Emma POVI never imagined I’d be staying at the most luxurious hotel in the city. Even though I was married to a wealthy man, during those two and a half years, I rarely left the house. That was Gregory’s advice—to stay there so no one would know about our marriage.A few hours ago, Edward had purchased tickets and some clothes for me. I was heading to a distant and unknown country. Edward told me that a close friend of his would be waiting for me and would take me to the house where he had lived his whole life.I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. I was running away from my ex-husband, carrying the child he had longed for, leaving everything behind while being helped by his greatest enemy.By now, Gregory must have uncovered the entire truth, and he would never forgive me for it. This certainty tore my heart like a dagger piercing my chest. Imagining Gregory hating me was not a comfortable feeling, especially knowing that I loved him and might never forget him.As I tried to rest,
POV Gregory'sI kept thinking about the satisfaction written all over Edward’s face as he told me that Grandpa was finally dead. My legs no longer responded to my commands, and Alya caught me.I should have been happy about the death of that vile old man, but he decided to leave this world with Emma, taking with them all my hope of becoming the heir to the entire empire he had left behind. I kept staring at the pregnancy test, thinking about how Emma had planned everything to hit me where it hurt the most. As if she somehow knew Grandpa was going to die, she left, abandoning me to face my personal hell alone.She had finally managed to take revenge on me for buying her from Mason’s hands.I crumpled the paper as Alya approached me again with a drink in her hands.“Drink this,” she offered, but I couldn’t bring myself to look her in the eyes. “It will make you feel better.”I brought the glass to my lips and swallowed the warm liquid, hoping it would help me snap out of it. I was unabl
POV Emma.I wasn’t sure how long I had been holding the phone, staring at the screen with Gregory’s number ready for an emergency call. My heart pounded violently against my chest as I fought against my desire to falter.The TV news wouldn’t stop replaying the death of Gregory’s grandfather. It seemed to be the saddest event of the year. Everyone mourned the death of the man who had forced me to love my fake husband. No one knew him the way I did; that old scoundrel ruined my life.I decided to attend his funeral. The news reported that the burial would take place that afternoon in the cemetery west of the city. I pulled a few pieces of clothing out of my suitcase and went to the bathroom to get ready. I kept going over the plan in my mind as I felt the hot water run down my body. Not only that, but I just wanted to make sure Gregory was okay, that he wasn't concerned about my disappearance, and then I would leave for good.I tied my hair into a bun and placed a black hat over it. The
Gregory's POVMy grandfather’s death filled the news. Speculations that Edward would become the new owner of the family businesses had completely robbed me of sleep. Although the will was to be read after the funeral, I knew everyone was right. Edward’s imminent takeover had defeated me.As I stared at Emma’s empty bed, the feeling of betrayal consumed me. Emma, the woman I had bought to save me, had become my nightmare. I wanted to find her; even if I couldn’t reverse the situation, I wanted Emma back by my side.My lawyer was already handling everything to ensure I received my share of the inheritance. After all, Emma was pregnant, which proved I had fulfilled my part of the agreement. But I had no real expectations that it would actually happen.I watched the sunrise through the bedroom window. The beeping of my phone alerted me every minute to the incoming messages, but I didn’t have the energy to check who was texting. I got up and went to the bathroom, running my hand franticall
Emma’s POVI stormed into the hotel like a hurricane, bumping into and knocking over everything in my path. I still had the impression that Gregory was chasing me; it was like going back in time, back to the day when Mason and those men pursued and captured me.Not only that, but I entered the room, locked the door, and stood in front of it with my heart pounding in my chest, waiting for someone to burst in and drag me into hell.Damn it! My mind was playing tricks on me.I collapsed onto the bed, closing my eyes until my body calmed down. Afterward, I undressed and went to the bathroom. I had never felt so defeated. What was I thinking, going to Grandpa’s funeral? Did I really believe no one would see me? Now Gregory knew I was in town and would send people to hunt me down everywhere.I wrapped myself in a robe and stepped out of the bathroom. The heat fogged my vision, but when I realized there was someone in my room, I almost screamed.“Edward?” My heart resumed its punishing rhyth
POV GregoryI scheduled an urgent meeting with Mason. Although he seemed excited about the idea of hunting down Emma, I didn’t give him details about the case. It had been years since I last spoke to Mason; all I knew was that he would find Emma and bring her back to me.After the funeral, I headed to Grandpa’s old mansion. Everyone wore fake expressions of sorrow, still shedding crocodile tears as if they truly missed that wretched old man. But deep down, they were all there just for the reading of the will, eager to know if they would get a piece of the inheritance.I was part of that hypocritical crowd, though I already knew Grandpa had chosen his favorite. Edward had fled the funeral as soon as he heard me mention Emma. That was proof enough that my bastard cousin was involved in my wife’s disappearance.I sent my security team to follow him, but Edward was clever and managed to lose them. It took him almost an hour to return, and we all waited there for him, so the will could be
Emma’s PoVThe photo showed Gregory on the ground, and the article detailed how Edward, the heir to the inheritance and the city’s new billionaire, had expelled the big loser.My heart burst in my chest. Gregory deserved to go through all of this—I knew that—but I couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt. I had caused all this mess when I decided to leave and leave only a divorce agreement with.Then I remembered Gregory’s last message. He had sent Mason to look for me. The last thing I wanted was to see my stepfather again and witness him reveling in my suffering.I was nervous in the room, dreading stepping out and running into Mason at any moment. It was safer to stay there, waiting for Edward. I turned off my cell phone, removed the chip, but couldn’t throw it away. Perhaps I would need it when my child was born. Maybe Gregory would want to meet him.Unlikely. He hadn’t asked about the child even once. The baby was merely a means to secure the inheritance, and since it was too late, th
POV GregoryPublic humiliation. Newspapers plastered my face across their pages, some even mocking me. How could I forgive Emma for making me go through this hell? She abandoned me, carrying my child. She prevented me from receiving my inheritance, and now all I have left is a mediocre job in the family business while I watch Edward rise to success.I drank the last sip of whiskey and then threw the glass against the wall. I hadn’t noticed Samantha approaching; I only heard the maid’s scream as the object shattered into a thousand pieces just inches from her face.“What do you want, maid?” I demanded, already under the influence of alcohol, my tone harsh and abrasive, making Samantha shrink, seeming smaller than she was.“You have a visitor,” she stammered, tripping over her words. She feared me.I closed my eyes. I knew I owed Samantha an apology for almost hitting her with a glass, though it hadn’t been my intention. But I didn’t like to apologize to anyone. I was a man without regr
Emma.I looked around to see if any faces were familiar. Then I looked at Gregory, who had a bloodied forehead. Who would want to kill him, and why? We were in Spain; no one knew us or had any reason to hate us.Maybe I was too innocent, or perhaps I couldn’t think clearly in the face of adrenaline and the fear of something worse happening to Gregory. When the ambulance arrived, the police came along. I didn’t speak their language and couldn’t understand what they were saying.“Ma’am, what he’s trying to ask is whether you noted the license plate or recognized the driver.” One officer spoke my language, but I didn’t know exactly how to respond.“I didn’t see anything. I didn’t even see when the vehicle approached. You should talk to my husband.”My hands were trembling, and I felt like I wouldn’t be able to stand for much longer. I looked at Gregory, covered in blood, lyi
Before the accident.Emma.I entered Gregory’s dark room, and he dressed without any ceremony in front of me, calm and calculating, knowing exactly what that action would cause in me. This time, I didn’t turn my face away—I looked at every detail of his body, every curve, every muscle moving as he put on his clothes.Once dressed, he approached me again, and there was a distinct glow in his eyes, something I had never seen a trace of before.“We need to talk,” he said while buttoning up his white shirt, and I kept thinking that maybe those words should have been mine.“Talk about what?” I asked when his eyes locked onto mine.I could barely breathe when Gregory got too close, only a few centimeters away, and I felt that his mouth would touch mine at any moment. Deep down, I wished it would happen.“Are you asking for my help just out of fear?” he whispered, and it was as if my legs
Edward.“Mr. Edward, that beautiful woman would like to meet you,” the heiress of one of the wealthiest families in the city, was smiling at me. She was just as pretentious as she seemed. Eager and desperate to make a connection with me. I smiled, but suddenly, my mind betrayed me, and the beautiful woman’s face transformed into something else.I shook my head, thinking I was going crazy. Why, after all, was I seeing Emma in that woman’s face?I looked at my wineglass and considered that it might be time to stop drinking so much. I shoved my hands into my pockets and looked around. The charity gala was in full swing. Filled with champagne glasses, beautiful women, live music, men in their expensive suits, and thousands of dollars circulating around the tables. This place was full of hypocrites. No one really gave a damn about the cause—except, of course, my grandmother Helena.Before going to the event, my lawyer had made som
What did Gregory mean by that? I spent most of the trip thinking about it until I finally fell asleep. There was no answer to his audacity; Gregory was truly determined to make my days more difficult.At least, I wanted to believe that. I wanted to create a bad image of him inside me so that it would be easier to forget him.I felt a hand caressing me. Not only that, but I thought I was dreaming, but when I slowly opened my eyes, I saw Gregory, standing with his face just inches from mine, smiling. The way he seemed happy by my side sent a shiver down my spine.I pulled away immediately when I realized the plane had already landed. How many hours had I been asleep? I would rather not ask Gregory that the less we talked, the better it would be for me.“We need to go,” he said, standing up and extending his hand for me to lean on him.I refused his help, getting up on my own and walking past him without giving him any attention. Gregory s
Emma.Bringing Masson back into my life felt like an unforgivable mistake. I cried in secret in the bathroom because I was tired of fighting this feeling inside my heart. I kept wondering why Gregory did this to me—one moment, he seemed to love me, and the next, he seemed to want to slowly kill me with his betrayals.Not only that, but I wiped my face, and when I left the room, I saw Samantha closing my suitcase and gripping its handle, ready to leave.“How long have you been there?” She looked at my face and knew at that moment that I had been crying, but she said nothing.“I just came to get your suitcase for the trip,” she smiled. “Mr. Gregory is waiting for you in the living room so you can leave.”I had even forgotten that I would be traveling with Gregory, and now it seemed too late to back out of this trip. I thought about how torturous it would be to spend a few days by his side without remembering his mistakes. The feeling I had was that death would come before Gregory and I
Gregory.A trip for me and Emma.I didn’t understand why I was excited, but I started packing my clothes to leave. I could hear Emma’s voice coming from the living room—she sounded happy, and her laughter filled my ears.When my phone rang, I didn’t feel like answering. I just wanted to keep listening to her voice, but the name on the screen made me stop everything and pick up the call.“What do you want?”“I’m at your doorstep waiting for you,” Mason’s voice was threatening. “And if you don’t come out, I’ll break into your house. I’m sure that Emma won’t like to see me.”I dropped the phone on the bed and rushed down the stairs, slipping out the door. It had been days since I last saw Mason—I had even thought he had forgotten his threats—but there he was again, making my life a little more difficult. There was no security around; I had dismissed all the staff, so I had to deal with Mason alone this time.My urgency in leaving the house caught Emma’s attention—not just hers, but also
EmmaGregory lifted me and held me in his arms. I sighed, startled. He carried me up the stairs until he stopped in front of our room, opened the door, and gently placed me on the bed. Thereafter, he looked at me as if calculating his words and finally said,“I’m going to call Samantha to help you take a bath,” he said, agitated, turning his back to me.“Gregory…”“Don’t say that near me again,” his eyes widened as he turned to look at me. There were tears in them. “I would rather not hear you say you’re dying when I’m here doing everything possible to save you.”I realized how much my words had hurt him. Immediately, Gregory turned his back and left. I remembered Helena’s words, saying that Gregory was committed to finding a cure for me. And he really was, even though I didn’t believe it was possible.Maybe by accepting reality, the pain would become smaller.Samantha entered the room a few minutes later. She had a strange expression on her face, as if she had seen something but coul
GregoryHelena had gone to visit Emma. She asked me to stay outside and wait because she had something important to tell me. I did as she asked, even though I felt like an idiot for not going into that room and making sure Emma was okay.Lia said she was fine, but she seemed moody. It was certainly because of me. I had spent the last few hours dedicated to researching the best hospitals and specialists who could save Emma’s life, using that as a perfect excuse not to have to see her.“Cancer treatment is the same all over the world, Mr. Gregory,” the doctor from Spain told me via video call. “There is not much to be done in these cases other than surgery and treatment.”There was no one who could guarantee Emma’s survival, and that was killing me. I wouldn’t give up so easily. I didn’t want to lose Emma now that I had realized how much I wanted her by my side.Not only that, but I glued my eyes to the laptop screen, and I sat on that hard bench for hours, so I didn’t see my grandmothe
EmmaMy hands were trembling. I stared blankly, wavering between anger and the urge to see Gregory again. I didn’t understand him. He said he loved me, and the next second, he disappeared.As I searched for an answer, Samantha entered the room, looking concerned.“Emma, are you okay?” She approached, examining my face. “You look different.”I smiled nervously, trying to hide how upset I was.“I’m great! She stared at me.”“I have no idea,” she said, then looked away. As if remembering something important, she added, “Mr. Gregory already spoke to the doctor about that. You don’t need to worry.”“Gregory is here?” I stammered in shock. “I mean, he’s at the hospital?”Samantha tilted her head, then looked back at me strangely, as if my words were incomprehensible to her.“Mr. Gregory has been here the whole time.” She moved closer again. “Are you sure you’re okay?”I slowly nodded, confirming her question. But deep down inside of me, everything was confused. Samantha insisted that Gregor