Facade of Love

Chapter 307 Emily Seeks Help
Charlie looked at me, a bit lost. “Tooth–losing years?”
ones
I nodded. “You know, from like six to twelve, when your baby teeth fall out, and the adult come in. Do you remember? I used to
toss my teeth under the bed or up on the roof. Mom hated the under–the–bed thing–she was a total clean freak–so Dad ended
up keeping them. Then, every April, we would go back to our hometown for this family remembrance thing, and he would chuck
them on the old house’s roof.”
As I reminisced about those days, they seemed so distant, like a foggy dream. The image of my dad, once so towering and
strong, was fading, and now, even the sound of his voice, the lines of his face, were slipping away from me.
A lump formed in my throat, and I quickly took a bite of my food, pushing down the wave of emotion that threatened to surface.
A moment later, when I glanced up at Charlie, I noticed he still looked confused. I could not help but blurt out, “You can’t
seriously tell me you don’t remember anything from when you. were little, can you?”
He nodded, his eyes earnest. “I don’t have any childhood memories.”
I paused, puzzled. “No childhood memories? So, did you just skip being a kid?” After a brief pause, I ventured, “Were your
parents super strict with you or something?”
His head shook, his eyes steady. “I’m an orphan. As far back as I can remember, all I knew was that I had to fight just to make it
through.”
My heart ached for him. I had not seen that coming at all. I figured he had never tried cotton. candy because his parents were
tough, but now I realized it was because... his early years must have been nothing like mine.
I was not one to dig into people’s past hurts, but I could not shake off a wave of sympathy for
him.
Not wanting him to catch on to my pity, I cracked a smile and nudged the food his way, “What do you say we hit the streets after
dinner?”

He looked up, his face unreadable, and gave a slight nod.
Chatting was not exactly my strong suit. I had planned to swap fun little kid stories, but after stumbling onto his past, it just did
not seem right to keep at it.
Thus, we ate in an odd silence. The commotion from the street below had died down–looked like the cops had shown up.
When we finished eating, it was still early. I got up to settle the bill. Charlie, sitting in his wheelchair, was about to say something,
yet I cut him off with a grin, “I know you’re loaded, but remember, I said this one’s on me. So tonight, just enjoy your meal. I’ve
got it all handled.” He let out a soft chuckle, his good looks shining through as he gave a slight nod.
After I paid up at the front, I spun around to head back to Charlie. A voice stopped me in my tracks, however. “Yvette.”
I recognized the voice and glanced over to see Emily and Liam stepping out of a booth. Emily
Chapter 2017 Emily Benne kreat
was the one calling out to me.
I was pleasantly surprised to bump into them. “Hey, Liam, Emily,” I greeted them with a warm smile.
Liam gave me a slight nod, keeping quiet.
Emily, on the other hand, looked at me curiously. “Here by yourself?”
I shook my head, still smiling. “No, I’m with a friend.”
Charlie must have noticed I ran into some friends because he wheeled himself over and chimed in, “Your friends?”
I nodded. There was not much to talk about, and I was not planning on hanging around to chat with Emily and Liam. “Liam,
Emily, we’ve got to run, but let’s catch up soon, okay?”
With that, I started pushing Charlie out of the restaurant. We had not gotten far when Emily hurried after us. “Yvette.”
I turned, a bit surprised she had followed. “What’s up, Emily?”
She glanced at Charlie, hesitated for a heartbeat, then turned back to me. “Yvette, can we talk for a second? Just the two of us
for like five minutes.”

She looked like she had something important on her mind, so I quickly nodded and asked Charlie, “Do you mind waiting here for
a bit?”
Charlie nodded. “Sure thing, I’ll hang out here. Go on.”
Emily tugged at my arm, leading me away from Charlie until we were a good thirty feet apart. She locked eyes with me, her voice
earnest. “Yvette, I know it’s not the best time since you and Iddy split up, but I’ve got to tell you–Idris still cares about you. There
are things that, coming from your mouth, he would definitely listen to.”