They Erased Me, So I Rewrote My Life Chapter 16

They Erased Me, So I Rewrote My Life Chapter 16

Whistles and laughter immediately erupted from the guys behind him.

“Leo,” I said, half wanting to laugh, “what are you doing?”

“They said there should be some ceremony to it.” He looked mortified as he held out the object in his hand. “Happy birthday, Eliza.”

It wasn’t a ring.

It was a bird carved from wood.

Its wings were spread, poised for flight. The details on the feathers were finely carved, and the surface felt smooth beneath my fingers.

“I noticed,” he said slowly, “that when you’re alone, you always look at the sky. For a long time. So… I wanted to make this for you. I hope when you see it, you’ll remember you can fly away anytime.”

For a moment, I couldn’t speak.

In my previous life, inside that center, the only thing I could do was watch the birds outside through a barred window.

I had always thought, *If only I could fly away, too.*

And this quiet, awkward boy had somehow seen that part of me.

I took the wooden bird, my fingertips brushing the warm, smooth surface.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, my voice a little hoarse.

“As long as you don’t hate it.”

“I love it.”

I looked into his astonishingly bright eyes, rose on my toes, and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

“It’s the best birthday present I’ve ever received.”

Leo froze completely.

His face went so red it looked like it might actually catch fire.

The men behind him laughed even louder.

That night, my phone buzzed incessantly.

Fifty-nine missed calls from the Walton family.

And an email from Father’s chief counsel.

The email was cold, demanding my presence at a “family property meeting” the next day to discuss the trust fund my maternal grandfather had left me.

The last sentence was a blatant threat.

If I failed to appear, they would petition the court for emergency restrictions on the grounds that I was “immature in judgment and exhibiting uncontrolled behavior,” freezing all assets under my name.

I looked at that line and smiled.

So, it had finally come.

But this time, I would be the one setting the rules.