Jae Ham
This is, above all, a love story, and like so many love stories, the love story of famous supermodel Selina Hale and prominent business tycoon Alexander Chan is rooted in tragedy.
Selina Hale, American heiress, was both kind, humble, and charming, and Alexander had loved her for all of his adult life. She had long raven hair and warm brown eyes, and her smile was so ethereal it made men in other parts of the country go weak in the knees. She laughed easily, listened with interest, and often touched the arm of whomever she was talking to, as if issuing an invitation to be part of her world.
In high school, Selena was a cheerleader. As a sophomore, she was both lovely and popular, and although she knew of Alexander Chan, he was a year older than she and they hadn't shared any classes together.
It didn't matter. Introduced by friends, they began meeting during lunch break and talking after football games, and eventually made arrangements to meet at a party during homecoming weekend. Soon they were inseparable, and by the time he asked her to the prom a few months later, they were in love.
There are those who scoff at the idea that real love can exist at such a young age. For Alex and Selina, however, it did, and it was in some ways more powerful than love experienced by older people, since it wasn't tempered by the realities of life. They dated throughout Alex's junior and senior years, and when he went off to college at Harvard, they remained faithful to each other while Selina moved toward her own graduation.
She joined him at university the following year, and when he proposed over dinner three years later, she cried and said yes and spent the next hour on the phone calling her family and friends and telling them the good news, while Alex ate the rest of his meal alone.
Alex stayed in New York until Selina finished her degree, and their wedding in Manhattan filled the church. Selina took a job as one of Asia's most sought-after supermodels and fashion designers, while Alexander began his training to become the CEO of his family's successful business empire.
One year after their wedding, Selina gave birth to a healthy baby girl whom they named Sara.
Selina took one look at the bundled newborn and knew motherhood was the best thing that ever happened to her. Though Sara didn't sleep through the night until she was six months old and there were times Selina wanted to scream at her the way Sara was screaming at her, Selina loved Sara more than she'd ever imagined possible.
She was a wonderful mother. She quit her job to stay home with Sara full-time, read her stories, play with her, and took her to play groups. She could spend hours simply watching her. By the time Sara was two, Selina realized she wanted another baby, and she and Alex started trying again.
The three years they were married were the happiest years of both their lives.
But in February of 2005, Alex and Selina were killed in a car crash.
Their deaths dimmed the light in Sara's eyes. It paved the way for all that was to come next.
My eyes skim over the vague article two more times. This doesn't feel right.. there's something missing, but I can't put my finger on it. I just--wait..
"Heart," I say, slamming the thin folder in between my palms. I lift my chin and crane my neck to my right, in time to meet Sage's blank stare a few feet away.
The blonde wearing a medical mask cocks her head to one side. "Something wrong?" she asks. For some reason, even though the words came out calmly, even politely, I can feel their undercurrent of anger.
