Page 91 of Until We Burn
I reach into my pocket and pull out a quarter. Someone had glued specks of glitter onto the Canadian goose, making the coin glint like a star.
I rub the back of my neck. “Honestly, I don’t know why I’m giving this to you when you probably have a ton of these?—”
“I’ll hold onto it.” Diana takes it from me and hugs it to her chest as if the coin is the most precious thing in the world.
My heart pathetically aches at how adorable she is. I want to brush her hair back and kiss her forehead. Just do anything rather than feel this distance between us.
But all I can do is hold onto her hair clip and carry it with me as I leave.
CHAPTER 38
DIANA
I knowa hair clip and a coin can only do so much.
But I love how they’re tangible things for Kai and me to hold onto when everything becomes too overwhelming, and the other person isn’t around to bring relief.
As Hans drives me back to the mansion on Belmont, my thumb brushes over the glittery coin. Watching the silver and gold specks shimmer under the streetlights makes me smile like the child I never got to be.
The coin is a piece of Kai that only I get to keep, and it feels like he’s walking into this hellish dinner with me.
It’s a comfort I definitely need tonight.
At the table, no one breaks the silence. There’s only the dainty clink of spoons against ceramic bowls, and soup being quietly sipped and swallowed.
This isn’t a good sign.
Casual, non-urgent news is always announced before the food is brought out. But news announced after a meal means it’s too dire to be discussed while everyone is eating. The chance of disrupting the announcement by dropping a spoon or choking on a piece of food is too high.
Which means whatever bàba is about to tell us tonight demands our full, undivided attention.
I sneak a glance at Jonathan, Gregory, and Sophia. Despite how even and steady their movements are, I catch the subtle, imploring looks they shoot bàba’s way.
They don’t know what he’s going to tell us either.
That means only one thing: if none of us know about the announcement, it has the power to make us all stumble.
We brace ourselves as the soup bowls are cleared away.
Bàba watches us with his dark, piercing eyes. “I brought you all here today because there are personal changes that will impact the CEO vote.”
Fear pinches my heart. It slows yet beats hard under my numbing chest.
“Your grandfather’s health is declining,” Bàba reveals. “It’s not safe for him to live in Taipei by himself. He will be staying here, and your mother and I will look after him as filial duty demands. Because of that, I will not be able to lead the HMG until June like I expected. I will be moving the CEO vote to the end of April to allow one of you to take it over as soon as possible.”
My stomach drops.
Six months.
Instead of eight, I now have six months to rebuild everything. That’s not enough time. If I don’t win the vote, I’d be under the mercy of whoever does. Considering how my family has treated me, I know they wouldn’t hesitate to kick me out or make me stay and give me hell. I don’t know how to navigate a life beyond what I’ve planned for myself and the thought that I might have to terrifies me.
The news doesn’t sit right with any of my siblings.
Jonathan shifts in his seat. “Why can’t Uncle Frederik look after agong?”
“Your Uncle Frederik is busy with his own affairs,” Bàba snaps.
He doesn’t elaborate further, but I see the panic ebbing beneath the surface of his composure at Uncle Frederik’s name and I don’t understand why.
