Distressed by the evidence of her husband’s unfaithfulness, Emily found herself fallen prey to her best friend Maya’s scheme. Between her husband Louis’ distrust and the intensifying strife within her family, Emily found help from Damian, the heir to a multinational conglomerate. This is a story of two people who are skeptical about love but ultimately discover genuine affection for one another.
View MoreThe car ride was heavy with unspoken words. I sat with my hands clasped tightly in my lap, staring out the window as the city blurred past. Damian’s hands gripped the steering wheel with a calm steadiness I envied. The fight has been more chaotic than I expected. We unleashed our hidden turmoil and struggles violently, like merciless projectiles. It is only once the tempest has passed that we can truly grasp the extent of our own cruelty.“You’ve always been quiet when you’re hurting,” Damian said, breaking the silence.I glanced at him, startled. His voice was calm, almost soothing, but there was an edge to it, as though he was daring me to open up.“I’m not hurting,” I lied. “I’m just...thinking.”He didn’t push. “Thinking about what?”I hesitated. “About how someone can betray you so thoroughly, yet you still feel...your heart aches when it’s over.”Damian’s jaw tightened. “A man like that isn’t worth your pain.”The words truck something deep inside me. I turned to look at his pro
Emily' POVThe pounding on the bedroom door was relentless—each thud louder, angrier than the last. “Emily!” Louis’s voice boomed, full of irritation. “Open the door!”“Emily, open up! This is ridiculous—you’re just being petty!” Maya screeched, her shrill voice grating against my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.I didn’t move, arms crossed. From inside, their overlapping voices grew louder—his furious commands clashing with her whiny pleas. “Louis, calm down,” Maya purred. “She’s doing this to make us look bad!”I turned as the clatter of hurried footsteps echoed through the hallway. Lucy swept into view, sporting her polished curls and her garishly flamboyant suit.“What in God’s name is going on here?” She demanded.Without a word, I flung the key at the door with a sharp clink. “There,” I nodded at it with my chin, “Your golden boy and his mistress are locked inside together. Go on, let’s see what Mommy Dearest makes of that.”Lucy glared at me as she stalked forward, snatched u
Emily's POVThe drive to my parents’ house felt longer than usual. My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as I sped away from Louis and our marriage. When I arrived, the usual warmth of home greeted me—the gardenias my mother planted still blooming by the porch, the faint aroma of fresh bread wafting from the kitchen. But none of it settled the unease in my chest.“You’re here so soon!” my mother exclaimed, pulling me into a hug.I forced a smile. “I thought I’d surprise you.”She frowned. “What’s wrong?”“I’ve been worried about dad’s health,” I said quickly, brushing past her and into the house. “I wanted to spend time with you both today and get my mind off of everything.”Her brow furrowed with concern, but she let it drop. My father appeared from the living room, frail and pale but smiling as he walked over to hug me. The sight of him weakened something in me, but I pushed the emotions down.“How’s my girl?” he asked as I helped him to his recliner. His MS had limited him to
Maya’s POVI leaned back on the plush couch in my apartment, staring at the ceiling. My fingers twirled idly through my hair as memories of the past unfurled, mingling with my current schemes. Emily. She was the anchor of every thought, every plan, every bit of envy that burned quietly within me.It had always been Emily. Back in high school, she was the golden girl—beautiful, driven, and effortlessly adored. Beside her, I was just the shadow, the girl people noticed only when Emily wasn’t around. Even the teachers who praised me for my hard work always added, “You and Emily make such a great team.”A laugh escaped me, bitter and hollow. Emily’s glow made my achievements look like scraps. I’d smiled at her wedding, clapping politely, but the jealousy had gnawed at my stomach as I watched her glide down the aisle. She didn’t just get a husband—she secured Louis Kingsley, a man who seemed to have everything: charm, intelligence, and a future paved in gold.When Emily reappeared in my li
Damian’s POVI had always wondered if the memories were real. The children’s home where we’d promised to meet once a year, the bond that had kept us steady when everything else seemed to fall apart—were they as vivid for her as they were for me?When I first saw Emily weeks ago, standing amidst chaos at the scene of an accident, I knew it was her. Her features had matured, but her gaze held the same quiet intensity. Yet I said nothing. Fear of her not remembering, or worse, not wanting to, kept me silent. Seeing her again in the hospital stairway, vulnerable and unraveling, had only strengthened my resolve to help her.But now, sitting across from me in my office, she didn’t seem to recognize me at all. Emily had walked in hesitantly, her eyes darting around the room like she was trying to find a reason to leave. She sat in the chair I gestured to, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. To me this felt like a relief but the conflict of knowing my patient personally, of withholding tha
Emily’s POVI wandered aimlessly through the hospital’s stark, sterile hallways, the bright fluorescent lights above doing nothing to warm the chill that seemed to settle in my bones. My footsteps echoed softly against the linoleum floor, but my mind was louder—filled with painful memories and questions that wouldn’t stop haunting me.How had it come to this? Maya had turned my life into a nightmare. I felt like a marionette, my strings tangled by her manipulative fingers. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. I stopped near a window, clutching my phone tightly. Desperation clawed at me, and I thumbed through my contacts, searching for comfort. But the screen mocked me with its emptiness.Maya. That woman had meticulously isolated me from everyone I once called a friend. Each subtle word, each whispered doubt, had slowly chipped away at my relationships until there was nothing left but her false friendship. How had I not realized it until now?My finger hovered over my mother’s number.
Emily’s POVLouis’s face paled as he rushed past me, his eyes fixed on Maya’s shuddering form at the bottom of the stairs. He knelt beside her, his hands trembling as he cradled her carefully. Maya let out a piercing wail, clutching her stomach.“My baby… my baby!” she sobbed, tears streaming down her face.I froze at the top of the stairs, my heart pounding in my chest. The hallway was deathly quiet, save for Maya’s cries. The accusing stares of their coworkers burned into me like fire.One of them, a man with a stern face, turned to me. “What happened?”“She—she fell,” I stammered, gesturing wildly. “I didn’t touch her! She moved back on her own!”But their expressions didn’t soften. If anything, their gazes grew colder, filled with disbelief.“You expect us to believe that?” a woman muttered, her voice laced with disdain. “After that altercation… the whole office could hear…”“I’m telling the truth!” I snapped, panic creeping into my voice. “It wasn’t me!”Louis looked up sharply,
Emily’s POVMaya's sobs echoed off the walls of Louis's office, a pitiful soundtrack to her manipulations. I watched her through narrowed eyes, my stomach churning with disgust."I just want to do what's right," she wailed, cradling her belly dramatically. "Emily, please, stop blaming me for everything. I'm not the enemy here!"I had heard enough. “Oh, spare me the theatrics,” I snapped, my voice cold. “You’ve been the enemy since the moment you wormed your way into my life pretending to be my friend.”Louis glanced between us, clearly uncomfortable, but when he moved to speak, Maya beat him to it.“I was just trying to help,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “I never wanted this to happen.”Her lies grated against my already frayed nerves. I had to get out before I said—or did—something I couldn’t take back. Spinning on my heel, I marched toward the door.“Emily, wait!” Louis’s voice followed me, but I didn’t stop.Behind me, I heard the faint rustling of fabric and Maya’s voice,
Emily’s POVLouis sat stiffly behind his desk, his expression carefully composed, though the tightness in his jaw betrayed the tension simmering beneath the surface. His usual aura of control seemed slightly frayed as his eyes flicked from me to Maya and back again."Emily," he began, his voice low. "Let's not do this here.""Why is she still here, Louis?" I demanded, pointing an accusatory finger at Maya. "You told me she was transferred. What is she doing here?"Before Louis could respond, Maya gracefully interjected, holding her belly like it was a delicate treasure. Her calm demeanor only fanned the flames of my rage."Louis," she said, her voice soft, "Maybe I should explain things to Emily." She turned to me, her expression almost pitying, but her words were knives concealed in velvet. "Emily, once my baby is born, I’ll leave. You don’t have to worry about anything. I’m not trying to interfere."She was pure malice rolled in sugar, easier to swallow for those around her - it was
Emily’s POVI was packing my husband's suitcase and found a box of used condoms in the pocket.I open the box and find only four condoms even though the box says it's a pack of six. A wave of nausea washes over me as I sink onto the floor in disbelief - I'm afraidof what this means. Ten years of good, solid marriage. We’d gotten comfortable, perhaps too comfortable, but still, I thought we had true love. Louis wouldn’t throw it all away on some random business trip, right?“Babe? I’m home!” Louis’ voice rang through the house, smooth and confident, like it always did. I shoved the box back into the suitcase pocket with shaking hands, snapped the zipper shut, and forced myself to stand.I met him in the foyer, where he dropped his briefcase and smiled, that wide, boyish grin that once made me weak in the knees. “Hey, there’s my girl.” He pulled me into his arms, and I stiffened before I could stop myself. His cologne, the one I’d picked for him years ago, smelled cloying now—familiar,...
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