𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐘

FIVE | THE BREAKING BRANCH

The rest of the week went by smoothly, and before Jade knew it, it was the weekend.

Things had been so busy with the young woman as she adjusted to the university life, so as much as she despised her parents, she figured she'd try reaching out to them since they had made no such effort after dropping her off.

Jade dialed the landline, and after several rings, she heard the phone pick up.

"Hello?" she said quickly, sitting up in surprise.

"Hello, Jade," a friendly voice said, causing her to frown. Her parents had not picked up. Instead, she had reached their housekeeper, Amelia.

"Hi, Amelia. Are my parents home?" Jade asked.

"I'm sorry, Jade. They are, but they're in the study tending to some urgent business matters. They have ordered me not to disrupt them."

"I see," Jade responded flatly. She was disappointed, though it was not at all unexpected.

"I'm sure they'd be happy to hear from you though. I can go check if you want me to," Amelia offered.

"No, it's okay. You know them. They'll tear you to shreds for disturbing them. I don't want to get you into any trouble. It's not worth it, they clearly don't miss me."

"Oh, don't say that. Of course they do! They miss you dearly, Jade. You're their daughter and only child, after all," she said in an attempt to comfort her, though they both knew her words weren't the truth.

"We both know that means very little to them, Amelia," Jade said in defeat.

After a long moment of silence, Amelia spoke again, "Well, I miss you terribly. How is the university life treating you?"

Jade let out a long sigh as she laid back on her bed, "It's alright. Same shit, different day. Or different school, I guess I should say. You know."

Amelia laughed through the phone, "You're still the same Jade who I know and love. Though I will still never get used to your potty mouth, my dear."

"Yeah, I wouldn't dote on me cleaning my act up anytime soon," Jade joked, and she could tell that Amelia was smiling back at her.

"How are things back home?" she asked.

"Oh, you know. Same s-h-i-t, different day," she said quietly into the phone, opting to spell out her curse word as opposed to saying it outright. Jade laughed at her wholesome housekeeper's response, and Amelia began to ramble on about what all had been happening back at the Sinclair estate.

Amelia was the woman who practically raised Jade, so she was by far one of the most important people in Jade's life. If there was one person on the entire planet who Jade truly appreciated, it was Amelia.

That woman understood better than anyone else what Jade's parents were really like behind all the glamour, and she was well aware of the extent of neglect Jade had endured growing up. So she—being the selfless and innately nurturing person she was—stepped in. And for that reason, she got to know Jade better than anyone else in the world, and had been able to unlock sides to her that no one else had ever accessed.

So although Jade couldn't speak to her mother or father at that moment, she got to spend the next thirty minutes on the line with the one person in her life who had never shown her anything but endless love.

And that was much better anyway.

▣ ▣ ▣

Another uneventful week of school passed, and by the following Monday, Jade found herself ready and eager for the week-long break that was approaching at the end of the month.