LEAVING MONEY ON THE TABLE

"This...I can't accept this," Emily murmured, her fingers trembling as she reached to return the cheque to its hiding place. Camilla, sensing her friend's indecision, swiftly intercepted Emily's hand, a look of confusion spreading across her face.

"Whoa, hold up," Camilla interjected her brows furrowed in disbelief.

"Don't tell me you're going to return it, don't you think you're going to regret it," she added.

With a resolute expression, Emily replied, "That's exactly what I intend to do. I can't accept this."

Camilla's eyebrows shot up, an air of bewilderment swirling around her like a storm cloud.

"Five hundred thousand dollars! Imagine all the fabrics you could buy, all the makeup you could test, the possibilities are endless," she exclaimed. But Emily was having none of it.

With a fiery gaze, she countered, "Camilla don't you see what he's doing? He's trying to bribe me into forgiving him with this money; I'm not that kind of person! I may not have everything I want right now, but I'm not going to let Robert use his money to make me do anything I don't want to, I'd rather work for it," Emily declared, her voice a mix of determination and defiance.

Camilla's voice softened, as if to lull Emily into the possibility of a compromise. "Don't you think you have pride, my dear. Robert has clearly gone to great lengths to express his contrition, and this money is just another means of doing so."

Emily remained unwavering, her conviction as solid as stone. "He may say it's an apology, but I know better," she retorted.

"And let's be honest, no one ever states their true intentions when it comes to money. Camilla I don't see any argument here, I'm going to return it. Money can't buy everything, if he thinks I'm going to accept this, he must be jocking."

Camilla sighed, her shoulders drooping under the weight of her friend's stubbornness.

"You don't have to view it as a bribe, Emily," she implored.

"There's is no hidden meaning or sugarcoating here," Emily said, her voice firm.

"Robert did what's wrong, and he thinks he can just throw money at the problem to make it all go away. Well, I'm not going to fall for that."

"Emily just think about it," Camilla insisted.

"Do you want me to tear it or return it," Emily stated.

"Fine you do what you think is right," she said, her tone betraying a hint of disappointment. "He's your fiancé after all. Do whatever you want with the cheque."

"I thought so too," Emily said.

First, she slid the cheque into the envelope it came with, then added a note that read, "I don't need your money." Next she ripped the letter into pieces, then combined them with the note and cheque in a package.

Emily, with a calm but determined demeanor, placed the certificate on the shelf in the living room and returned to sit down.

Camilla, who had witnessed Emily's actions, inquired, "Is everything settled now?"

Emily gestured to the package on the table and replied, "I'll be returning this later today."

"Your pride is stronger than Robert's,! Who would give back half a million dollars? It's insane! Shoot me!" Camilla exclaimed.

Emily, serene in her response, replied, "I'm not the one being prideful here, Camilla. Returning the money is the right thing to do, and it's not a big deal."

Emily's words carried a sense of self-assurance, as if she knew her decision was the right one.

Camilla's frustration was growing by the second, evident in the way her voice wavered as she questioned, "Are you even hearing yourself, Emily? Five hundred thousand dollars isn't a big deal? Come on!"

Emily remained steadfast in her decision, replying, "I've made up my mind, Camilla. Please just let it go."

"Alright, Mrs. Rawlings," Camilla said, as she turned her head to the side.

Emily's eyes narrowed at Camilla's use of the name "Mrs. Rawlings," her voice lowering in warning as she questioned, "Did you just call me that?"

Camilla, unperturbed, pointed to the certificate Emily had placed on the shelf. "Isn't that your court marriage certificate? Technically, that makes you Mrs..." Camilla had barely finished speaking before Emily's temper flared, "If you ever call me that again, there will be consequences."

Camilla, seeing the seriousness in Emily's eyes, decided to drop the subject, and instead pivoted to a new topic.

"Whatever, so what's the story with Frederick? What were you doing with him earlier?" She inquired.

Emily's expression softened as she began to recount the details of her meeting with Frederick, the two friends soon slipping back into easy conversation.

As the sun rose on a new day, Emily stepped into the halls of her school, textbooks in hand.

She made her way to her classroom, the familiar sight before her. Setting into her seat, she waited patiently as their lecturer Mrs. Evelyn entered the room, the click of her heels on the floor signaling the start of their lesson.

As Mrs. Evelyn began her lecture, the students fell into an attentive silence, eagerly absorbing her words of wisdom.

With her lecture concluded, Mrs. Evelyn turned to leave, her heels ones again clicking against the floor. But just as she reached the door, she stopped in her tracks, her gaze suddenly fixed on Emily.

With a subtle yet commanding tone, she called out the student's name, "Emily," pausing for a moment before she continued.

With a respectful nod, Emily rose from her seat, the eyes of her classmates following her as she made her way to the front of the class, her shoes barely making a sound against the floor.

Mrs. Evelyn turned, the two now standing at the door.

"There's good news for you, Emily," the lecturer revealed, a subtle glimmer of excitement in her voice.

Emily, curious yet measured in her response, simply replied, "Yes ma'am."

"You have been chosen to be an assistant makeup artist for the upcoming movie, 'Unearthly Terrors," the lecturer declared.

The news took Emily's breath away, her voice quivering with disbelief as she asked,

"How did they find out about me? How did this happen?"

"Ask your friend Camilla, anyways I'm proud of you and I'm happy for you, good luck," she said with a proud smile.

"Thank you, ma'am," she murmured, the weigh of her gratitude evident in her voice.

With a warm smile, Mrs. Evelyn took her leave, the door closing behind her with a quiet click, then Emily returned to her seat.

The rest of the day seemed to drag on for Emily, the hours crawling by like a slow - motion film. But with each passing minute, her excitement only grew, fueled by the promise of catching up with Camilla about everything Mrs. Evelyn had told her.

As soon as classes were over for the day, Emily burst out of the school building, her feet practically flying as she made her way home.

The moment Emily stepped into her home, she was a whirlwind of activity, her movement a flurry of excitement as she bounced from task to task. She had already called Camilla and was waiting for her arrival.

Settling onto the couch in the sitting room, she tried her best to wait patiently, the clock's ticking echoing in her ears.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by the shrill ring of her phone, and without a second thought, she snatched it up without looking at the screen.

As the sound of the familiar voice resonated through the phone, Emily's smile widened in recognition.

"Lucy!" She exclaimed, warmth in her tone.

"I've missed you," Lucy said.

"I've missed you too, you totally forgot about me, it's been long!" Emily said feigning anger.

"I know, I'm so sorry. School has been crazy! I had a ton of tests and things got hectic. I promise I didn't forget about you," Lucy answered sincerely.

Emily shook her head with a light chuckle, "It's okay, I tried to call you a few times, but it was not reachable."

"I'm really sorry about my phone acting up, I had some issues with it. I'll come over this weekend, I promise!" Lucy apologized.

"You better! Or I'll have to make you do double of the work to make up for it," Emily replied with a playful grin.

"Don't worry, I'll make it up to you," Lucy said.

"I'll be waiting for you," Emily answered.

"I have to run, Emily. I'll talk to you soon, okay?" Lucy said, her voice taking a hint of urgency.

"Alright, nurse Lucy. Take care, love you," Emily replied with a warm smile.

Lucy's voice was full of affection as she replied, "Love you too, Emily. Bye!" And with that , the line went silent.

As soon as Emily hung up on the phone, the sound of the front door clicking open drew her attention.

"Camilla!" She exclaimed, bounding over to her friend like an overjoyed puppy. She grabbed Camilla's hand and led her eagerly to the sofa.

"What's couldn't you say on the phone?" Camilla asked, her brow furrowed with curiosity.

Emily's face lit up with excitement, "Guess what?"

"What?" Camilla asked.

"I'm the assistant make up artist for the Unearthly Terror!" The words tumbled out of her mouth, her voice full of energy and Joy.

"Calm down," Camilla said, calming her down.

"Okay, I know it's your handwork cause my lecturer mentioned you," Emily said, her voice filled with excitement.

"Surprise!" Camilla said.

"This was the surprise, wasn't it? I'll be coming with you for the unearthly terror film," Emily replied.

"You caught me," she replied with a playful lilt.

"I love you, thank you," Emily said wrapping her in a tight embrace.

"I love you too," Camilla grinned returning the hug.

"How did you manage to pull this off?" Emily inquired, her voice full of intrigue.

Camilla's face split into a mischievous grin. "Well, you see, my team was searching for an assistant makeup artist and I suggested you. After all, you are incredibly talented, and I knew you would be perfect for the job. And, since you're in school, I approached your lecturer and she gave approval to my director, I even showed you work to my director and voila!"

Emily's expression grew serious, a deep gratitude shining through her eyes.

"How can I ever thank you enough?" She asked, her voice full of earnestness.

Camilla's lips quirked into a playful smirk, "By not returning the cheque."

Emily burst out laughing, "I knew you were going to bring that up. But it's too late, I returned it this morning since I couldn't go yesterday."

Camilla opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the sudden trill of Emily's phone. They both looked at the phone and it was Richard.

"Oh gosh, I forget he was coming today," Emily muttered.

"Just answer the call," Camilla said and Emily nodded.