)


    Josh had the kind of presence thatmanded respect. His words weren’t just a suggestion-they were a deration, solid and unyielding.


    He was a handsome, strong-willed man, and this wasn’t someone I could toy with.


    I was only looking for him to y a role, but he was talking about something much more serious, and I knew I couldn’t ept that.


    I smiled and said, “Josh, I made myself clear. Since our goals don’t align, let’s drop it.”


    “But you need a boyfriend, don’t you?” he asked, his voice persistent.


    “Yeah, I do,” I replied. “But not with someone like you. I can’t y those games with you. I’ll find another way.” My words. seemed to have deepened the look in Josh’s eyes.


    I expected him to stop me, maybe try to convince me, but to my surprise, he didn’t say anything.


    I walked toward the car, feeling like I was running away, escaping from everything.


    When I finally felt like he couldn’t see me anymore, I parked and took a deep breath, suddenly regretting my impulsive actions from the night before.


    What was I thinking? I shouldn’t have dragged Josh into this. I could’ve asked anyone-even Oscar-to y this role, but I had to bring Josh into it.


    But what’s done is done. I couldn’t undo it now.


    After I calmed down, I drove to a flower shop and bought a bouquet for my parents’ grave.


    But what’s done is done. I couldn’t undo it now.


    I hadn’t been there much, except on Qingming and the anniversary of their passing. But recently, I’d been dreaming about my childhood and my parents. I felt like they missed me, and I wanted to visit.


    When I arrived at the cemetery, I noticed a bouquet of flowers already ced in front of the gravestone. The flowers were wilted, indicating the visitor hadn’t been by in over half a month.


    My parents had passed over a decade ago, and the only people who still remembered them were me, Peter, and Michelle. Could it have been them?


    But if it was, why hadn’t Michelle mentioned it?


    I was puzzled. But then I remembered the tension between me and Alvin. Maybe Michelle had forgotten to mention it.


    I cleared the wilted flowers aside and ced my new bouquet.


    Looking at my parents’ youthful faces on the gravestone, my heart ached. But I smiled and said, “Mom, Dad, have you been thinking of me? I’ve been dreaming about youtely.


    “Mom, Dad, I broke up with Alvin. I’m sorry I couldn’t fulfill your wish and marry him like you wanted.


    “I know you wanted what was best for me. But I’m sure you’d rather I be happy, right?”


    I sat there, talking to them for over an hour, until the sun had climbed high. Then, reluctantly, I stood up to leave.


    As I reached for the old flowers to throw them out, I realized something strange: they weren’t lilies, my mother’s favorite flower, but daisies-small, white daisies.


    All the years I’d spent with the Doltons, the flowers Peter and Michelle always brought to my parents’ grave, even Alvin and I, were always lilies.


    But this time, the flower was a daisy, not a lily. It was clear this wasn’t the kind of flower they would’ve sent.


    So who brought these daisies?


    I couldn’t shake the suspicion. Had one of my parents’ old friendse to visit?


    The thought crossed my mind but was quickly dismissed. Peter and Michelle had chosen this cemetery, and when my parents were buried, there hadn’t been any other rtives around.


    Even their friends didn’t know about this ce.


    Who could it have been?


    A strange feeling crawled up my spine, and I couldn’t shake the uneasy sensation. Finally, I decided to call Michelle.


    “Zoe!” Michelle answered excitedly as soon as the phone rang. “I was just about to call you!”


    I paused, trying to keep my voice steady. “Michelle, is there something you need from me?”