What would've normally taken Evelyn five minutes to complete, took her aunt thirty. Evelyn could hardly stand to look at herself in the mirror. Aunt Pepper seemed to love it, though. "You look so beautiful, dear." The woman explained, her hands cupped together, and her whole face beaming with pride.

The doorbell's song breached the room, an opera for whoever was willing to open their ears. "I'll get it. You stay here and look good." Aunt Pepper grinned at Evelyn, who half-heartedly agreed.

As soon as she was gone, though, Evelyn grabbed the makeup-remover wipes in her drawer and quickly went to work. The bright blue eyeshadow didn't scrub off, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't even imagine why her cheeks were so sparkly, but they were red as a Norwegian home. Goodness, not to mention her lips. They were filled with this horrifying shade of fuschia. It was a worse nightmare that none of it was coming off!

"This isn't me. This person isn't who I am. It's never who I've been. I'm not going to look like some charity-case prostitute just because dad's gone." Evelyn stood, glaring at her reflection. Maybe her aunt could pretend to be a bubbly, fun-loving character in spite of the circumstances, but Evelyn was the type of girl who'd much rather be open, honest, and rip the band-aid off.

She had this plan to carry herself to glory by marching out and demanding her aunt help her remove this filth from her face, that she wasn't a canvas her aunt could smear with fake smiles and giggly colors.

However, this plan was quickly made obsolete when her aunt opened the door, and someone else walked in. He was a strong-looking man, with the features of a wannabe-model. "Hello, Miss Lewis. My name is Chester Schmidt. I'm your family's lawyer." The man formally introduced himself, a hand held out toward the girl. "Your father and I have discussed many things in our time together. I'm actually here on his behalf. He had a request, something he wanted me to share with you. I have a written letter here, actually." The man fiddled with the twist-tie on his manila envelope, and pulled out a lined piece of paper. In neat-handwriting Evelyn recognized as her father's, was a message to her. It only filled a small portion of the page, but each word must've been heartfelt and well thought-out. The lawyer offered to read them aloud without Pepper present, but Evelyn opted just to read it to herself.

~~Evelyn,

Hello, Princess. I'm writing to you from a jail cell right now. The man who delivers this message to you should be my lawyer, Chester Schmidt. He's safe to be around. If he offers any other information, listen to him.

I know there's a lot of stuff being said about me right now. I don't want you to believe any of it. I'm still your father, and I still love you, no matter what happens in the upcoming weeks. And I don't want you to be there when it all unfolds. Don't watch the news. Don't read the papers. Don't watch the trial as it happens. Please.

No matter what comes into the light, Princess, or how you end up feeling about me after this, I want you to let your heart guide you. With the pounding of the world, I know it's hard to focus. I know in times of trouble and doubt, the heart only whispers. Listen closely. Whether you decide to hate me, or fight for me, or disregard my existence after this, know that I will always love my Princess.

Cody P. Lewis ~~

(I forgot that font differences don't occur in Wattpad as they do in Google Docs. Oopsies! Anyway, just a reminder that Cody is actually human, sometimes. Also, drink water, read some scripture, and have a blessed and peaceful day! Bye troops!)