Chapter 3

His face went red instantly, and he ducked his head to apologize.

"I'm sorry, Miss Vance, I zoned out for a second! But I promise you, there's nothing wrong with your order!"

I nodded and was about to say something to him,

when I saw him raise his phone to sneak a photo of me, and I caught his hand.

His already flushed face went red and white by turns.

"I'm so sorry, miss. The man who ordered your food told me to send him a picture. Please, please don't call the police!"

"Let this meal be on me. I'll give you the money back, I really—"

"However much he gave you, I'll pay ten times that."

He froze at my words, plainly caught off guard.

His mouth opened and shut, but nothing came out except a stammer.

I pulled a stack of cash out of my bag and pressed it back into his hand.

"Do exactly what I tell you, and all of this is yours."

He nodded without a second's hesitation, his eyes bright to the point of frightening.

Once I'd worked it out with him, I asked my father to send me Bess Head's social media account.

"Claudia, she's the woman who stole eighteen years of your life. It doesn't matter how close she is with Phineas Henson—you don't owe her anything, and you certainly don't have to win her over."

I paused a little when I read that.

I forced my lips into a curve, and something in it struck me as funny.

Even my father, who'd only had me back three months, understood that I would throw away my pride for Phineas Henson.

When he drank himself into a stomach bleed at some function, I was the one who swallowed my dignity and begged a distant uncle to bring him medicine and pass along my message.

When he was fighting his brother for the heir's position, I borrowed a classmate's computer and stayed up all night digging out mountains of material for him.

Only later did I learn

that he never took the medicine—he tossed it straight into the trash,

and never looked at the material either, since in his eyes it was nothing but scrap.

Everything I did counted for less than a single throwaway word of encouragement from Bess Head.

But my father didn't know that I would never again have to win anyone over for Phineas Henson's sake.

"Don't worry, Dad. I'm not going to win anyone over. I just want to see what Bess Head's life used to look like."

At that, he bowed his head in shame.

Watching him leave two tracks of tears, telling me he was here for everything now and I must never let myself be wronged,

I finally understood that the people who ache for you never need you to peel back your own scars.

They read it in the marks you carry, piece together how much you suffered, and give you sweetness a thousand times over.

The moment I opened Bess Head's account, I stared at the pinned photo for a long time.

In the picture, Phineas Henson was smiling brilliantly, holding her against him like he was holding the whole world.

Bess Head's caption read,

【The one I love most and the one who loves me most are both right beside me～】

Phineas Henson had left a heart emoji and a comment:

"Happy birthday, little princess. We'll spend every one together from now on."

My fingers had gone a little cold, but I stubbornly kept scrolling.

Under every post, Phineas Henson was always the first to show up.

Praising her with the finest words, or laughing and playing along with her.

By the time I'd scrolled through Bess Head's very last post, there was no lie I could tell myself anymore.

My phone buzzed. It was Phineas Henson.

"Claudia, I've got a little surprise for you tomorrow. I hope you'll like it."

The corner of my mouth curved as I typed out a few words.

"Sure. I've got a surprise for you too."