Chapter 3

On the day I got my expedited student visa, my family called me several times, but I didn't answer.

I carefully placed the visa page back into my passport.

Nora, who was sitting next to me helping me double-check my documents, suddenly said, "Your dad called me yesterday."

"What did he say?" I paused my movements.

"Asked which hotel you were staying at."

"Did you tell him?"

"Nope." Nora handed me a cup of iced coffee. "I told him you made your own arrangements and I didn't know."

"Thanks."

In the evening, Mom sent me the address of a restaurant.

She texted: *The family wants to have a farewell dinner for you.*

I clicked on the address. It was a high-end French restaurant—Hailey’s absolute favorite.

Nora glanced at the screen and frowned. "Are you really going?"

"Yes." I locked my phone. "I'll eat this last meal, and then I'm gone."

Nora didn't try to stop me. She just stuffed a pack of tissues into my coat pocket as she waved me off. "Hope you don't have to use these."

The private dining room was decorated with champagne roses—Hailey's favorite color.

Hailey sat in the middle, and Ben was taking photos of her.

I was placed at the very end of the table. The place cards only had four names: Richard, Sarah, Tyler, and Hailey.

In front of my seat, it was completely empty. No place card.

Mom smiled and explained, "Hailey’s had a poor appetite lately, so we chose her favorite place. It's livelier when we're all together."

Tyler handed me the menu. "Just order whatever. You're not picky; you eat anything."

The waiter brought out the appetizers. It was fresh oysters, one of my favorites.

But Hailey hated oysters. Mom immediately called the waiter back, her voice sharp. "Take these away. Change them to something Hailey can eat."

My plate was snatched away right along with the others.

"What about what I can eat?" I asked.

Dad looked up at me. "Today was supposed to be your farewell dinner. If you didn't like this restaurant, you should have said so earlier instead of keeping quiet and making everyone guess."

Tyler added, "Stop being so tense. Nobody even knows how to talk to you right now."

Hailey lowered her head. "It's normal for Emily to be unhappy."

"So you do know I'm unhappy," I said, putting my fork down.

"You know, yet you sit in the center while I'm practically in the hallway. There's no place card for me, and everything on the menu is tailored to your taste. If this farewell dinner was just to spite me one last time, then I don't think there's any point in me staying."

Mom blinked, finally noticing the empty space in front of me. "The waiter must have forgotten..."

"Mom, you booked the restaurant. You told them it was a farewell dinner for your daughter. Do you really think they would forget the guest of honor's place card?"

The air in the room turned to ice.

Hailey bit her lip. Ben set his camera down, looking like he wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth shut.

Dad reached into his bag, pulled out a small gift box, and slid it across the table. "Alright, let's not make a big deal out of nothing. Here's your send-off gift."

I opened it. It was a sleek metal pen. Underneath it was a printed card: *Wishing you success in your studies.*

Engraved on the side of the pen was a tiny corporate logo. It was a promotional pen from Dad's company's annual gala.

I put the pen back in the box. "Thank you."

Hailey suddenly reached down and pulled out a beautifully wrapped gift. "Emily, I bought something for you too."

I opened it to find a brand-new leather Polaroid album with gold-embossed edges. It was gorgeous.

She smiled warmly. "You can take photos over there and send them back. I'll keep them safe for you."

I stared at the album but didn't take it. "For your birthday last year, I bought you this exact same album."

Hailey’s smile faltered.

"You opened it, said you hated the color, and shoved it under the coffee table. Later, I remember seeing that very album being used to prop up Mom's flower pot."

Tyler frowned. "Why do you keep track of things like that? It’s just an album."

"I don't keep track," I said, looking straight at Hailey. "I just saw it, and I didn't forget."

Hailey pulled her hand back, leaving the album on the table. Nobody touched it.

As Hailey’s eyes welled with tears, Tyler slammed his hand on the table, raising his voice in anger. "Have you had enough? Mom and Dad paid for this expensive dinner to celebrate you, and you're still acting like a brat?"

"This dinner was always for Hailey," I said, looking him dead in the eye. "My name isn't even on the table. You only remembered to invite me because I'm leaving, not because you actually cared."

I stood up and walked out of the restaurant.

Ben ran after me, catching up at the entrance. "Emily! Please, it's not what you think."

"What you think doesn't concern me anymore, Ben. You’ve found the person you want to 'look after.' We are over."

I didn't look back.

My flight was tomorrow morning.

Cutting ties with him meant cutting ties with my past self once and for all.