Chapter 2 A heavy blow

Crystal stepped out of the towering office building, her heels clicking against the pavement as the last rays of sunlight danced across the glass. The golden glow bathed the world in warmth, but she felt nothing but cold shock gripping her chest.

Andrew Ryan had just proposed to her.

Not figuratively. Not some flirtatious joke. A real marriage proposal bold and emotionless from a man she'd only just met.

Her steps faltered as she crossed the nearly empty parking lot, each step echoing in the quiet. Why her?

Of all the women someone like him could choose elegant, connected and powerful. Why her? She was ordinary. No title, no fame, no leverage. Just a common girl.

She flagged down a taxi and slid inside, her hands trembling as she pulled the door shut. Tossing her bag onto the seat beside her, she exhaled shakily, leaning her head against the cool window. Street Lights flickered to life outside, casting moving shadows across her face as the cab merged into traffic.

Her phone buzzed.

She jumped.

Emily.

Relieved, she answered quickly. "Hey."

"Hey, darling," Emily's voice was its usual warmth. "How was work? You sounded a little out of it earlier."

Crystal hesitated. "Yeah... it was a day."

Emily wasn't buying it. "You sound weird. Spill whatever that is wrong with you."

Crystal chewed her bottom lip. Should she tell her? How would she even begin to explain a CEO proposing marriage out of nowhere?

"I met someone. Kind of a... strange encounter."

"Oh? Strange how?"

"He's arrogant and cold. Acting like he owns the world."

Emily snorted. "A walking ego. Fantastic. Tell me you didn't fall for it. Or did he threaten you?"

"I didn't," Crystal said quickly. "No.. no..no he didn't. It just caught me off guard."

There was a beat of silence.

"You okay?" Emily asked gently.

"I think so. Just processing. I'll explain everything to you later I promise."

"Alright. But if you need me tonight, call. I'll show up with ice cream and pepper spray."

Crystal smiled despite herself. "Thanks, Em."

The call ended, and silence rushed back in. Outside, the city lights blurred into streaks of white and red. Her thoughts swirled like a storm. Andrew's face, his confidence, the way he had looked at her like she was a pawn.

What was he really after?

Her phone rang again. She glanced at the screen and groaned.

Steven.

She answered with a forced calm. "Hello?"

"Crystal," he said with that same soft persistence she'd come to dread. "I've been thinking about you. Have you thought more about what we talked about yesterday?"

She rubbed her temple. Here we go again.

"Steven, we've talked about this. I told you..."

"I know, I know," he interrupted. "But I just can't let it go. I feel like there's something real between us. We can build up together."

Crystal bit down her frustration. He always said the same things. Always refused to take a hint.

"Steven, please. I need space to breathe." She answered him, sounding frustrated.

A pause. "Okay. Just checking in. I hope you're alright." Not wanting to annoy her further.

She ended the call before he could say more and dropped the phone onto the seat beside her.

Her chest felt tight. Between Andrew's sudden proposal and Steven's suffocating persistence, her life didn't feel like hers anymore. Like she was being pulled in opposite directions and losing her grip in the middle.

She just wanted a peaceful and quiet day. Was that so much to ask?

The taxi slowed at a red light. She looked down and realized her fingers were curled around something in her bag. Andrew's business card.

Elegant, gold-embossed. Cold, just like him.

Her thumb brushed over the raised letters.

What did he really want? Why her?

And worse... Why was some small, ridiculous part of her curious about him?

Crystal shoved the card back into her bag, shutting the thought away. This wasn't a time for distractions. Not when her life was already hanging by a thread.

Still, as the car pulled into her neighborhood, and the familiar streets rolled by, a strange sensation crept over her like she had met him before. Like somewhere deep in her memory, he was already there.

She shook her head.

No. That was impossible.

But she knew, even if she refused to say it out loud nothing in her life would ever be the same again as things have been taking strange turns.

Crystal stepped out of the taxi, her shoulders heavy from the long day. She had been running on fumes all week, and all she wanted was a quiet evening to rest, to catch her breath. The evening was still, and the air had a chill that hinted at the coming night.

Just as she reached the front door, her phone rang, breaking the silence. The sharp sound made her jump. She glanced at the screen, and a cold shiver crawled up her spine as she saw the name displayed: Dr. Smith.

"Hello?" she answered, trying to sound composed, though her pulse quickened.

"Miss Luke, this is Dr. Smith from the hospital," the voice said, calm but distant.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news about your father."

Crystal's throat tightened, and the world seemed to tilt beneath her.

"What... what happened?" she whispered, dread lacing her voice.

There was a pause, and then came the words that shattered her world.

"I'm sorry to inform you that your father passed away this afternoon and has been taken to the mortuary."

Her body went numb. Everything around her, the trees swaying in the evening breeze, the distant sound of a dog barking faded into a blur.

Her father was gone. It couldn't be. She had just seen him two nights ago. He'd smiled at her, squeezed her hand, told her he was proud of her.

She swallowed hard, her breath coming in shallow bursts. "No... no," she whispered, the words breaking in her throat.

"Miss Luke, are you still there?" The doctor's voice reached her as though from far away.

Crystal gripped the phone tighter. "Why was my father taken to the mortuary without the family's approval? We hadn't... we hadn't even made arrangements yet."

The line went silent for a moment, before the doctor spoke again, his tone hesitant. "It was your mother who requested it, Miss Luke. She made the arrangements."

Her heart dropped. Her own mother, making decisions without consulting her, without even a word of compassion.

Crystal's breath hitched. "She... She didn't even tell me?"

The doctor's voice softened. "I'm sorry, Miss Luke. I understand this is difficult. But she insisted on immediate arrangements, and we followed her instructions."

Crystal's hands began to shake. She hadn't been consulted. No one had asked her opinion. They just went ahead, as if she didn't matter.

"Miss Luke, are you alright?" Dr. Smith asked gently.

But instead of answering, she ended the call, her fingers trembling as the phone slipped from her grip. She turned toward the house, each step feeling heavier than the last, as if the weight of the world had suddenly fallen on her shoulders.

The door creaked open. She stepped inside, barely aware of her surroundings, her breath ragged in her chest.

Her mother, Abigail, sat on the couch, her twin siblings, Mia and Matthew, lounging beside her. Their faces were blank, their eyes distant, like they were in another world entirely.

"What's going on?" Crystal asked, her voice faint, shaking from the storm of emotions inside her.

No one responded.

Mia lazily scrolled through her phone. Matthew yawned and stretched, unbothered by the heaviness in the air. Crystal's gaze flicked to her mother, but Abigail didn't even acknowledge her presence.

"They called," Crystal said, her voice breaking. "Dad... he's gone."

Still, no one moved, no one spoke. The silence between them was suffocating.

And in that silence, Crystal knew. They had known. They didn't care.

She felt her chest tighten, the sting of betrayal cutting deeper than any knife. Her father had been the only one who'd ever cared. The only one who'd ever loved her.

But now, even he is gone. And he was their father but they didn't care.