I Sold My Heart To Forget Them—Now They Beg Me To Remember novel Chapter 7

That day was full of chaos and panic.

I didn’t learn what had happened until much later.

And right now, I was holding a butter knife, carefully slicing into a cake that had “Wishing Emma Peace written on

frosting.

The lights in the classroom were off.

In the flickering candlelight, everyone gathered around, singing.

“Make a wish, Emma!”

I closed my eyes, counted to three, and screamed inside my head.

Please, God, let me stay far, far away from those bastards in this lifetime!

When I opened my eyes again, Theodore was holding a delicate little box and presenting it to me.

“Happy birthday, Emma! Go on, open it!”

I smiled and lifted the lid, then froze.

Inside was a delicate hairpin set with tiny diamonds. It was beautifully made.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”

He scratched his head in worry.

“I should’ve asked you first… That day I was walking you to your tutoring class, I saw you staring at this hair clip on the

street.”

“But that one was too cheap, not good enough for a gift. So I went out of my way to find one that looked just like it. –*

“I love it. Thank you.”

He froze.

I picked up the hairpin and clipped it into my hair. Thank you.

Something flickered in his eyes. ‘You’re welcome! Glad you like it. It’s–it’s really pretty on you

It was really pretty.

It was called ‘Starlight.” Designed by some big–name international jeweler–Victor. I think

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When I was seventeen, I had fallen for it at an auction.

I thought my mother would love it.

So I eagerly raised my paddle, having saved up for five or six years.

But that day, no matter how high I bid, Sophie outbid me. Every time. By just a little.

In the end, my mother paid an absurd thirty million and one, securing the hairpin and putting it on Sophie’s head.

Dylan had said, “You already have everything. Why are you fighting with a little girl over this?”

Everyone told me to be the bigger person.

Sophie paraded it in front of me every day.

“Emmeline, if you like it so much, I can give it to you, you know.”

“Even though it was a gift from the family… I just feel so bad for you. So, I’ll let you have it, okay?”

It had almost become my personal torment.

It’s what drove me over the edge in the years that followed.

And now, three years early, this little clip had found its way to me.

No need to let jealousy eat me alive. No need to fight tooth and nail for it. It was mine. Just mine.

“Thank you… thank you all, really…”

It felt like magic. Like a heart I thought had died long ago was finally starting to beat again.

After that, the Lancaster family’s efforts to bother me dropped off sharply.

Even Caleb and Dylan, who used to show up like clockwork, disappeared for a long time.

Later, the class’s resident gossip told me, all hush–hush

Sophie seemed to have fallen ill. And very badly.

She couldn’t stand it if any of them left her side for even a second

If she woke up and couldn’t find the three of them, she would pante

She would scream so loudly the whole floor could hear. Visiting classmates would get scared, drop their flowers and rush out of the room.

“I heard your morn mentioned sending her to school abroad, and she freaked!”

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“And get this–she even threatened to kill herself.”

“She was supposed to be recovering at home, but she wouldn’t let your brother go to sch

“Made the whole family stay with her in the hospital instead.”

“Even Dylan couldn’t get away. And I heard the Ashfords had a huge fight with your parents over it.

I clenched the pen in my hand.

It felt exactly like my last life.

Whenever people ignored her, she tried even harder to get their attention.

She threw tantrums and had constant meltdowns. Sometimes she acted completely unhinged.

But somehow, she was the lucky one. Her family put up with it. All of it.

Well. None of my business.

I was free. I was happy.

With no one bothering me, I cracked down on the whole class.

We were going to study, and that was that.

Anyone who didn’t study got a “gentle nudge” from Theodore.

And sure enough, half a year later, the whole class got into the best high school in the city.

I didn’t set foot in the Lancaster Estate that entire summer. Not once.

I went climbing Kazbek with Theodore’s family.

That’s when I found out his parents were serious mountaineers. Like, professional–level

They’d planned to climb Mont Blanc before.

But the minimum age for summiting was sixteen. Neither of us qualified

So they’d switched routes last minute.

“Here, Emma. Have some hot apple cider.”

I’d met Theodore’s mom before, of course.

Over the past three years, besides school activities, she often came specifically to see me.

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This stunning woman would wrap me in a hug and refuse to let go

‘Emma’s so cute! So pretty! I love her! Come be my daughter

“Ugh, why is my daughter a boy? It’s just not fair!

Theodore’s face twisted in protest

Mom! For crying out loud! Why is your daughter a boy? Because you don’t have one! I’m your sont

No one paid him any mind.

His father’s laughter was deafening

The whole mountain top was filled with this warm, happy energy.

I panted, looking out over the vast whiteness of the summit.

Theodore shook out a blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders.

I turned and caught his parents huddled together, grinning like idiots.

They quickly turned away.

“Wow, this mountain is tall

“And look at that snow. So white.”

Theodore’s face flushed again.

I couldn’t help it. I felt the corner of my mouth twitch up.

He froze.

I didn’t know if he was looking at the diamonds sparkling in my hair… or at the way my eyes curved when I smiled

Bright. Full of light.

It made you feel that somewhere in this world, someone still cared about you with a pure and stubborn heart.

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