Ongoing · — reads

Hearts Laughing in Sweet Love

"Sorry, Ms. Bennett, I can't make it to the company dinner. I'm meeting my boyfriend's parents that night." "A gift? Please hold it for me, and thank Mr. Harrison for me, would you?" After hanging up, I sat down, shivering from the cold. Outside, the breeze teased the goose-yellow forsythia. It reminded me of the scene near the playground at Liberty High back then. Those lonely nights, Lucas Harrison would kiss me passionately under the blossoms, over and over. Whenever I was frightened and tearful, he'd soothe me endlessly, "Emma, we'll marry someday. Don't worry, I've got you." I, the gullible Emma Bennett, hung on Lucas's every word. Liberty High's playground, the empty classrooms, Lucas's posh downtown apartment— they all were imprinted with our youthful zeal. In retrospect, they all testified to my youthful gullibility. Lucas stepped out of the stretch Lincoln, welcomed by the VP and senior executives at the hotel entrance.