"Emily woke up the second time with the sound of her phone ringing"
She dragged a hand over her face.
"Stupid wine."
It was a call from Her best friend
"Yes Tiang I'll be there by noon...."
"Timothy walked in after she dropped the phone on the bed stand and wanted to continue her sleep"
She groaned into the pillow. "Please don't start again."
"Not a chance."
He walked closer, crouching beside the bed. "Emily, you said something about a palace. And guards."
"I told you I was drunk."
"So drunk you invented a monarchy out of thin air?"
Emily choked on air. "Timothy"
"And a 'Nor... something Kingdom.'" He repeated the name slowly, like tasting a flavor he couldn't identify. "Where is that? Europe? Asia?
She flung a pillow at his face. He caught it effortlessly and smirked.
"Fine," she snapped. "Maybe I… dreamed it. People talk nonsense when drunk."
"You don't strike me as the nonsense type."
He said it softly. Too softly.
Like he wasn't teasing anymore.
Her pulse jerked.
But before he could ask more before she could slip up again her phone buzzed.
"Apollo"
Emily's heartbeat stuttered. She sat up instantly.
Timothy noticed. His eyes narrowed.
She turned away before answering.
Apollo: "Call me. Now. I've found something."
Emily's stomach tightened.
She typed quickly, "Give me ten minutes."
Timothy lingered behind her. She could feel his stare like a hand on her back.
"Who is that?" he asked, voice deceptively even.
"A friend."
"From where?"
"My past."
He waited for her to elaborate.
She didn't.
"Can you give me 10 minutes I need to make a call?"
His jaw ticked, just barely. "I'll be downstairs."
Emily exhaled the second he left the room.
Emily shut the door, pressed her back to it, and dialed.
Apollo picked up before the first ring finished.
"Emily."
Just hearing his voice steadied her.
"What did you find?" she asked.
"A thread," he said. "Small, but connected. Your death wasn't an accident. The report the world saw? It was forged. And whoever forged it had government-level access."
Emily's breath hitched. "So it was inside?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"Emily, someone wanted you gone. Cleanly. Quietly. And they almost succeeded."
She closed her eyes.
"I figured as much."
"Where are you staying now? Are you safe?"
She hesitated. "Yes. For now."
"Good. Stay low. No unnecessary movements. Don't tell anyone else about"
"I know, Apollo."
Is " MASTER" aware that you are still alive?
Emily eye darkened "No, not yet"
Apollo didn't nodded "I understand"
His voice softened. "We'll take the next step soon. I'm right here."
Emily swallowed the sudden ache in her throat. "Thank you."
"Always."
She ended the call before her emotions betrayed her.
---------------------
Chai Tiang picked her up that afternoon, bouncing with her usual chaotic enthusiasm.
"You look like you lost a fight with your own emotions," Tiang said, linking arms with her.
"I lost a fight with wine."
"No wonder. You walk like your soul is lagging behind you."
Emily snorted. "Can you not?"
They slipped into the mall, the noise and colors washing away the heaviness tangled in her chest. Chai Tiang pulled her through racks of clothes, shoved shoes at her, insisted she try ten things she didn't need, and somehow made the world feel temporarily normal.
Emily didn't realize how much she needed that normalcy until she was laughing again.
Not the cautious, polite laugh she used at home.
A real one.
Back at the house, Timothy sat in his office, files forgotten. His mind kept circling the same point.
'A kingdom'
'A palace'
A version of Emily that didn't match this world at all.
He had seen drunks. Plenty.
But drunk people didn't speak with certainty about things that didn't exist.
Something about Emily didn't add up.
And the more he thought about it, the more the puzzle hooked him.
He leaned back in his chair, whispering to the empty room:
"What are you hiding, Emily?"
Emily returned home just before sunset, bags in her hands, eyes brighter than they'd been in days.
Timothy met her in the hallway.
His gaze softened instinctively.
"You bought the whole mall," he muttered.
"Retail therapy," she said, stepping past him. "It's survival."
He followed her with his eyes.
For the first time, he didn't see the quiet, reserved Emily who tried to fade into the background.
He saw a girl carrying a storm in her bones.
A girl trying so hard to hold herself together.
And something inside him shifted.
Quietly. Firmly.
He wanted to understand her.
Protect her.
Maybe more.
She turned, caught him staring, and frowned.
"What?"
"Nothing."