Chapter 6
Emily pressed her lips together, then murmured quietly, "Maybe I shouldn't have come."
Charles jumped in right away, "Stop overthinking it."
"But Sophie seems upset," Emily said.
"She needs some time to get used to things," Charles replied.
When he said that, I happened to walk up to them.
I stopped in my tracks for a moment.
I thought, 'I'm not used to it, huh?
'Hence, to Charles, I have to get used to many things, such as getting used to him leaving whenever he feels like it, Emily showing up whenever she wants, and my plans getting interrupted.
'Or I need to get used to having someone at my family gatherings who's "like family".
'And now, I have to get used to her sitting in my seat, wearing my shawl, and standing in my family's group photo.'
The photographer waved us over. "Everyone, get a little closer. Ms. Winters and Mr. Bennett, you two stand in the middle."
I took a step forward, but right then, Emily was bumped by the crowd and nearly fell right into Charles.
Charles instinctively reached out to steady her and didn't let go.
The photographer held up his camera, his smile awkwardly frozen.
"Is this young lady joining the photo, too?" the photographer asked.
Emily hurriedly tried to back away. "No, it's okay. I shouldn't. I'm not..."
But Charles held onto her arm, refusing to let her slip away.
"Come on. Take one," he offered, sounding so casual that it seemed to be nothing.
"You've already been here, anyway," he added.
I stood on his other side, only half a step away.
The photographer had planned for my parents to sit in the middle, with Charles and me standing behind them.
That was the main family photo of the night.
Later, it would be printed and added to the family album, and shared in the family group chat.
But now, Charles had his hand resting on Emily, steadying her.
She was pushed right up next to him.
I was on his other side.
In the photo, it looked like I was the odd one out, lingering awkwardly at the edge.
Dad sat in his chair and slowly looked up.
"Charles," he said. It was the second time tonight he'd called Charles by name.
Charles looked down at him.
Dad spoke quietly, "This is a family photo for the Winters family."
Emily's face instantly drained of color.
She hurriedly stepped back.
"Mr. Winters, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get in the shot," she said.
Charles frowned. "It's only a photo, Mr. Winters."
Dad didn't say anything right away.
Other relatives were still waiting for their turn to take a photo.
Dozens of eyes were fixed on us, and the tension in the air felt like a wire stretched to its limit, ready to snap at any second.
Mom stood next to Dad, her smile fading completely.
"Charles, Sophie's right here," she reminded Charles.
Her words were soft, almost like a gentle reminder.
But somehow, they hit harder than anything else said tonight.
Only then did Charles finally turn his gaze to me.
He looked like he wanted to explain. His lips moved, but no words came out.
Emily had already stepped aside, her eyes teary and red.
"Chuck, please don't be upset with Mr. and Mrs. Winters because of me. This is all my fault. I never should have come," she said.
Charles's expression shifted when he heard the tremble in her voice.
He turned to look at her.
"No one's blaming you," he said.
Dad suddenly stood up.
As soon as he did, the whole room fell silent.
The photographer lowered his camera.
Dad walked over to me and gently brushed a stray lock of hair off my shoulder.
He hadn't done that for me in front of everyone in years.
The last time was at my college graduation.
Back then, I was in my cap and gown, and he was standing in the crowd, more nervous than me. He was afraid that my cap would be off-center and mess up the picture.
Now, as he looked at me, I could see that he felt sorry for me. He tried to hide it, but it was still obvious.
"Sophie, come stand between Dad and Mom," he said.
I froze for a moment.
Mom came over, took my hand, and led me to stand between them.
Dad then turned to the photographer.
"Let's take a photo of our family of three first," he said.
The photographer nodded quickly. "Alright, Mr. Winters. Now, please look at the camera."
Charles stood off to the side, his expression stiff and awkward.
He probably had never seen it coming as my dad left him out of the family photo.
The camera shutter clicked once.
Then again.
As I stood between my parents, I heard my dad murmur, "Smile, sweetie."
I forced a smile.
But I doubt it looked any good.
My mom squeezed my hand.
Then came the big family group shot with all the relatives.
Charles finally came back to stand next to me.
But he kept a good distance from me, like he didn't want to get too close.
Emily stood at the edge of the crowd, head down, looking like a kid who'd been isolated by everyone.
The relatives started whispering among themselves.
"Who is she, anyway?"
"I heard she's Charles's younger schoolmate from college."
"She's sitting at the main table, isn't she? And right next to Charles, Richard's future son-in-law."
"Look at Rick's face. Something's definitely up."
The whispers weren't loud, but they were loud enough for everyone to hear.
Charles's face grew darker and darker.
As soon as the group photo was done, Emily turned and headed straight for the restroom.
Charles instinctively moved to follow her.
My dad called out to him, "Charles."
Charles froze in his tracks.
My dad stood there with his hands behind his back, watching him.
"If the guest is upset, you can go see how she's doing. But don't forget. You're here as Sophie's boyfriend," he said.
Charles pressed his lips into a thin line.
He glanced at me.
I stayed silent.
But in the end, Charles still headed toward the restroom.
Someone in the crowd quietly drew in a breath.
My mom closed her eyes for a moment.
My dad wasn't angry; he only watched Charles's back as Charles left, his gaze lingering for a long time.
A few minutes later, my father's sister, Zoe Norman, finally arrived.
As soon as she walked into the banquet hall, she could tell something was off. She came over to me, her bag in hand.
"What's going on, Sophie? I saw an extra chair at the main table, and your dad looks pretty grim," Aunt Zoe said.
Before I could say anything, Alex leaned in and quietly filled her in on what had happened.
Aunt Zoe's brows shot up as soon as she heard it.
"Who does he mean by she's like family? Whose family is he talking about?" she snapped.
I tugged at her sleeve.
"Aunt Zoe, it's Dad's birthday today," I reminded her.
She glanced at me, her voice dropping.
"You know it's your dad's birthday, huh? Did you see his face now?" she whispered.
Of course I knew.
That was exactly why I didn't want things to get completely out of hand right now.