Rose bed of lies

Introduction

Edited 7/12/26

L
Emma

Emma

I had skipped to the kitchen to see if the cake was done. That's where Mommy and Daddy were. They wanted to make it special.

I opened the large door, struggling to push it open.

And every day since then, I wish I had left it closed.

"Mommy?"

Tears pooled in my eyes as my father held her delicate body.

He turned toward me.

The look on his face that night, my tenth birthday, changed everything.

My world shattered.

Both of my parents were gone.

Although I barely remember everything from that day, I remember the hell I felt.

It poisoned my future.

I was no longer a person.

I became one of the dolls I used to dress up.

---

Hello, my name is Amelia Light, but I prefer Emma.

I'm seventeen, turning eighteen soon.

I attend Whitestone Academy, which is a school for the rich, but also for the troubled kids. Most of them are wealthy, but some have simply been kicked out of too many places, so their parents have made arrangements with the school.

I go because of money.

My father loves to throw it around. Anything he can do to show off his wealth, he'll do it.

Honestly, my father is a complicated man.

I have two older brothers, Leo and Liam. They're both in college right now, so the Light Manor, my house, is a big, cold, quiet place.

But there's no difference when they're here.

Leo has been addicted to drugs and drinking since I was nine.

Liam, on the other hand, is like a lifeless drone. All he does is work.

I don't see them very often.

But it's okay.

I like being on my own.

My father, Lyon, owns a big company called Angelic Co.

I know.

Interesting name.

But it's named after my mother, Angelica.

The company has been in my family for what feels like ages. It started on my mom's side. My mother had always been wealthy. She grew up with a golden spoon.

My father, on the other hand, had a hard life.

He grew up very poor. Sometimes he had to eat out of the trash and steal clothing.

Somehow, they fell in love.

The kind of love that makes you go crazy.

My father, well, he's become a different person.

He's obsessed with perfection and power.

Greed has painted his heart.

He's been like this ever since my mother died.

She passed away from natural causes.

A heart attack, to be exact.

I will always remember that day.