Emelia's POVIt was noon by the time I woke up the next day; indicative of the much harsher rays of midday sunlight that lit up every inch of my room. I groaned in retaliation.At that moment, it was like I was a vampire. I hated the sun.Even though I thought some sleep would've refreshed my mind, it just felt like I carried everything over from yesterday.The heaviness of my conversation with Alexis never left my chest or my shoulders. I couldn't even find the mask I wanted to wear to hide my emotions.Today was going to be a hard day.I crawled out of bed and couldn't even find it in myself to actually get dressed for the day. At the bare minimum, I was able to comb out my hair and brush my teeth.As I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen, I stood in front of the refrigerator door until it started to beep from being opened for too long. I stared at the ingredients, unsure as to what I wanted—not just from the food, but also from everything that was going on.It made me think
Emelia's POV"Mason, I need you to say something, or I'm going to throw up." I admitted after another few minutes of us sitting in an awkward, and tense silence.Mason went through the motions of opening his mouth and closing it again rapidly. It was like he was trying to get his thoughts together, but couldn't. Pink highlighted his cheeks like he was just as embarrassed as me.After a few more moments of agonizing—at least to me—silence, he finally spoke. "That's actually great news, Emelia. I'm happy for you, really." Then he smiled.He smiled.I released a sigh of relief. The weight of anticipation lifted, and the nausea of waiting for his answer finally subsided."Don't ever leave me in suspense like that!" I managed to laugh; half in bewilderment, half in humor to release the rest of the tension I'd been holding onto. "But, I'm glad you're happy for me, really. I honestly was so scared to tell you…"Mason raised an eyebrow. "What? Really?""Yeah, I mean, you nailed it with the who
Emelia's POVI stared at the caller ID in disbelief. How did he always manage to do this? It was like Victor possessed a sixth sense when it came to my every movement. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? I ignored his call and placed my phone on Do Not Disturb before shoving it into my bag. I wasn't going to let him ruin the day I was trying to salvage. Yet, his insistence on wanting to speak with me was an omen of what was to come.Victor had eyes everywhere in the city—unfortunately, it came with the territory of being one of the region's most affluent and resourceful CEOs. Which, for me, meant that it was going to be a matter of sooner rather than later when he'd hear news of my move for Italy. It made me sick to think about what his reaction would be. His actions and persistence over the last few weeks had given off nothing more than sheer desperation. Why was he so anxious about having some kind of relationship with me now? He had a kid on the way and an engagement to the wom
Emelia's POVI eyed Mason's speedometer like a hawk as I watched the numbers increase with a knot in my stomach. Guilt tore at my nerves. If it wasn't for me, Victor wouldn't be chasing us down this half-deserted road like a maniac! For the first time since our divorce, I felt fear. This went beyond breaking boundaries—this was straight up stalking! How did he even know where the hell to find me? What was his goal? I looked over at Mason to find him looking back at me. A mixture of anger and worry turned his lips down and furrowed his eyebrows together. "Mason, I'm so—" "There's no way you're apologizing right now, are you?" "You're telling me I shouldn't be?" I jerked my thumb back in the direction of Victor's car tailgating that was still pretty much on our asses. "If it wasn't for me, this wouldn't be—" "Stop." Mason's voice was firm. "You shouldn't be taking the blame for his actions. He's CHOOSING to do this, not you. This isn't your fault; it never will be." I sighed. "Ea
Emelia's POVA week had passed since everything with Victor happened. In truth, I gave it little thought because Lady Ruby reached out to me the day after I'd gotten done celebrating with Mason and told me to start packing for Italy.Apparently, the start date for her latest project was moved forward because all the prep plans finished earlier than anticipated.Hearing those words filled me with as much anxiety as it did excitement. I wasn't expecting the move to happen so soon and suddenly!The following days were spent in a whirlwind of preparations as well as keeping everything lowkey. After the incident with Victor, I tried my best to keep myself from going out in public unless necessary.It was clear someone in the outside world was feeding him information about what I was doing and who I was with… There was just obviously no way of figuring out who.Luckily, I had Mason and Alexis to help me move quickly and quietly."Is this really all you're taking?" Mason tilted his head to th
Emelia's POV"I had to come see you off, of course." Grandpa Antonio smiled at me. "You don't think I would let my favorite granddaughter leave for Italy without me saying goodbye, do you?"My smile faded almost immediately. "W-wait, you know? Then does that mean that Victor—""He doesn't." Grandpa was quick to reassure me. "Given everything that's happened between you two, I've made sure to keep this a secret.""But how do you know?""Ezra's been a good friend of mine since my college days. We entered the jewelry design industry together, but clearly one of us took it more seriously." Then he hesitated for a moment. "She, um, she also mentored Victor for a little while. So, she may or may not have told me about…""Let's go inside." I interrupted him and held the door open. "We can talk more once we're comfortable and sitting."As grandpa came inside the home, his eyes looked around at the packed suitcases and boxes of belongings that were stacked in the foyer. When he turned to look a
Emelia’s POVI was totally confused when my best friend, Alexis, texted me and said that she saw my husband and I at a restaurant.Because I was at home currently. On the sofa. In a robe with a mask on my face.And my husband, Victor, was supposed to be at work. At least, that was what he texted me a few hours ago.Ding!Alexis: I see you and Victor in the restaurant :P You two are just the sweetest couple! Me: Um, you might wanna get your eyes checked, bestie. :P I'm at home right now!I sat my phone down and laid back against the sofa while I let my face mask settle. But my phone kept buzzing anyway.Ding! Ding!Alexis: I know what Victor looks like! But if that woman turning the back on me isn't you… there might be some trouble!Alexis: OMG!! Listen to this NOW!!Ding! It was an audio message. That made me sit up on the sofa immediately. I pressed play without hesitation."Oh, Victor, I know you still think of me.” The unknown woman's voice chimed in.“I have always been thinking
Emelia’s POVShock hijacked my nerves as I sat there in disbelief. Victor had never lied to me before, and now all of a sudden he was?He'd never hung up on me like this before either! What was going on?It was genuinely starting to worry me with how Victor was behaving. Was everything truly okay with him? I stayed up all night as my mind ran rampant. I stressed cleaning our closet and organized every article of clothing to try and settle down, but it didn't work. It wasn't until close to midnight that Victor finally came home."Hey, I'm surprised to see you're awake." Victor hung up his coat and came to sit next to me. "Is everything alright?""I should be asking you that question. What happened earlier tonight? I was trying to call you and ask you when you'd be home and you just hung up on me."Victor took out his phone from his pocket and handed it to me. "I didn't realize that my phone was on low battery and it died."I thought about holding the power button to see if he was lyin
Emelia's POV"I had to come see you off, of course." Grandpa Antonio smiled at me. "You don't think I would let my favorite granddaughter leave for Italy without me saying goodbye, do you?"My smile faded almost immediately. "W-wait, you know? Then does that mean that Victor—""He doesn't." Grandpa was quick to reassure me. "Given everything that's happened between you two, I've made sure to keep this a secret.""But how do you know?""Ezra's been a good friend of mine since my college days. We entered the jewelry design industry together, but clearly one of us took it more seriously." Then he hesitated for a moment. "She, um, she also mentored Victor for a little while. So, she may or may not have told me about…""Let's go inside." I interrupted him and held the door open. "We can talk more once we're comfortable and sitting."As grandpa came inside the home, his eyes looked around at the packed suitcases and boxes of belongings that were stacked in the foyer. When he turned to look a
Emelia's POVA week had passed since everything with Victor happened. In truth, I gave it little thought because Lady Ruby reached out to me the day after I'd gotten done celebrating with Mason and told me to start packing for Italy.Apparently, the start date for her latest project was moved forward because all the prep plans finished earlier than anticipated.Hearing those words filled me with as much anxiety as it did excitement. I wasn't expecting the move to happen so soon and suddenly!The following days were spent in a whirlwind of preparations as well as keeping everything lowkey. After the incident with Victor, I tried my best to keep myself from going out in public unless necessary.It was clear someone in the outside world was feeding him information about what I was doing and who I was with… There was just obviously no way of figuring out who.Luckily, I had Mason and Alexis to help me move quickly and quietly."Is this really all you're taking?" Mason tilted his head to th
Emelia's POVI eyed Mason's speedometer like a hawk as I watched the numbers increase with a knot in my stomach. Guilt tore at my nerves. If it wasn't for me, Victor wouldn't be chasing us down this half-deserted road like a maniac! For the first time since our divorce, I felt fear. This went beyond breaking boundaries—this was straight up stalking! How did he even know where the hell to find me? What was his goal? I looked over at Mason to find him looking back at me. A mixture of anger and worry turned his lips down and furrowed his eyebrows together. "Mason, I'm so—" "There's no way you're apologizing right now, are you?" "You're telling me I shouldn't be?" I jerked my thumb back in the direction of Victor's car tailgating that was still pretty much on our asses. "If it wasn't for me, this wouldn't be—" "Stop." Mason's voice was firm. "You shouldn't be taking the blame for his actions. He's CHOOSING to do this, not you. This isn't your fault; it never will be." I sighed. "Ea
Emelia's POVI stared at the caller ID in disbelief. How did he always manage to do this? It was like Victor possessed a sixth sense when it came to my every movement. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? I ignored his call and placed my phone on Do Not Disturb before shoving it into my bag. I wasn't going to let him ruin the day I was trying to salvage. Yet, his insistence on wanting to speak with me was an omen of what was to come.Victor had eyes everywhere in the city—unfortunately, it came with the territory of being one of the region's most affluent and resourceful CEOs. Which, for me, meant that it was going to be a matter of sooner rather than later when he'd hear news of my move for Italy. It made me sick to think about what his reaction would be. His actions and persistence over the last few weeks had given off nothing more than sheer desperation. Why was he so anxious about having some kind of relationship with me now? He had a kid on the way and an engagement to the wom
Emelia's POV"Mason, I need you to say something, or I'm going to throw up." I admitted after another few minutes of us sitting in an awkward, and tense silence.Mason went through the motions of opening his mouth and closing it again rapidly. It was like he was trying to get his thoughts together, but couldn't. Pink highlighted his cheeks like he was just as embarrassed as me.After a few more moments of agonizing—at least to me—silence, he finally spoke. "That's actually great news, Emelia. I'm happy for you, really." Then he smiled.He smiled.I released a sigh of relief. The weight of anticipation lifted, and the nausea of waiting for his answer finally subsided."Don't ever leave me in suspense like that!" I managed to laugh; half in bewilderment, half in humor to release the rest of the tension I'd been holding onto. "But, I'm glad you're happy for me, really. I honestly was so scared to tell you…"Mason raised an eyebrow. "What? Really?""Yeah, I mean, you nailed it with the who
Emelia's POVIt was noon by the time I woke up the next day; indicative of the much harsher rays of midday sunlight that lit up every inch of my room. I groaned in retaliation.At that moment, it was like I was a vampire. I hated the sun.Even though I thought some sleep would've refreshed my mind, it just felt like I carried everything over from yesterday.The heaviness of my conversation with Alexis never left my chest or my shoulders. I couldn't even find the mask I wanted to wear to hide my emotions.Today was going to be a hard day.I crawled out of bed and couldn't even find it in myself to actually get dressed for the day. At the bare minimum, I was able to comb out my hair and brush my teeth.As I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen, I stood in front of the refrigerator door until it started to beep from being opened for too long. I stared at the ingredients, unsure as to what I wanted—not just from the food, but also from everything that was going on.It made me think
Emelia's POV"Italy?" Alexis stared at me blankly for a few seconds. Then, the interrogation started. "Wait, wait—you're going overseas? When? Soon? Tomorrow? Because of what's happening with Victor? Why did she invite you to Italy?"I spent the next hour explaining everything that happened. It was then that I realized that I never even told her about what happened with the whole plagiarism scandal.The conversation was heavy and charged. I had to relive the embarrassment of the whole paparazzi ganging up on me, being put on blast on television, and having my whole career scrutinized.Not to mention Lily trying to attack me, her whole pregnancy scare, and now her engagement to Victor.Alexis stared at me for a few minutes as my words and heart finally decided to settle. Different emotions flashed through her eyes, as she tried to make sense of everything I'd dumped onto her.After a few tense minutes, she finally spoke up. "So, all of this is to say that you're the one leaving this tim
Emelia's POVIt was another day of sitting idly by my window and staring at photos of potential properties in Italy; from seaside condos, to lovely villas in the countryside. Over the past few days, I hadn't gotten any closer to making a decision on Lady Ruby's offer.It was on my mind constantly.But I was still caught up in the sentimentality of this place, despite wanting so badly to start fresh. This was a dream offer—a once in a lifetime opportunity. Even though I knew it'd be a stupid decision to turn down something like this, there was something in my heart that was anchoring me to this place.This place that caused me so much pain…I sighed and closed my laptop. My mind was still a muddied mess, especially after my encounter with Victor from a few days ago.Which I hadn't stopped thinking about, unfortunately. For whatever reason, my sleeping consciousness seemed to mirror Victor's hopefulness.But there was one thing I was still caught up on."I wish it was as simple as letti
Victor's POV"I did it for your own good" My mother cried. "You weren't taking things seriously, so I had to put my foot down! You made a promise to take care of Lily through it all—how is this any different, huh?"To take my promise from all those years ago and to weaponize it against my autonomy and free-will almost sent me over the edge.I thought I was numb from all the frustrations and grief of the divorce and losing my child with Emelia… But damn if this betrayal from my mother didn't slice me open again and leave another wound for me to tend later.How could she do this to me? Were parents not supposed to look out in the best interest of their child? Could she not see how selfish she was in only considering Lily's feelings?As those thoughts came to my mind, it hit me then.Everything that was happening to me, I'd done to Emelia. All the betrayal and the hurt I was experiencing, she'd experienced at my hands.That revelation nearly broke me in two.How the hell could I have bee