10th Excerpt of Ellory, a fiction novel

Ellen Effy Su. August 19, 2025.

“Dad, what is this new limit on my credit card about?” Ellory’s voice came out in a frantic and peeved tone. 

Sweet summer child, Ellory was beginning to learn what independence means. Adam Arnold would never leave his only child houseless and penniless. He enjoyed watching her writhe, just as he enjoyed winning in court to help his high-profile clients. 

He was trying to push his daughter to make a name for herself. Adam felt he was soft with Ellory after the death of his eldest daughter, so he begrudgingly accepted the credit card charges that came naturally. Twenty-one is a delicate age where some women are already mothers. Some behave like children to hold onto their childhoods, while some work on their careers to forget they sleep alone. 

“Good morning to you, too, Ellory. Dearest daughter, I set a five-thousand-dollar limit per month. I think it’s reasonable. You don’t need to pay bills. You also don’t need to pay your tuition. What do you need that much spending money for?” Adam’s voice came out clipped, condescending, and unempathetic. 

“Father, dearest father, I know I have sinned, but I’ve really cut back on my shopping expenses. Five thousand is a cold, hard, evil limit on your last remaining flesh and blood,” Ellory pleaded. 

“Well, Ella, honey, you are twenty-one. You know we discussed this. You’re growing up. You’re technically an adult now. Eventually, you have to leave the Arnold nest. You have to get a paying role soon. Love you, bye,” Adam’s curt voice hurt Ellory’s feelings. 

“Dad, you’re being serious? I told you my internship doesn’t pay me in money yet. This is my last year of being an adult child. I’m not even a senior in college. Don’t do this to me,” Ellory whined.
She never whined, except to her father. 

“Ella, five thousand a month for spending money is enough to shop, eat out, buy groceries, do fun activities, and have some excursions. If you’re going on a trip, I’ll support you. When you’re at home, you don’t need to spend eight thousand a month. When I was your age, I was not living lavishly like you. I survived just fine. I love you. I have to go. I have a meeting, bye, daughter,” Adam smirked as he ended the call before Ellory had the last word. 

Like father, like daughter. They were quite similar to each other. Stubborn children come from stubborn parents. Well-bred is a funny way to say offspring of off-putting, overbearing, opulent parents. 

“Hey, what’s going on? I heard a bit of your conversation,” Vivian asked curiously yet cautiously. 

Ellory didn’t notice Vivian eating oatmeal quietly at the kitchen counter until she turned her head to the right. 

“Sorry, it is embarrassing. I’m living off the dime of my parents. Dad was right, though. It’s time I take myself seriously and further my career in fashion. I’m going to start a lingerie line called Ellorine. I’ve been working on research, designs, and ideas. I have curated a list of professional contacts who can help me expand my company. I’ll ask Dad for a loan to start. I will convince some other lenders to support my business. How would you like to be my first employee and start brainstorming?” Ellory’s eyes shone like lightbulbs while she blinked slowly. 

“Yes, of course! What do you need me to do? I can help with research, working on spreadsheets, creating social media ideas, connecting with influencers, and organizing information,” Vivian’s voice showcased her excitement for working on a new project that utilized her intellectual skills. 

She felt cheapened for not using her education to make an honest living. Vivian never viewed herself as a call girl. She fancied herself as a damsel in distress saved by a ruthless prince-like drug lord and pimp. Vivian would rather work for Ellory, the stranger who purchased her freedom with $30,000. 

Ellory sold several bags to cover the hefty price. Isn’t it remarkable how a few bags can be equivalent to someone’s entry into a new life? Vanity is expensive. People are invaluable. Once sold as a transaction, people’s value decreases, and some are forever trapped in the underground world of courtesans. Blackmailed by pimps, the young midnight girls age into wrinkled, cynical women consumed by heartbreaking tales of their former lives. 

“We can work on the spreadsheets and research documents together. I am sending out an email blast to 1000 professionals in the fashion industry. I have to contact the manufacturer in Italy. My friend owns a womenswear apparel brand based in Milan. I’ll ask if she can help us with brand exposure,” Ellory began. 

“I’ll bring out my MacBook. Can we sit on the sofa, or do you want to sit at the dining table?” Vivian headed to her room to bring her gray MacBook out to the living room. 

“We can sit on the sofa. Here, set your laptop down on the coffee table. I’ll bring my over-the-couch rollable desk,” Ellory walked to open the closet door in the hallway. 

She hauled the chunky foldable desk with wheels out of the overstuffed closet. She set it up in the living room. There were no rugs in the hallway or living room, only in the bedrooms. The smooth floor made it simple and accessible to transfer furniture. 

“This is the spreadsheet I created. The first sheet is titled Product Development ideas, the second is Social Content ideas, the third is Social Influencers to Collaborate With, the fourth is Materials for Products, Where To Source, and Who To Source From. The fifth sheet is Budget For Product, Pricepoints, and Production. You can work on the list of influencers to collaborate with and social content ideas,” Ellory instructed. 

“Okay, did you share it with my email?” Vivian looked at her computer screen, scanning for the invite to edit. 

“Yeah, I shared it with Vivianlovesvivian@hotmail.com. You can edit. I’ll work on the budget, materials for products, and research where to source my fabrics from,” Ellory worked diligently for two hours. 

Ellory played classical sonatas on the television to help them stay alert and focused on their major task at hand. Ellory needed to prove herself to the world. She hoped to impress her father with success. 

Ellory’s dad cared about money and the luxuries money could buy. As much as Ellory wanted to deny her similarity to her father, she appreciated fine goods and grew accustomed to a cushy life. This is a life that requires monetary funds. Money does not fall from the sky. 

“Start a business. Grow it. Maintain it. Protect it. Your first business is your firstborn. To cultivate a business is to create demand for something people do not realize they need yet. It is almost like procuring a product people don’t know they want until they see it. Sell the idea or concept to the target audience before selling the product to the market,” Adam ranted often in Ellory’s youth and teenagehood. 

“My father can be a real pain in the behind, sometimes. I am secretly proud that he quit drinking. He stopped when I was around fourteen. I was getting closer to the age that Sfera was, and I guess Dad worried he wasn’t present enough. He tried to make amends for not being around. I appreciated it on the inside, although I rarely showed my vulnerable side with my dad,” Ellory openly shared. 

She continued typing while speaking. Ellory could have an entire conversation separate from the work she was doing, as long as it wasn’t math calculations. She had to focus during math. 

“Sfera was your sister, right? Do you have a photo of her?” Vivian’s fingers stopped typing on her keyboard. 

She grew curious about Ellory’s mysterious half-sister. Why would a teenage girl who lived like a princess want to end her life? Vivian wondered to herself. Something sinister happened, she suspected. She didn’t want to cause discomfort or induce pain to her new friend. 

“This is Sfera,” Ellory pulled out the faded photograph of her deceased sister from the interior of her green iPhone 16 Pro Max case. 

The image showed a beautiful variation of a teenage Ellory. The two did look eerily similar. No wonder Ellory’s dad disliked being around her. She was a living ghost of Sfera, and she reminded Adam of his failures as a father. Adam should have been concerned when he had the chance to prevent his daughter’s depression. He should have noticed his kid sneaking out at late hours, checked his bank statements for large withdrawals, and asked his daughter about her day. 

Maybe Adam lived with survivor’s guilt, but so did Ellory. He had a redemption ark to appreciate his living daughter. He abandoned his duties as a parent to escape to tropical resorts and likely cheated on his wife innumerable times. Adam and Evelyn were a happy married couple, according to their inner circle. They were too proud of their appearances to forfeit their perfect family image. 

“What was your favorite memory with Sfera?” Vivian peered through her blue-light filtering purple-rimmed glasses questioningly. 

“She read Alice in Wonderland to me, the entire novel, not the picture book. We would sit together in my bed, and I listened intently. Her voice replays in my head when I’m alone. Her outfits were impeccable. I learned fashion because of Sfera,” Ellory smiled fondly as she remembered Sfera in her best light. 

“She lives in your memory. My parents live in my memory, too. I nearly forgot their faces, but I remember my mom cooking me seaweed and tofu soup, rolling sushi in the kitchen, and my dad believing in my dreams of becoming a successful dancer. He’d be devastated if he lived to see where I danced for work,” Vivian sounded dreary and optimistic. 

“May they rest in peace. I set up a few appointments to meet with product designers, textile designers, and manufacturers. I’m working on the new website. Hopefully, we can launch the brand within thirty days,” Ellory enthusiastically spilled the beans. 

“Yes, turn that frown upside down. I read that somewhere once,” Vivian’s voice changed in key. 

“I have to say, your English is amazing. Where did you practice English?” Ellory pressed her blue MacBook lid closed. 

“I spoke in English to Julian because he’s from Spain and never bothered to learn Japanese. I learned English in school and university, but I practiced English with Julian and the international clients he set me up to enchant through my dance and conversational skills. It’s sad how I lived. It did me wonders in English communication,” Vivian distributed.

Ellory wiped a tear with the back of her left pointer finger. 

“I know it must have killed you back then, but I’m grateful I got to meet you. You deserve better than what you had. We accept the love we think we deserve. I think you deserve someone who sees you, not physically, but psychologically and intellectually. We are going to dinner later tonight. My cousin Kellen will be there. He’s thirty-two, successful, and he’s interested in smart, pretty girls like you,” Ellory attempted to drop an obvious hint. 

“Do you have an outfit planned for me? I’m hopeful. I can’t make any promises. I don’t want to seduce anyone. I want to see if he’s someone capable of being a faithful, loyal, caring, attentive, and kind husband. I think I deserve someone good to me, after everything,” Vivian blew her cheeks into chipmunk puffed ones. 

Vivian didn’t want to jump back into the dating world this soon. To be honest, she had not dated in five years. It was time to enter the real world. There comes a time in every young woman’s life to wake up from the crimes of love, passion, regret, and disillusions. 

Everybody makes mistakes. Everyone deserves to be truly understood by someone; usually, that someone is a person who chooses to love for a lifetime.

It’s a difficult decision to accept romance as tumultuous and worthwhile. People see breakups much more often than weddings these days. Marriage loses its luster once some choose to open up their monogamous relationships to infidelity. The other woman will either be upgraded in the unspoken hierarchy or remain part of an unsensible three-way. 

Are there real soulmates in life? Are people settling for the bare minimum out of a desperate fear of being alone? Do people only get one shot at one soulmate? Is it love at first sight? Are soulmates a figment of imagination? 

People appear perfect in photographs and from a distance, but they are deeply flawed up close and personal. Intimate partners know each other’s greatest fears, insecurities, and desires. Those secrets should be taken to the grave, or someone will get hurt. 

The makings of a Manhattan-based lingerie company began in Ellory’s condo on the sixteenth floor, in the Upper East Side. Her sibling-replica friend became her closest confidante and alibi, besides Elliot. Ellory slowly forgot about the original plan of convincing Kellen to fall in love with Vivian. She focused on her life, goals, and ambition. She decided she wanted to keep Vivian to herself for selfish reasons. 

This epiphany meant Kellen would come to see Vivian’s work ethic and value her input as a key component of Ellory’s startup. There is nothing sexier than a brilliant woman who applies her skills to a new project. It takes guts to start something new. 

That attraction built up slowly through time.