A cinderella crime story, p.24
A Cinderella Crime Story, page 24
Closing her eyes, she stood up. A slow breath seeped in through her nose and out her mouth. Her hand reached into the pocket of her dress, and she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. “I—have something to confess to you.”
He blinked. “What is it?”
She uncrumpled the paper, smoothing it several times over, and handed it to him. “My mom found a picture of your mom that wasn’t destroyed. She told me and He Bao to dispose of it. He Bao took care of it, but her image stayed in my mind, and I drew her likeness. I…know that’s super wrong of me, but I kept thinking to myself I would give it to you one day. I kept it with me all this time, but I never summoned the courage to give it to you. It was stupid. I was scared you would be angry or that you would judge my art skills. I’m tired of being scared. You deserve to have this.”
Aiden breathed, staring at the woman in the drawing. Despite the lines crisscrossing the paper's folds, he saw her face and recognized her. He recognized that smile, the way she leaned forward when she ran, and her hair flying in the wind. He heard her voice in the distance, and the hand that he remembered as dead became warm in his mind once more.
She was laughing when she played cards with him. It sounded nothing like the graceful bells one expected from a woman of her appearance. Her laugh echoed like sharp horns in a concert. The sketch sprung to life, and the faceless woman in his memories filled in with color and sound.
Her hand was large and protective.
She was beautiful.
“Actually…” He Bao interrupted. He shuffled closer. “I—uh—actually never threw her photo away. It felt wrong since she was dead. Also, I didn’t want to get haunted by her or anything, because I believed in crap like that back then. Anyway, I still have it. I kind of forgot about it, to be honest, but you should have it.” He looked uncomfortably away, and an awkward silence stretched between them. As seconds ticked by, He Bao took a deep breath and turned a proud face back to Aiden. He looked Aiden in the eyes. “I’m sorry for the way I treated you and allowed Ma to treat you.” His voice broke, but He Bao forged forward. “I swear I will be so much better as we navigate being a family.”
Zhu Zhu’s eyes widened. She stepped forward, huffing. “Me too. I’m sorry for how I let everything happen. Please forgive me.”
“Zhu Zhu, you shouldn’t apologize. You weren’t purposefully horrible like I was, and you already have a beat-up face that needs to stay iced to show for that.” He Bao, who was holding the ice pack she left behind, placed it against his sister’s face.
“Thank you.”
Aiden had stopped crying. The remaining tears clinging to his cheek he wiped away. The smoke and the fire faded in the distance, and he gazed upon the drawing Zhu Zhu gifted of a woman who threw her life for his, and for the first time since his last memory of her being alive, he could breathe upon seeing her face. His chest swelled of warmth, his hand grasped Brendan’s, and he beamed at his siblings who watched him back with trembling hands. He offered his hands. “I accept your apology. Let us be a family from now on.” As the two took his hands; Aiden pulled them in and hugged them tightly.
He was home.
• • •
Aiden breathed, looking at himself one last time in the mirror. The hanfu hugged his shoulders perfectly, and the Hui family symbol glistened in the light. The embroidered silver stars glittered, and he tied his waist tie tighter for the ideal silhouette and fit. His phone alerted him of the Uber, and he rushed out to meet the driver.
The car returned him to a familiar garden. He thanked the driver, excitedly exiting the car, and dashed past the entrance.
The photography club had booked the garden for a special party. Javier called the photo shoot Walking Out of Enchantment. Some club members complained about the cheesiness, but Aiden thought there was nothing better to name the photo shoot. Even the first time after setting foot onto the pathway, he was drawn to the shape of the garden, the scent of the air, and the vibrant colors that bloomed before his eyes. It remained all the more magical as the same uplifting air hugged itself around him. Many of the photography club members were already there and busied about preparing for the party and photo shoot.
Christina noticed him and waved her arms. She skipped down the lane to meet him. Her black, flowing dress billowed out behind her. She had dark makeup painted over her face with a streak of mascara streaming down each of her eyes. She borrowed a white wig, and the pale ghostliness of her hair bounced lightly. “You definitely look the part for the theme today,” she said, eyeing him from head to toe.
“Thanks. I’m guessing you’re a witch?”
“I resent that. As you can see, I have no hat.” She held her arms out and made a movement to emulate the idea of floating. “I am a sorceress, here to either curse you or grant you your best wishes. Of course, there’s no guarantee that the wish isn’t a curse.”
“It suits you. Also, the makeup looks great.”
“Thank you! I did the makeup myself. I built this costume from nothing, too. I went shopping around thrift stores and picked up all the accessories I needed for this. I wish I found a black lace head veil, but I think that’s too much to ask with what I did manage to scavenge.”
“Behold, citizens! I am here to oust the corruption!” Javier leapt in, dressed in black. A black mask covered his eyes, and a hat sat on his head. He pulled out a fake sword and pointed it at them. The cape flailed. “It is I, Zorro of the people!”
“Zorro?” They both tipped their heads.
“Zorro! He’s a superhero. He has a whip, and he has this black horse, and he’s actually this wealthy nobleman, but he fights against corrupt noblemen as a masked crusader. Ah, forget it, I’ll force you guys to sit through some movies and shows after this.” Javier sheathed his fake sword. “I need to hurry and show my face because I am very late, even though I promised them I would be the first to arrive to help them set up.” He dashed off with a valiant battle cry, and Aiden could not help laughing at Javier’s cape magnificently puffing out behind him.
Christina stared unamused. “He was supposed to be here thirty minutes ago to help set up.” She looked carefully at Aiden. “Are you okay?”
Aiden thought back to the chaos of the days preceding this moment. The ongoing court case, the hiding of his and his stepsiblings’ identities, and even before that, just the night at Mr. Chen’s manor. “Yeah, I’m ok,” he said with such assurance that he surprised himself. He smiled at her. “I’m really excited to take pictures with my friends.”
“Hey, you two! Come on! A club photo first, and then we go have our individual fun with stalking each other for photographs!” Javier called from a distance, waving his sword in the air.
Aiden and Christina exchanged glances, and the two of them ran up to where they would take the first photo—a field of naturally growing wildflowers with vines that curled up the statues and decorations lining the side. Aiden stopped in his tracks as Brendan, still distracted with instructing other club members, came into view.
Brendan was decked in a white suit with gold buttons and epaulettes, and a blue sash tied across his chest. He slicked his hair back, and his eyes sparkled ever brighter against the sun. He looked up. Their eyes met momentarily. Brendan returned to answering a question, but stopped short.
Aiden grinned, relishing at how Brendan swiveled his entire body around to face him and stared with wide eyes. He purposefully flourished his hanfu, stepping forward to meet with Brendan. “Hey you.”
“Um—ok.” Brendan laughed, already red in the face. He scratched his head. “Hi.”
“You’re a classic prince from a fairy tale?”
“I certainly look the part. Also, my mom’s super into cosplay. It’s a thing for her. She and Dad actually met because she was cosplaying as this character—anyway, the point is, she made this cosplay after I told her about this event and insisted on me wearing it. It’s a character from this dating sim, actually? I really don’t know. I ditched the gloves though. It’s way too hot for them.”
Brendan continued rambling, but his gaze raked across every inch of Aiden’s body. Aiden drank in his attention, allowing the other boy to bumble further about how his parents met before finally placing a hand against Brendan’s mouth. “Your mom is wonderful. Zhu Zhu has loved working for her since your mom reached out to her to draw for her video game.”
Brendan straightened, and his eyes glistened. “Yeah, I know. My mom’s a total badass. Actually, she said your sister’s amazing. I’ve seen some of her artwork in the company promotions. I’m glad she’s enjoying work.”
“And you are an amazing prince.” Aiden looked down slyly. “You are my prince.”
Brendan’s breaths quickened. His hands instantly grasped Aiden’s. He lowered his voice. “And you are just amazing and incredible. You're the strongest person I’ve ever met. And you’re just so beautiful. I’m so glad to have met you. I haven’t regretted a single second of my time with you—even when it was scary. It was worth it.”
“Excuse me, Prince President of the Photography Club, but we’ve got a club photo to take?” Christina interrupted with an exasperated voice behind them.
“Right!” Brendan pulled away from Aiden but kept holding his hand. Smiling, Aiden made his way to the center where everyone lined up in an orderly fashion.
“Counting down!” Javier called. He pressed on the camera and slid into frame, swooshing his cape and pointing out his sword. “Everyone, look dynamic! We have five seconds!”
Aiden continued staring up at Brendan. He loved Brendan’s eyes, nose, and mouth. He loved Brendan’s incessant kindness and patience, and he realized that he just loved the man in a way he never experienced love before.
Brendan turned toward him with a tip of his head.
The people around them faded from Aiden’s world despite the clattering of movement and voices. Somewhere in the back of the group, he thought Christina made a comment at the two of them, but he didn’t really hear anything. In front of a field of blooming flowers that filled the air with sweetness, surrounded by fantastical statues, and in a mystical garden where Aiden heard the fateful phone call of his stepmother’s arrival so long ago, the world melted away. He could only see Brendan, feel only Brendan, and hear only Brendan.
It was mesmerizing and magical.
He placed a hand against Brendan’s cheek, and Brendan leaned over without hesitation to kiss him. An arm wrapped around Aiden’s waist, and Aiden slid his hand to the back of Brendan’s neck. Their sweet kiss continued as he inched himself closer to Brendan’s chest. The camera clicked, and the people around them reacted with embarrassment or awe, but Aiden did not care about what was captured, what their friends had seen, or what people would see in the future.
Brendan was a part of his life now, and he was truly free to live the life he wanted just like he’d said to his brother.
• • •
Her black-heeled boots crunched over the green grass. Her red curls fell softly against her shoulders, and her black-gloved hand clutched the Zac Posen purse to her black fitted dress. She made her way over to the tombstone and slipped off her sunglasses to hang them from the collar of her dress.
She stared at the name on the gravestone with the fondest of smiles. Her purse clicked open, and she pulled out three photographs. She laid the first down. It was a photograph of the chaos outside the courthouse. The Chen patriarch and Aiden's stepmother were taken away in heavy cuffs. Journalists crowded around them, intent on grabbing a few words from the accused.
“Don’t they look dead inside,” she grinned, relishing at their flat eyes.
She placed the photograph of a beautiful woman down. The photograph was old with bent corners from rough handling, but her smile shone through like she was alive despite the stillness of the image. She held her dress, and she chased after a boy while carrying an infant in her arms. “Hui Ye!” the woman was calling when the photo was shot. “Hui Ye, slow down!”
She gifted the final photograph to him. A beautiful field with magical decorations surrounded a group of young students ready to face the future of their lives. They dressed up in a variety of costumes—witches, thieves, magicians, and even monsters. The two men in the middle ignored everyone with their eyes locked on each other. Their lips remained touched with sheer bliss. A ray of sun peeked in through the clouds. The woman had laughed at the coincidental cliché of sun rays when she first saw the photograph, beaming down on the shameless affection.
She pulled out a matchbox, lit the match, and placed it against the photographs. The edges curled, and a small stream of smoke rose to the skies to deliver him the photos she knew he desperately desired to have at hand.
As the photographs slowly transported away to the realm of the dead, she thought back to his last words.
Was it fun?
She allowed a smile. “It was fun. Maybe, even a little bit magical.”
She opened her handheld mirror and reapplied the faded red lipstick. Her hair fell softly over her face, and she gave a sly inviting look upward with her eyes. “Yes, that woman will like this look indeed,” she whispered. She clicked her mirror shut, pushed her sunglasses over her eyes, and hid the necklace holding the ring behind her dress. She turned away from the grave, and her heeled boots crunched as she made her way over to another group of people mourning from not far away.
The better of humanity called for her assistance once more.
Author’s Note
The Characters and Their Chinese Names
In Chinese culture, there is no real concept of a “first name.” It’s the full name, the family name (called the last name in English), and nickname(s). The family name is always put first in the writing of the full name. Typically, people are only called by their full name when speaking to strangers in casual settings, meant to show respect but also distance from the person. Comically, the second most common usage of a full name is when a child’s in trouble. In all other situations, you would only be called by a nickname. Nicknames can be polite and acknowledge your superior title, your subordinate title, or be affectionate and refer to a quirk of your character. By the time I was three, my parents interchanged five different nicknames with my full name, all of which I responded to like my full name.
In A Cinderella Crime Story, I have drastically reduced the number of nicknames used for the Chinese characters in-story, but to remain authentic to the culture in writing, I still prescribed a few nicknames for the important characters. You can see the breakdown below.
Aiden Hui, Hui Lang
Outside of Aiden’s first English name, Aiden is also referred to by the following nicknames:
Lang Lang – his brother’s and, if they were alive, his parents’ nickname for Aiden. Doubling up the word following the family name is a common methodology Chinese parents use to create a nickname. My most commonly used Chinese nickname is created the same way.
Xiao Hui – “Xiao” means little, representing the fact that he is the younger of the Hui sons. It is used as a respectful, endearing nickname meant to bring him closer to his stepmother and the mafia’s families.
Hui Ye, Erik Hui
The older brother of Aiden, he is also referred to as Ge. “Ge” means older brother, which is what Aiden calls him. In Chinese families, you typically refer to each other via your family title. Mom is always mom. Dad is always dad. Grandma and grandpa are always called as such. The same goes for siblings. Only in cases of extreme estrangement would you typically call a sibling by their name.
The Hui Patriarch, Mr. Hui
Father of Aiden and Erik, he is also referred to as Hui Lao’r. As the patriarch of the family, “Lao” acknowledges his position as the eldest/top, and the “r” is a dialect used by many.
Yin Mei, The Stepmother
Yin Mei’s lack of nicknames is significant. While Aiden’s third-person narration refers to her as his stepmother, he never calls her as such in Chinese and only by her full name. Stepmother, spelled “Hou Ma” in pinyin, is contextually a derogatory title in Chinese culture that isn’t used unless to purposefully insult. Stepchildren either call their stepmothers “Ma” AKA Mom or by their full name. Aiden and his brother’s continued calling of her full name rather than ever referring to her as “Ma” shows the two brothers’ emotional distance toward her.
About the Author
Writer, accountant, and anime blogger. Gracie entered daycare fluent in Chinese and completely at loss with English. It was through picture books that she learned to communicate with the kind, patient, and loving daycare workers. Since then, she has become obsessed with stories in every possible medium. Becoming an author has been her dream since first grade, and in 2026, she finally published her first novel. Aside from spending her days writing complicated characters and Asian-inspired worlds, she’s also addicted to anime, Wikipedia articles, and tax law changes. You can find her anime obsession at her Twitter social, @Girltaku_AT. You can’t find her tax law obsession but can find her author website at: https://graciequ.mystrikingly.com/
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