Chapter 5

“He is the rudest person I’ve ever met in my entire life! And you know I’ve met my very unfair share of rude people so you should know how serious I’m being right now.”

Emily huffed and folded her arms, every memory about Giovanni doing nothing but enraging her. Every single thing about him now angered her, leaving her with no choice but to rant on about it to her best friend.

“Can you believe he didn’t even know my name?!” She continued. “He even called me by my sister’s name. That’s how uninterested he was in me.”

“I know, Emily,” Tyler replied and pat her on the back. “And then he told you we were nothing but a replacement. Declared how uninterested he was in you. Expressed how he considers marriage as nothing but a contract. Yes, Emily. You’ve been ranting on about it for an hour now I get the point.”

“Oh,” she pouted, realizing Tyler was right. She had been talking way too much about Giovanni but what could she do? She was baffled and infuriated and with every second that passed, it seemed like their wedding date was only getting closer. “I must be boring you out. Sorry.”

“No, you aren’t,” he shook his head. “I just wish I could get you out of this mess and since I can’t, I don’t want you talking about it over and over. You’re only breaking your heart by doing so. Try not to think about it for the meantime.”

“Right?” She grabbed her cup of iced coffee and took a long sip. “I shouldn’t worry about it especially since he also won’t be worrying. He has made that very clear to me so I should do the same. I should just carry on with my life and in three weeks, get on the alter and get married.”

It sounded terrifying but Tyler remained silent. “Yeah, you should do that.”

“Great then,” Emily nodded and took another sip of her drink. “I’ll do just that. It can’t possibly be hard, can it?”

“I’m afraid it can.”

“What?”

Immediately, Emily turned to face her best friend, realizing he was no longer looking at her. His gaze was now fixed on the opposite direction, whatever must have managed to catch his attention hooking him.

Curious herself, she followed his eyes and turned, her eyes immediately widening at the sight. It was suddenly no surpise Tyler was shocked as she found herself dumbstruck too for a while.

Driving towards them was a black car, sunglight glinting dazzling off the rare sight as it rolled into view. Designer alloy wheels hugged the road with precision, carrying the car that seemed expensive enough to solve all of Emily’s problems towards them.

Whispers immediately broke out amongst the gathered onlookers, all straining to catch a glimpse of the driver through the tinted windows. Tyler wasn’t left out as he quickly got pulled out of his shock, whispering inaudible words to Emily.

“That’s him, right?”

She could barely hear him as she stared at the sight in front of her, watching the car finally glide and stop in an open spot. Fluildy, the driver’s side door was swung opened, followed by no one other than Giovanni Rueben himself stepping out.

He looked almost the same as he did a couple of days ago when Emily had met him for the first time. With dark laid back hair, dark piercing eyes and perfectly tanned skin, he resonated a great aura of power and grace.

Standing tall to flaunt his elegant physique, he slammed the door of his car shut and looked around him, his eyes immediately falling on Emily.

Immediately pulling her to senses.

“Oh my God,” she breathed out as she uselessly looked away. “What is he doing here?!”

“I knew I wasn’t mistaken,” Tyler replied her, giving Giovanni another quick glance. “Gosh, he looks so much better in person. The tabloids do not do justice to his looks.”

“Are you being serious right now?” Emily glared at him. “The least of our worries should be what he looks like. You should be freaking out with me wondering what the hell he is doing here. He said he didn’t want to have anything to do with me so why is he here? And how the hell did he even get my address?!”

“I don’t know, Emily,” Tyler quickly replied. “But he’s coming in our direction so obviously he’s coming to see you.”

“You think I haven’t figured that out by now?”

“Um, maybe,” Tyler tried to rack his brain as quick as possible. “Maybe he’s here to talk to you. He probably had a change of mind, you know? He probably realized how amazing of a person you are and how much of a terrible idea it would be to allow you slip out of his hands so he’s here to apologize and get to know you better? Maybe?”

“Miss Emily Stark?”

Interrupting their anxiety filled conversation was a thick emotionless voice. Both immediately knowing who it belonged to, simultaneously went silent, prompting Givovanni to speak up again.

“Miss Stark?”

“Yes?” With a deep exhale, Emily finally raised her head to reply and look at him. Now up close, his eyes suddenly seemed darker, his expression even colder. “Yes, Mr. Rueben.”

“Let’s go have coffee.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sure you heard me,” Giovanni clicked his tongue. “But if you really want me repeating myself, then I’ll do that. Let’s go have coffee, Miss Emily Stark.”

“And why would I do that?” Emily immediately folded her arms at him. “You can’t just walk up here and tell me what to do so tell me, why should I listen to you?”

“Because I’m politely asking you to,” his tone remained the same as he replied. “Also, you don’t want us talking with him here, do you?”

Giving Tyler a quick judgmental glance, he returned his gaze to Emily and clicked his tongue again. “So, shall we leave?”

“No,” she on the other hand had no intention of listening to him so easily. “There’s nothing you could want to say to me you can’t say here. He already knows everything about you and me and I can promise you that would remain the same even in the future. So go ahead.”

“Um, Emily,” beginning to feel uncomfortable, Tyler spoke up. “You can go have coffee with him. You don’t want to cause a scene here so just go.”

“What?”

“You should listen to him,” Giovanni spoke up. “All I’m asking from you is an opportunity to have a harmless cup of coffee with me and honestly, you should be glad. So don’t make this complicated and let’s just go.”

Sending him a glare, Emily turned to face Tyler who sent her a comforting look. Whispering comforting words to her, he nudged her and grabbed his bag, getting up and having her do the same.

“I’ll call you later, okay?” He smiled at her and move closer to her to give her a quick hug. “So take care of yourself.”

“Alright. I’ll call you.”

She watched him pull away from the hug instead of walking straight out of their presence, he took a step closer to Giovanni and leaned towards his ear, whispering some unaudible words to him before leaving.

“Is be your boyfriend?” Giovanni asked, the second Tyler was completely out of sight. “Is that the relationship between you two.”

“And why do you care?”

“I do not,” he quickly got rid of every room for misunderstanding. “You can date whoever you want as long as you end it the moment we’re officially married. It won’t look for the face of my business if my wife is revealed to be having an affair.”

“What?”

“So, let’s go,” he shoved his hands into his pocket, the car keys jingling in them. “I know a good coffee place nearby so get in. I’ll drive.”