Billionaire's Childhood Love

LII. Emerson Hanson

Hailey's POV:

I block the lower half of his face then smack my hands together, "Oh, yes!"

I remember it now.

Crystal's dad.

Emerson Lun.

When I was younger, I met Crystal's dad a few times; but we rarely interacted. It's vague, but I remember Crystal's dad is the type of person who would stand in the background and listen to everyone talk. He isn't big on socialization.

The only time I heard him talk was towards Crystal's mom, Crystal, her younger brother, or when he needs someone to pass him some sort of food.

I think he asked me to pass him the hot sauce once. I only remembered because I squirted the hot sauce in my eyes and cried for three hours.

When Crystal's dad married her mom, he took her family's last name. Unusual. But that's what they decided to do.

I didn't recognize him without the beard. He always had this beard that made him look like a hobo. Crystal's dad works in a factory, so he's always covered in dirt.

I look closer to the picture.

He's handsome.

"Are you sure that's Crystal's dad? He's...pretty-"

Josh ran his hands across his chin, "I'm certain that's him." His eyes narrow, "I think. Like 70%."

"You don't know your own uncle?"

He shrugs, "Do you know how huge my mom's side of the family is? You expect me to know every cousin and in-laws? Every time there's a family gathering, I have a new cousin. I'm happy I know my own siblings' names."

Josh isn't wrong. His mother's side of the family is huge.

"Is there something I can help you with?" A voice pops out of nowhere.

Josh and I turn our heads. My eyes drop toward his name tag - Adam.

"Yeah. What's this photo?" Josh asks. He's never shy about how people look at him.

Adam, the strange man, who I assume to work here because of his uniform, looks at the photo Josh was pointing at. He nods, "Ah, these are all photos of previous Pandora Academy students. We like to take a photo each year everyone visits. It kind of became a tradition."

My brows crunch at that statement. I never knew Crystal's dad went to Pandora Academy. "Can I ask a question?"

He nods, "Sure."

"Who is that guy?" I point at the young man in the picture.

"Ah. That's Emerson Hanson."

"Emerson Hanson?" Josh's face scrunches up. "Son of Harrison Hanson?"

The worker nods.

"But, he's from Harrison High School. I thought you said these are photos of Pandora Academy's students."

"That's a photo of a few years back. A while back, actually. When Pandora and Harrison had a meeting for these two programs." He rubs his chin together, "What are they called again?"

"M.I.N.D and E.L.I.T.E?" Josh questions.

The man smacks his hands together, "Yes. Those programs."

I look at Josh, who stares back at me before we revert our heads towards the picture. Our heads tilt at the same time as we tried to decode the photo.

"May I help you with anything else?" Adam asks.

"No. Thank you," Josh responds.

"Don't you think this is weird?" I ask.