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Anna sat in evident pain at her desk in her room with her computer on in front of her to make it look as if she was doing work for the Carter Provision. Oliver had forced her to stay in house for two days as he was overly concerned with her ulcer and with that she was monitoring his progress on the most recent truck takeover by Blackhawk while at the same time lying to Oliver and anyone who asked how bad her pain truly was. She heard glass breaking and she cringed knowing that it was a bullet that caused the commotion. She would love to be out there helping Oliver but being in no shape to do so she had to sit back and worry about his safety instead.
"Are you alright, Ollie?" she asked with her head buried in her palm. "Yeah, but they got away. Be home in t-minus 10."
The woman sighed and yanked her earpiece out before chucking it to the other side of the room and dropping her head into her arms. Soft breaths escaped her mouth as she tried to regather herself for the party happening just downstairs, and after swallowing two - okay three - painkillers, she rose to her feet and approached the full body mirror in the corner of her bedroom.
Her hands traveled down her sides as she flattened her tight dress and with a deep breath she placed a hand on the reflection of her face and looked down. "Shengcun," she whispered to herself before pulling her hair from her bun and allowing it to freely cascade down her shoulders.
The girl opened her door and was immediately engulfed by the music being blasted in the Queen Mansion and the glowsticks lighting up the room.Anna stood uncomfortably in the corner with foundation coating her shoulders and a fake smile planted on her face as her eyes scanned over all the guests.
Oliver was on his way but he would not be prepared for the sight of his sister's party. The woman stood all alone in the corner of the room in her black dress and she almost appeared as a club bouncer. However, Thea was quick to spot the girl who was so much like her sister and raced over to her and engulfed her in a hug. "Happy birthday, Speedy," the girl smiled as she admired the girl that just months ago she remembered as a twelve-year-old. "Thank you! And thank you so much for your gift! I am never taking it off!" she giggled as her fingers fumbled with the silver chain around her neck. Anna grinned, "You've grown so much, Thea. I wanted you to have something that showed it." Thea smiled and glanced down at the necklace, "What does it mean? It's beautiful, so it must mean something like it, right?"
Anna looked at the Chinese symbols and her heart raced a bit. How did she explain what a word that meant so much to her and to Sara means to a girl that thought it meant beauty? Taking a deep breath, Anna looked into Thea's innocent eyes and tilted her head, "It's Chinese for - "
Anna was interrupted by a friend of Thea's squealing and Thea was instantly dragged away from her older friend. "Thanks, Bella!" the girl called over the extremely loud crowd. Anna pursed her lips and turned around to walk away. The noise was too much and the added stress over thinking about Sara and shengcun was just too overwhelming. How could she have been so stupid? Getting Thea a necklace that says shengcun was ignorant. Yes, the one simple word got Anna through so much and made her feel as if Sara was still with her because it was the word they swore by on the freighter but it wasn't a word that Thea would understand. Anna's gift was an act that kept Thea close and made Anna remember that she was still the little girl that she said goodbye to before boarding the yacht. But it was an act that didn't mean anything to the new adult because she didn't understand its real purpose.
