Chapter2:Cracks beneath the surface
1003 Words
The applause still echoed in Amelia's ears long after she left the ballroom.
She walked through the hotel's quiet service corridor, the noise of the gala fading with every step. Behind the elegant walls, staff hurried in every direction, clearing trays, adjusting schedules, and preparing for the next phase of the evening.
"Miss Hart!"
Amelia turned as one of the waiters caught up with her.
"I wanted to thank you. If you hadn't fixed the presentation, the entire event would have fallen apart."
She smiled politely.
"It was a team effort."
The waiter chuckled.
"No, ma'am. You saved all of us."
Before Amelia could respond, another staff member called him away.
She stood alone for a moment.
Funny.
Complete strangers appreciated her more than the people she shared a home with.
Her phone buzzed.
Sophie Calling...
A genuine smile spread across her face.
"Hey."
"So?" Sophie's cheerful voice came through immediately. "How did the gala go?"
Amelia laughed softly.
"Define 'go.'"
"Oh no. What happened this time?"
"My mother blamed me in front of half the city's elite."
Sophie's silence lasted only a second.
"And let me guess... you fixed the problem anyway."
"I did."
"Did anyone thank you?"
"The hotel staff."
"I meant your family."
Amelia looked through the glass doors at the glittering ballroom.
"You already know the answer."
Sophie sighed.
"One day they're going to realize how extraordinary you are."
Amelia leaned against the wall.
"Maybe."
"No. Not maybe."
Sophie's voice became firm.
"You keep waiting for people to become who they've already shown you they aren't."
Amelia closed her eyes.
"I know."
"No, you don't."
Another pause.
Then Sophie deliberately changed the subject.
"What about Ethan? Are you still meeting him tonight?"
A smile returned to Amelia's face.
"Yes."
"Still convinced he's planning something romantic?"
"He told me he has a surprise."
"Ooh..."
Sophie's excitement returned instantly.
"This better be a proposal."
Amelia laughed.
"I don't need a proposal."
"Really?"
"I just..."
She hesitated.
"I want one place where I don't have to earn my place."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Sophie's heart ached.
"You already have that."
"I do?"
"You have me."
Amelia smiled warmly.
"I know."
"And Ethan?"
"I think so."
"You think?"
"He has never made me feel invisible."
Sophie's expression softened, though Amelia couldn't see it.
"I hope he never does."
After ending the call, Amelia changed into a simple cream-colored dress she had packed earlier.
Elegant.
Comfortable.
Nothing flashy.
She checked her reflection one last time.
For once, she wanted to leave behind the disappointment of the gala.
Tonight wasn't about Hart Holdings.
Tonight was about her.
---
Across the city...
The top floor of Knight Global Corporation remained brightly lit despite the late hour.
Alexander Knight stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Manhattan.
Rain streaked across the glass.
Behind him, the boardroom was nearly empty.
Only one person remained.
His executive assistant, Daniel.
"The board approved the review committee," Daniel said quietly.
Alexander didn't turn around.
"I expected they would."
"They're moving faster than we thought."
"I know."
Daniel placed another file on the table.
"We also found evidence someone leaked confidential information."
Alexander finally faced him.
"Inside the company?"
Daniel nodded.
"It appears so."
A faint smile crossed Alexander's face.
Not one of amusement.
One of calculation.
"So..."
He slipped on his suit jacket.
"The game has finally begun."
---
Meanwhile...
Amelia's taxi stopped in front of the Grand Meridian Hotel.
She looked up at the glittering building.
Her heart beat a little faster.
Maybe tonight really would be different.
Maybe she had finally found someone who chose her—not because of her family's name, not because of what she could do for them, but simply because she was Amelia.
She stepped out of the taxi and walked through the revolving doors.
The lobby glowed with soft golden lights and fresh white lilies.
A pianist played quietly in the corner.
She checked Ethan's message again.
Suite 1808.
The elevator ride felt unusually long.
She caught herself smiling.
"What if Sophie is right?" she whispered.
"What if..."
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime.
The eighteenth floor was quieter than the lobby below.
A long hallway stretched before Amelia, illuminated by warm wall sconces that cast soft pools of golden light across the patterned carpet. It was elegant, peaceful... almost too peaceful.
She glanced at her phone.
7:56 p.m.
Four minutes early.
She smiled to herself.
Ethan used to tease her for always arriving ahead of time.
"If we ever get married," he would laugh, "I'll have to tell the pastor to start the ceremony thirty minutes early because you'll already be waiting at the altar."
The memory brought an involuntary smile to her lips.
Marriage.
It wasn't something she obsessed over.
Not because she didn't believe in it.
Because she'd never had a reason to believe someone would choose her forever.
Until Ethan.
He had entered her life four years ago, when she had just started working at Hart Holdings.
Unlike everyone else, he had never looked at her with pity or expectation.
He had never asked why her own family treated her differently.
He simply accepted her.
Or so she believed.
She walked slowly down the hallway, her heels making almost no sound against the thick carpet.
Soft carpet muffled her footsteps as she walked toward Room 1808.
Then she noticed something.
A bouquet of white roses rested on a housekeeping cart near the suite.
Attached to it was a small card.
She wasn't trying to read it.
Her eyes simply caught the handwriting.
To the love of my life.
Her smile widened.
"He really is planning something," she murmured.
She took another step toward the door.
Then she stopped.
From inside the suite...
She heard laughter.
A woman's laughter.
Followed by Ethan's voice.
Warm.
Gentle.
Intimate.
Amelia's hand tightened around the bouquet she had bought for him.
For the first time that evening...
Her heart whispered a warning she wasn't ready to hear.
- Writer
