It doesn’t stop us from trying, though. We still send invitations to our contact list every year and try to retarget them.
It’s the one time I’m not ashamed to spam. If someone has given me their business card, they should expect an invitation for this.
The hall we rented for the event is big enough to fit not only our invitees, but also the orphaned children, their support, and the associations who will benefit from the money we’ll raise tonight.
The priest is talking about the importance of giving. The imam spoke earlier about how vulnerable children are and how much they need our support.
Layla and I are at the entrance, welcoming the invitees and giving out directions to whoever needs it.
Inside, her parents are doing background work since they’re a part of the organisation committee. Layla’s family is all about activism. Her eldest brother is a part of Doctors Without Borders, and the rest of her family participates in charities like these or ones that support passed soldiers’ families.
Layla even made an effort and actually wore a dress. An elegant floral scarf that I gave her for her birthday covers her hair and I kind of had to hold her down, with the help of her mother, to put some makeup on her face. She hates staying still for more than a minute.
I, on the other hand, have opted for a dark blue knee-length dress and left my hair loose. I brought my clothes with me and changed in Layla’s house so that I wouldn’t have to go back to the King mansion.
“Look at all the people who showed up!” she whisper-yells, her voice filled with so much enthusiasm.
“I know.”
“Imagine all those little faces happy. I wish I could adopt them all…wait, maybe I can.”
“Remove that crazy idea from your head right now, Lay.”
“Don’t be a fun-ruiner.” She pokes my arm. “Why are you in a pissy mood lately?”
“I’m not.”
Okay, maybe I am a little. Aiden’s visit has left a sour taste in my mouth, and I don’t know how to fix it. If I make an attempt to meet him, he’ll probably chase me out with a bat.
Now, every time Jonathan touches me, I stiffen, thinking about Aiden’s words and how true they are. But then, the pull drags me under and I get lost in Jonathan’s touch and those damn hands I’ve become addicted to.
It’s only when the spell breaks that I go back to the internal guilt trip, blaming myself for how I’m not even close to solving Alicia’s death.
I manically check with Paul in case I’ve received any more wooden box packages, but nothing appeared in my inbox.
Layla pokes my side. “Are you perhaps missing Johnny?”
“Lay!” I hiss, then smile as one of our clients greets us. As soon as she heads inside, I go back to glaring at my friend.
“What? You’re usually with him around this time.”
“I don’t miss him when I’m away from him.”
“Is that why you keep checking your watch?”
“Suck my dick, Lay.”
She feigns a gasp. “Blasphemy. The priest will soak you in holy water.”
I rub my arm and flip her off discreetly so no one sees. She laughs, bumping my shoulder with hers.
“He must be missing you, though. Imagine a grumpy Johnny sitting in his castle alone without you to entertain him. He must be waiting for you while drinking and sighing like an old man.”
“I didn’t tell him where I was going.”
She gives me a funny look.
“He’s not the boss of me, okay? He doesn’t need to know where I am at all times.”
“It’s not that…” Layla trails off when her gaze moves ahead. “Oh em gee, Daddy.”
At first, my heart stops beating when I think it’s Jonathan. My stomach dips and my forehead breaks out in a sweat. Then I follow her gaze and a sense of disappointment and confusion hit me at the same time.
Ethan and Agnus. They came. I didn’t expect much when I sent the invitation to the address on Agnus’s business card that I kept.
They’re both dressed in dapper suits, accompanied by a blonde girl wearing a white dress and carrying what seems like a heavy basket.
Ethan offers to help her, but she shakes her head.
Elsa — Aiden’s new bride.
My breathing hitches as I stare behind her, expecting to find Aiden’s grim features. But he’s not with them. A sense of relief mixed with the same disappointment from earlier grips me in its clutches.
“Layla, Aurora.” Ethan smiles at us, shaking our hands respectively. Agnus follows suit.
“Hear that?” Layla whispers. “Daddy remembers my name.”
“He’s not your daddy,” I murmur back, poking her side the hardest I can.
She winces but continues smiling as she peeks at Elsa. “And you are?”
“She’s my daughter.” Ethan’s voice drips with pride as he wraps an arm around her shoulders. “She wanted to join, if that’s okay.”
“Of course, the more the merrier.” Layla offers to take the basket from Elsa.
“Aunt and I made them. There are cupcakes and different lollipops for the children,” Elsa speaks to Layla but keeps stealing glances at me. The ring on her finger is blinding, and I pause as I recognise it. Alicia’s ring. I’d recognise it anywhere, considering she had a habit of touching it whenever she was absentminded.
The reminder of the time I spent with my sister comes rushing back in. The emotions. How much I miss her. It all hits me hard. I force myself to shut the door on those thoughts and steady my breaths.
“I’m sure they’ll love them.” Layla struggles to hold the basket. With her petite body, she’s like a toddler carrying a teddy bear twice her size.
Ethan steps in and takes the basket from her, helping her place it on the counter.
Layla pretends to faint behind his back so only I can see her, then mouths, “Daddy.” That dork. It takes everything in me not to burst out laughing.
“I must admit, I didn’t think you’d show up,” I tell Agnus.
“We do attend charities,” Agnus says in his eternal cool voice. He’s iceman. No kidding. He retrieves his phone, stares at the screen, and gives Ethan a knowing look. “I have to take this.”
He nods at us and disappears around the corner, making way for old ladies who come in carrying baskets similar to Elsa’s.
Once finished, Ethan motions at me. “Elsa, this is Aurora.”
“We’ve met before,” she whispers. “At the wedding.”
I fidget, struggling to maintain a smile. “Right. Sorry about back then.”
Elsa shakes her head. “I’m the one who’s sorry about what Aiden did afterwards.”
“He told you?”
“He doesn’t have to. I could feel he went searching for trouble as soon as we were back from the honeymoon.” She touches her ring finger. “I just want you to know that losing Alicia has changed Aiden drastically, and it’s not necessarily for the better. Seeing you and knowing you existed after such a long time didn’t sit well with him. It’s not that he hates you, it’s that…”
“He hates how much I look like her. I understand.”
Her electric blue eyes light up. “You do?”