Chapter six: The mysterious M.K

Of course I didn't get a reply due to the large capacity of people in the room. So many thoughts ran through my head.

Was the house bought?

That couldn't be possible. The furniture bears the same resemblance to the ones before so that's out of the question

Or did the loan shark take the house too and decided to have a party? I could spot some of my parent’s snobby friends in the crowd, which meant this party was organized by someone in our social circle, not a loan shark.

I walked further into the once empty hall now packed with people, searching for my parents. Even one of our staff would be nice.

Laughter rang out from behind me. One I know all too well.

Feeling my muscle tense from the muscle memory. I shook it off and I came to the conclusion that there's nothing to be worried about. Turning around to see Mom talking with a group of women gathered around her.

As always, she was at the center of the conversation. In a floor length mermaid dress, her hair curled to perfection and her diamond earrings catching the light as she turned to laugh at something the woman beside her said.

So different from the woman that begged me with mascara stained eyes to help them to accept the marriage.

You would think nothing of a sort ever happened.

I walked towards her looking for an explanation.

“Mom..?”

She turned slowly to look at me, with a smile that was so big I'm sure her mouth was hurting.

“Iris", she muttered, genuinely sounding surprised.

But she quickly schooled her expression, as all eyes were watching her.

“I wasn't sure you were coming”.

Her voice came out odd… almost gentle.

I blinked, confused and totally lost.

“After you left the house in a fit of rage”.

I'd have believed what she said if I had not just made a deal with a likely stranger.

Taking a handkerchief from her purse as she dabbed the tears gently from her eyes.

She continued, "When I told you that your father would be handing over the CEO position to Julia tonight…”

I stepped back in shock, feeling as though an ice bucket of water had been dumped all over my body.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as the room turned blurry. All I could see was Mom crying softly as her friends tried to console her, all of them looking at me like I am the Devil for hurting her.

“What a bad child”.

“How could you be jealous of your own sister”.

“How could you hurt poor Eva?

She is literally the sweetest person ever”.

Feeling my breath constrict in my throat, I knew I had to get out of there.

Turning away, I bumped into a waiter carrying drinks, which fell to the floor with a loud clang.

The room turned quite as everybody's attention was drawn to me, giving me disapproving looks.

I saw dad's face in the crowd. His hands clenched tightly to his sides. I knew if it weren't for the big crowd, he would have been here, giving me an ear full of what a total failure I am.

Muttering a small apology, I quickly left the room.

Shutting the door of my bedroom, I slid down against it, trying to even out my breathing.

Why am I feeling this way?

It felt like a heavy mass was sitting on my chest, restricting my breathing. I rested my head on my knees.

I didn't know how long I stayed in that position, but I suspected it must have been quite some time since the noise of the party downstairs was starting to die down.

I used the remaining strength I had to get up and lay on my bed.

You should be happy. You should be thrilled for Julia. The position has always belonged to her and she deserved it more than anything.

I knew all this. Still, l feel so sad.

I laid my head on the pillow and felt something small and hard.

I pushed my hand into a small hole I made in my pillow and brought out the watch.

I remembered when I brought a necklace, a boy from high school gave it to me for my birthday. I was so happy to find out a guy was interested in me. So I put it under my pillow.

When I came back from school, I saw my room ransacked and the necklace gone.

I went to Mom to ask her about it, but she just said “I had no cash to complete the payment for your sister's birthday party, and since your dad wasn't around, that would have to do.”

I was so upset that I screamed at Mom and locked myself in my room for the whole day.

When Dad came back the next day and heard how I threw a tantrum, I was grounded for a month.

So I knew better than to leave something valuable lying around.

I traced the design of the watch. It was so perfectly crafted.

Taking a picture of the watch, I discovered it was made by one of the greatest jewelry designers, Stephen Presley. He was one of my idols. I literally wanted to be like him when I was little.

This is an exclusive line for an elite client. There was no mention of who the client was…

My eyes almost burst out of their socket.

fifty-five million.

Now you’ve gotten yourself in a bigger mess Iris.

I continued tracing it, this time more gently. A scratch could put me in a debt that my kids would probably inherit.

Every detail of the watch was created to capture the personality of its owner.

Images of last night flooded my mind.

Hard flesh and hot, commanding kisses.

I quickly jerked up in bed at the memory feeling my body heat up.

I wish my life was as perfect as the design of this watch.

Crafted with purpose, unlike mine, that didn't seem to have a single clue of its own.

Getting off the bed, I walked to my work station, which was covered with incomplete designs of jewelry pieces.

I tried recreating the design of the watch.

Studying it more closely, I turned it to the back and saw an initial M.K.

Dark hairs and striking blue eyes crossed my mind.

That can't be possible.