Chapter 19 - THE WATCH COMES OUT OF THE SAFE
Lily turned thirteen.
Adrian gave her the Rolex.
Not permanently.
Not yet.
He removed it from the safe and placed it in her hand.
“It was Grandpa’s.”
Lily turned it over.
“This is the one?”
“Yes.”
“The famous crime watch?”
Emma laughed from the sofa.
“That is not what it’s called.”
“It almost got you arrested.”
“True.”
Lily studied it.
“Why keep it?”
Adrian considered.
“Because Vanessa’s actions don’t get to decide what my father’s watch means.”
Emma smiled.
Good answer.
Lily slipped it around her wrist.
Much too loose.
“What if I lose it?”
Adrian immediately reached for it.
Emma laughed.
“You’re not emotionally ready.”
“I am completely ready.”
“You moved six inches in half a second.”
Lily grinned.
Then her expression became serious.
“Do you hate Vanessa?”
Adrian looked at Emma.
“No.”
Lily turned to Emma.
“Do you?”
“No.”
“Did you forgive her?”
Emma thought.
“Mostly.”
“Does that mean you’d be friends?”
“No.”
Lily frowned.
“Why?”
Emma sat beside her.
“Forgiveness means I don’t need what happened to keep hurting me.”
“It doesn’t mean I pretend it never happened.”
Lily looked at the Rolex.
“So this is just a watch now?”
Emma smiled.
“Exactly.”
That was the victory nobody posted online.
The object had become ordinary again.
No longer evidence.
No longer humiliation.
No longer revenge.
Just metal.
Glass.
May you like
Gears.
Time moving forward.
