“You said you don’t want to mooch off other people’s lives. But you’re living off my family.”

“But we’re family,” she pleaded.

Yara took a deep breath, staring fiercely at Emily. “I have never thought of you as my family.”

Those words struck Emily hard.

“Get out of my life, will you?” Yara didn’t hesitate to push her out and slammed the door shut.

Darus hovered in the background, nervously rubbing the back of her neck as she watched Emily get tossed out. “Your dad’s coming home tomorrow. Are you really going to kick her out?”

“Mom, Whatever! I don’t know!” Yara yelled, storming into her bedroom.

Later that night at Jupiter’s Mansion, Huxley walked into his room still holding Emily’s uniform. “Why did I bring this here?” He asked himself, slumping heavily onto his bed. His mind drifted to the kiss he'd shared with Jasmine earlier, and the last words she said before leaving: “I believe…that you still have some parts of yourself from 10 years ago in you.”

Those words dug deep. Pushing himself up, he walked over to his desk and pulled out a small, faded picture frame. Behind the glass were three smiling faces: Huxley, Jasmine, and Jeffery. A frozen memory from a decade ago.

Across town, Jeffery stood at a hotel front desk.

"Sir, you’ve already been checked out," the receptionist told Jeffery, handing his bag over to him.

“Well, give me another room.” He handed the attendant his card.

A moment later, she slid it back. “I’m sorry, sir. This card has been suspended.”

Before he could argue, his phone buzzed. It was Secretary York. “Jeffery, the Chairman wants you to go back to Jupiter’s Mansion.”

“I’m not going,” he stated flatly, walking past the sliding glass doors.

“Then you won’t be able to enjoy the luxury of being a part of Jupiter’s Group anymore.”

“I can live without that.” He hung up on York immediately and hissed in frustration.

Back in the car, York relayed the brief conversation. “Sir, it seems Jeffery is deeply scarred,” he reported to the Chairman. “And he also doesn’t seem to like the Mansion. I may be crossing the line, but I don’t think it’ll be easy to make him move back into Jupiter’s Mansion.”

“That’s exactly why you have to make him come back,” the Chairman muttered. “I’ve thought of a way to change his mind.”

Wandering aimlessly, Jeffery crossed the bridge down the road, thinking about his life. He eventually found himself standing outside the local theater, exactly where Emily was for the night.

“Please go this way,” Emily said, directing her final customer with a smile.

“Are you done here?” Tessa asked her, holding a bucket of popcorn.

“Yes,” Emily nodded, rubbing her shoulders.

“There’s no one in Theater Three. Let’s go watch a movie.”

“A Movie? With popcorn?” Emily squealed happily. “That’s perfect, I’ll be right there.”

After balancing her register, she and Tessa walked into the theater. They took their seats, but Tessa suddenly got a call.

She sighed, standing back up. "I need to cover the snack bar. I'll leave you to it." She shoved the popcorn bucket into Emily's hands. "Enjoy."

“Wait, why?” Emily asked, looking confused.

The light dimmed, and a movie was displayed on the screen. Soon, Emily fell asleep. A few minutes later, the heavy theater doors crept open. Jeffery slipped into the dark, empty room and sat a short distance away from her. He chuckled, watching her doze off countless times. Not long after, Emily woke up. She saw Jeffery in the cinema and instinctively tried to run off, but then paused for a while.

“Wait. Why am I avoiding him? And why am I running?” She asked herself. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Turning back around, she saw Jeffery was suddenly closer. “Oh, my gosh!” she gasped, clutching her chest.

He ignored her shock. "Do you have any money on you?”

The embarrassment hit him instantly. He turned on his heel to leave, but Emily jogged after him into the bright lobby. “Are you really from a rich family? How can you not even have 10 dollars on you?”

“Stop asking questions,” Jeffery yelled. “So, do you have money or not? Just answer my question.”

“I would if you had paid me last time,” she smirked. “But look, I have five dollars.” She waved the money in his face.

“Is that all you have? Forget it! I should have never asked you in the first place.”

He didn't even make it three steps before his stomach betrayed him with a loud, hollow growl. Emily walked sheepishly to him. “I don’t think you meant it. Was it because you were hungry? Wait here for a moment.” She pointed a stern finger at him. “I need to change my outfit. I can take care of everything with this.” She flashed the five-dollar bill one more time before disappearing into the back room.

They went to a nearby convenience store to grab two bowls of instant noodles. “I’ve repaid you for helping me out earlier at the hotel now. We’re even now. Okay?” Emily said, slurping the noodles into her mouth.

“Was my help only worth a dollar fifty?” Jeffery fired back.

“Did you forget about the cheese? It cost two-fifty.”

“But I’m the one who advised you to add the cheese!” Jeffery replied.

“I knew it already. I’d just forgotten it for a moment.”

Jeffery scoffed, watching her argue while eating his own noodles. “So, are you going to forget about the extra dollar?”

“Give me back my cheese, then! she said, trying to drag his bowl away from him. “Give me back. You’ve lost your cheese privileges."

“You’re ridiculous,” Jeffery muttered, batting her hands away to protect his dinner.

“It doesn’t taste as good…”

Jeffery leaned back from the hassle, drifting his attention to the window. His jaw dropped when he saw Chairman Kyle and Secretary York parked outside, quietly watching their drama unfold.