Chapter 1
On my dad's 60th birthday, Charles Bennett walked in with Emily Carter and had her sit in the host's seat right next to me.
That chair had a red napkin my mom had folded herself, with my name on the back.
Dad looked at the young woman, who had red-rimmed eyes, a bit taken aback. "Who's this?"
Charles pulled out the chair for her, as if he were at home.
"Her name's Emily Carter. She's basically family," he said.
All the relatives at the table fell into silence.
Emily looked down, gripping the hem of her dress, and said softly, "Mr. and Mrs. Winters, I don't have any family. Sorry if I'm disturbing you today."
Charles took her wrist and turned to me. "Sophie, your family's so lively. Let her see what a real home feels like. Don't be so cold."
I looked at the chair she was sitting in and suddenly chuckled.
He probably forgot.
Tonight's birthday party was supposed to be a preview of our engagement party.
*****
My mom was standing by the main table, holding a bottle of red wine she'd taken out of the gift box.
She'd dressed up in a dark red evening dress, her hair neatly pinned up, and had been busy checking the seating arrangements since three in the afternoon.
There were ten seats at the main table.
Dad was in the seat of honor, Mom to his right, and I was next to her.
Charles's seat was to my left.
My dad had set it up himself.
He said that tonight was Charles's first time meeting elders of our family. Though the engagement party wasn't official yet, he wanted to make sure Charles was given the proper place.
Dad also asked Mom to seat Charles and me together.
"I want our relatives to see that Sophie's got herself a good man," Dad said.
Now, Charles was standing next to my seat, holding the chair out for another woman.
As Emily sat down, she gently brushed her fingers over the place card stuck to the back of the chair.
"Sophie Winters," Emily read. Her voice was barely audible, as if she'd stumbled upon the name by accident.
Then she looked up at me, seemingly a bit panicked.
"Sophie, is this your seat? I should move, then," Emily said.
Although she offered to stand up, her fingers clung tightly to the edge of the napkin.
Charles quickly placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"Stay seated," he said.
He shot me a look, his brow furrowed.
"Sophie, it's your dad's birthday. Don't make things awkward for everyone. Go get yourself another chair and sit somewhere else," Charles said.
His words made the room quieter than when he called Emily family.
Lucia Green, my aunt, was reaching for some cold dishes, but her hand holding the serving spoon stopped mid-air.
Alex Norman, my cousin, exited his game and glanced at me, then at Charles.
My mom set the wine down, her tone still gentle.
"Charles, we had the seating all set up in advance. If Emily was coming, why didn't you let us know beforehand? We could've made arrangements," she said.
Before Charles could say anything, Emily stood up.
"Mrs. Winters, I'm sorry. It's all my fault," she said.
Instantly, her eyes welled up with tears.
She added, "I didn't want to come today. Chuck said it was Mr. Winters' birthday, and there would be a lot of people. He thought it'd be too lonely for me to stay in my apartment all by myself.
"He was worried I'd get lost in my thoughts, so he brought me along."
When she said "alone," her voice dropped to a whisper.
Some of the relatives at the table exchanged glances.
Dad had his hand resting on the back of his chair, not sitting down.
He gave Emily a polite, courteous look, still wearing the host's friendly smile.
"Where's your family, Emily?" he asked.
Emily's fingers tightened, but she didn't say a word.
Charles spoke up for her, "Her parents passed away a few years back, and she doesn't talk to her relatives much.
"We're both in grad school with the same mentor, so I help her out whenever I get the chance."
My dad nodded.
"That must be tough," he remarked.
Then, he waved over a server.
"Please add another chair and set of dishes and utensils," he said.
Charles finally looked a bit relieved.
He bent down a little and said softly to Emily, "See? Mr. and Mrs. Winters are kind. There's nothing to be afraid of."
Emily gave a tearful smile.
"Thank you, Mr. Winters," she said.
My dad didn't acknowledge her thanks. Instead, he looked over at me.
"Sophie, you sit here," he told me.
Dad gestured toward the empty chair beside Mom.
That seat was reserved for his sister, Zoe Norman.
Aunt Zoe was running late. She said she was caught in traffic, so the seat was still vacant.
I didn't move.
Charles finally started to look impatient.
"Sophie," he called.
His voice was gentle, but there was a hint of warning in it.
For the past three years, whenever he called my name like that, I'd pretty much do whatever he wanted.
When he was swamped with work, I'd wait around for him.
When he went on business trips, I'd see him off.
If he ditched our plans last minute, I'd make excuses for him to my parents.
Every time he said Emily was going through a lot, I'd argue with him over the phone, but in the end, I'd eventually keep it to myself.
But tonight was different.
Tonight was my dad's birthday party.
It was also the night I was supposed to officially bring him into my family.
My mom had been worried that if my dad announced our engagement in front of everyone, it would be too sudden, so she had spent ages discussing it with me.
She had said Charles and I should wait until everyone was relaxed, after the elders had a few drinks, and then mention it naturally.
She'd prepared a cash gift for Charles.
It wasn't some ordinary cash gift. There was a bank card loaded with cash, plus a copy of a business partnership agreement drafted by the Legal Department of my dad's company.
Dad said Charles had been hustling for years to build his business, and he was trustworthy. Now that Charles was about to become family, our Winters family would lend him a hand however we could.
And now, the man I was about to bring into my family gave my seat to another woman.
He told me to grab another chair for myself.
My mom noticed the tension in the air and came over, gently touching the back of my hand.
"Sophie, sit down," she said softly.
When I saw the worry in her eyes, I suddenly felt a lump in my throat.
The place was packed with relatives today.
Dad's longtime friends had come over for his birthday.
No way was I going to let the birthday party turn into a mess the moment it started.
I took the seat meant for my aunt and sat down.
The server quickly brought over a chair and set it up at the very end of the main table.
It was a bit shorter than the others, with a narrower backrest.
There were no more red napkins left, so the server randomly grabbed a white one and placed it on the chair.