Chapter 4
I saw Charles leaning in, whispering to Emily, "Don't cry, or your makeup will run."
Emily sniffled.
"Sophie must hate me now," she sobbed.
"She only needs a little time to get used to it," Charles replied.
"But it's Mr. Winters' birthday today. I don't want to make things difficult for you," Emily continued.
Charles paused for a second.
"It won't," he said. "I'm here for you."
"I'm here for you." I'd heard those words from him countless times before.
When I was working overtime late into the night, he'd said, "I'm here for you."
But the next day, when Emily was freaking out about her thesis defense, he left me to get an IV at the hospital all by myself.
When my dad first brought up the idea of our families meeting, Charles had said, "I'm here for you."
But that same day, Emily's apartment flooded, and he stayed up helping her find a plumber until midnight.
When I talked to him about setting a date for our engagement, he had said, "I'm here for you."
But then Emily wanted to join his company, so he handed her the project manager position I'd already secured, saying she needed the opportunity more.
Every time he had said, "I'm here for you," to me, I always ended up facing everything alone.
I lowered my gaze and finished the water in my glass.
Alex, sitting at the next table, secretly texted me: [Sophie, is that guy your boyfriend?
[Honestly, it looks like he's brought his wife home to meet his family and had you tag along for company.]
When I read his message, my fingers paused for a moment.
I didn't reply.
After a while, the emcee called our family up to the stage to cut the cake.
My mom stood up and called out to me, "Sophie, go up with your dad."
When I stood up, Emily suddenly stood up, too.
After all the relatives fussing over her, she was too used to it, so as soon as she heard the word "family", she instinctively stood up to follow.
Charles reached out and gently pulled her back.
"Emily," he called.
That was when she realized what she'd done, and her face flushed bright red.
"Sorry. I misheard," she explained.
My mom looked at her, saying nothing.
My dad was already at the edge of the stage.
He glanced back, his eyes sweeping over Emily before settling on Charles.
"Charles, come on up, too," he said.
He finally called Charles but didn't call him Chuck as usual.
Charles stood up.
As Emily sat back down, her fingers clenched tightly around the hem of her dress.
I followed my dad up to the stage.
Charles stood on the other side.
The emcee smiled, "Today, Mr. Winters is celebrating his 60th birthday with his daughter and future son-in-law right here with him. That's a real blessing."
The audience broke into applause.
Charles's expression softened, as if he'd finally gotten the recognition he'd been longing for all night.
The emcee handed him the microphone.
"Let's hear what the future son-in-law would like to say," the emcee said with a grin.
Charles took the mic and shot me a quick glance.
"Mr. and Mrs. Winters, thank you for treating me like family all these years," he said.
That line sounded pretty normal.
Dad didn't show much emotion.
Charles continued, "Sophie and I have been together for three years, and she's always supported me.
"Tonight, I want to thank the Winters family for making me and everyone important to me feel at home."
When he said "everyone important to me," his gaze slid right past me and out into the crowd.
I didn't have to turn around to know who he was looking at.
Sure enough, people in the audience followed his gaze.
Emily sat at the main table, her eyes rimmed with tears as she smiled at him.
The applause was scattered and weak.
The emcee hesitated for a moment.
Dad reached out and took the microphone from Charles.
"Today is my birthday celebration," he said. His voice wasn't loud, but it slowly quieted the whole banquet hall.
"Thank you all for coming. Our kids are all grown up now, and Sophie is at the age where she should be starting her own family," he continued.
Charles visibly relaxed.
He thought my dad was finally going to give him his blessing.
My mom looked up at my dad from the audience, her face filled with mixed emotions.
My dad paused, then suddenly smiled.
"But when it comes to young people's private life, we don't need to rush. Let's enjoy the meal first, and we can talk about the other matters later," he said.
He handed the microphone back to the emcee.
The emcee paused for a second, then quickly jumped in, "Mr. Winters is right. The most important thing today is to have fun. Come on. Let's cut the cake together!"
The applause started up again.
Charles stood next to me, his face darkening.
I didn't look at him.
I only took the cake knife from my dad.
The handle was cold.
Dad's hand covered mine, pressing down gently.
That gentle touch steadied me, pulling me out of the embarrassment I'd been stuck in a few minutes ago.
As I cut into the cake, some cream got on my fingertips.
Suddenly, memories of Charles's birthday last year hit me out of nowhere.
I baked him a cake with my own hands and brought it all the way to his office.
But Charles never came down to get it.
Later, scrolling through Emily's Instagram, I saw him there. He was celebrating his birthday with her.
Back then, I had thought I was late.
Now I finally got it. Some places in his heart were never meant for me.
After we finished cutting the cake, Charles led me out onto the little terrace outside the banquet hall.
There were a few potted plants out there, and through the glass, we could still see everyone inside. They were raising their glasses, laughing, and mingling in the bright, noisy room.
Charles closed the terrace door behind us, and the careful mask he'd been wearing all night slipped away in an instant.
"Sophie, what did your dad mean by that?" he asked.
I looked at him.
"Which part are you asking about?" I asked.
"Do you have to pretend you don't know?" Charles growled, suppressing his voice.
"Was he supposed to announce our engagement up there?" he asked.
"Yes, he was," I replied in a peaceful voice.
He was clearly caught off guard.
"Then why did he change his mind at the last minute?" he asked.
I didn't answer right away.
The breeze was a little chilly, flipping up the corner of a paper napkin on the table.
I pressed the paper napkin down, then looked up at him.
"Charles, why didn't you tell me you were bringing Emily here?" I asked.
Charles frowned.
"She was out of it today. I was afraid she'd do something stupid if she was by herself," he replied.
"So you thought bringing her to my dad's birthday was a good idea, huh?" I asked.
"I told you, she's got no family," he replied.
"Because she's got no family, she gets to sit where I should be?" I shot back.
Charles was silent for a few seconds.
"It's only a chair," he retorted.
I gave a short, bitter chuckle.