Gregory.“For what service should I pay?” Though my body trembled, I laughed, showing disdain for his words. “Or should I remind you that you ran away like a coward and left me to find Emma alone?”Mason heard my words, and a smile tugged at his lips. Had I told a joke? What was so funny about him coming to the hospital to charge me for a service he never provided?“We had a deal.”“One that you didn’t fulfill,” I said, already impatient, and my voice rose in tone.“Are you saying you won’t pay me?” he asked as he stepped closer to me.That was the moment I realized it had been a mistake to hire Mason to find Emma. He, of all people, had delivered her to me unconsciously, her face swollen from an assault he had committed. Even though Emma never spoke about it, I knew she would have a hard time forgiving me for that mistake.“I won’t pay,” I answered bluntly. “Now leave because it wouldn’t be good for Emma to see you walking around here.”Mason’s eyes widened, as if what I had just sai
EmmaMason’s threatening eyes staring at me, fixed in an obsession, wouldn’t leave my mind. How could I forget that Gregory had hired him to look for me? When I thought about the possibility that Mason had found me, a shiver ran down my spine, causing chills.I wiped away my tears because it was useless to remain in that state. I watched as Samantha approached and, in a whisper, said that she would stay by my side that night. At least she truly showed that she cared for me, unlike Gregory, who only took care of me for his interests.“Worried about his reputation.”“What did you say?” Samantha’s voice made me realize that I had spoken the words too loudly.I felt the muscles in my face ache from the tension weighing on me. I closed my eyes and, shaking my head, said to Samantha,“It’s nothing,” I said, and when I looked at her, Samantha didn’t seem convinced. “I’m just thinking out loud.”“It concerns Mr. Gregory,” she declared so certainly that it startled me. Whispering to the wind,
BeforeGregory.“Can I still have my share of the inheritance?” I repeated the question to the lawyer because what he was telling me seemed like a lie. “What are the chances of changing the will if the old man is dead?”“We found out that Emma is very sick,” he said, and the words jumbled in my mind. “And Edward is not managing the family business well.”“I don’t understand,” I shook my head, confused. “Can you explain this to me more clearly?”The lawyer looked at me and fidgeted as if searching for the right words to explain what was really happening.“There is a clause in the contract stating that your grandmother, Helena, is the only one who can alter your grandfather’s final decisions.” My jaw dropped. “If your grandmother considers that leaving fifty percent of the inheritance to Edward was a mistake, she can reverse the situation and return your share of the inheritance.”I scoffed, disappointed, and then smiled. What the lawyer was telling me wouldn’t change my grandfather’s d
Emma.There was no way to escape this situation. Helena stood before me, a smile on her face, leading me to her dining room for lunch together. What did this woman want from me, after all? Her sudden interest was strange.Gregory was the one enjoying the scene. He seemed comfortable in his grandparents’ old house, just as he did by my side. He acted as if we were truly family.That was when Helena noticed the nasogastric tube placed in me, and her expression darkened.“Oh, Emma, I’m so sorry,” she now looked at me with pity, as if I were a helpless animal. “Gregory didn’t tell me that you…”“It’s okay, you can eat without me,” I said, shrugging. “There was no way Gregory could tell you. He barely stays with me at the hospital.”Why was I saying this anyway? I only realized my words after they had already left my lips. My breath caught in my throat when I noticed the looks directed at me. Now, Gregory no longer seemed as comfortable as before. My statement had hit him hard.“You’re not
Gregory.I watched as Emma left the house, and the memory of the days I spent not knowing where she was flooded my mind. The chair behind me fell, and the glass jar of homemade medicine toppled over on the table and rolled until it shattered on the floor. My grandmother stifled a screaming. I couldn’t look back—I would rather not take my eyes off Emma for even a second.I ran after her, but she got into a taxi and was gone.My heart clenched inside me. I felt a fear of losing her like I had never felt before in my life. I returned to Helena’s house, got into my car, and drove around the city, looking for the taxi she had taken.Not only that, but I kept my eyes on the road while a layer of sweat formed on my forehead. I shouldn’t have taken Emma to visit Helena. Leaving her in my grandmother’s company had surely stirred up difficult emotions for her. Since she had come back, she had brought something strange to her. It was as if I no longer knew the woman I had married.I punched the
Emma.Nothing could have prepared me for this. As we headed back home, with Gregory driving beside me, I watched his face illuminated by the mid-afternoon sun. His ice-blue eyes seem to melt, revealing a lighter shade. He no longer looks like the man I married. My sudden departure turned a key inside him, opening doors that not even Gregory knew existed.“Are you okay?” He has asked me this question so often that not even his tone changes when he says, “I hired a nurse to take care of you while we’re home.”“I’m fine.” He glanced at me quickly before turning his attention back to the road. He didn’t see when I smiled, and my cheeks heated up instantly. “I think I might get used to the idea of a nurse watching over me all the time.”“It’s not to watch over you, Emma,” he emphasized, though there was no offense in his expression. “You need specific care.”I refused to believe that my cruel husband now feared losing me a second time. Now, he seemed so comfortable by my side that it even
Gregory.I left Emma behind because the idea of telling her the truth disturbed me. Wherever Edward set foot, he brought discord, and I blamed myself for letting him carry out his plan. I should have at least asked how he knew where I was living. The feeling I had was that Edward held the power of the world in his hands. Either that, or he was watching me, knowing my every move.As I took a long shower, I kept thinking about the conversation between Helena and Edward and how she was telling him all the ways to overturn the will. Inside, Edward writhed—after all, he had fought so hard for this moment that he would not allow himself to lose it for anything.And now that bastard wanted to turn Emma against me.I should be relaxed now; after all, Emma was back home under my care. But I couldn’t relax with Edward around, trying to destroy me. I turned off the shower, realizing that not even the cold water had eased the tension in my body. When I opened the door, a high, pitched scream hit
Gregory.The first entire night beside Emma, sleeping without touching her. I couldn’t describe the feeling because I immediately fell asleep as soon as I lay down. That exhaustion felt strange until I remembered that I had searched the entire city for Emma. The fear of losing her had completely drained me.I woke up startled. The sky was slowly brightening outside, and when I looked to the side, Emma was still sleeping. With her body turned toward me, I could admire the delicate curves of her face. Her hair shimmered as the daylight gradually filled the room. When the thought of her illness came to my mind, a shiver ran through my body. It was my duty to ensure her survival, and regardless of what the doctors said, Emma was going to recover.My heart felt like it was being squeezed, and things got a little worse when she opened her eyes and stared at me, catching me admiring her.I immediately got up, trying to cover up what I was doing, but Emma remained still. She should have been
Emma.An hour ago, Lia snatched the phone from my hands and disconnected every screen device in the house. She said the order had come from my husband. Her face was heavy, like someone hiding a big secret. Immediately, I fought against my nurse. I lunged at Lia so she would give me the phone back, and she didn’t resist.The news was there, with a photo of Gregory and Helena being placed in an ambulance.The company appointed Gregory as its new president today amid many controversies.“What the hell is going on here?” My tearful eyes reached Lia. “Is this what you were trying to hide from me?”It was unfair of me to blame Lia. She was only following Gregory’s orders. I wanted to run to him and demand the truth, but something held me back, telling me to stay because Gregory would soon show up.And it didn’t take long for him to appear. Half an hour later, Gregory was standing in front of me, his eyes filled with pain. He knew the mistake he had made and he also knew the consequences tha
Gregory.I was able to see the exact moment they rushed to help Helena and take her to the hospital. If Edward intended to cause chaos, he had succeeded. I abandoned everything to go with her. In the past, I wouldn't have cared about leaving her in a hospital under someone else's care, but now I do. Helena was the only living family I had.The only one—because to me, Edward was nothing. He was born to make my life unbearable, and he was succeeding. He would only rest when he had taken everything from me and then some. I tried to forget all the confusion and help Helena. I knew that my presence would only worsen her condition, but I couldn’t leave her alone at that moment.When I got into the ambulance, she looked into my eyes and said, her voice trembling:“I always suspected that you and Emma didn’t truly love each other.”“Let’s save that conversation for later.” I turned my face away from hers. “You need to focus on your health now.”“Later, when, Gregory? When I’m dead? Do you pla
Gregory“Sir, we installed the cameras,” the head of security reported, entering my office to complete his task.“All of them? Are you sure?” I looked into his eyes, scrutinizing him. I couldn’t let anything slip by.“Positive, sir. If anyone enters the mansion, we’ll know.”I didn’t feel safe or at ease. Now that my grandfather gave me his entire inheritance, I could imagine Edward’s fury. His goal had always been to destroy me, even before our grandfather passed away. Now that the game had shifted, and the situation seemed to be in my favor, Edward wouldn’t just stand by watching me win.“Great!” I grabbed my briefcase from the desk and took one last look at my reflection in the mirror, noticing that I was ready to go take my place.Strangely, I wasn’t as happy as I thought I would be. The feeling of deceiving Emma burned inside me. I had already learned, in the cruelest way, the price paid for the wrong choices we make.“Keep an eye on Emma twenty-four hours a day. Don’t let her le
GregoryI still couldn’t believe that the inheritance I had fought so hard for was finally mine. The message I received that morning said I needed to sign the documents, and everything my grandfather had denied me would be passed on to me.I looked at Emma and felt that nothing seemed to make sense anymore. I would trade everything I had achieved to save her life. Even though I had fought bravely for that money, if Emma wasn’t with me to enjoy those benefits, nothing would be worth it.She asked me if there was something wrong, and cowardly I denied any information. I was still looking for a way to tell Emma the whole truth until I found that solution. I kept lying, deceiving her, knowing that when Emma found out, she would never forgive me.Anyone would understand that I had used her and the illness to gain Helena’s kindness, but I never once asked for the will to be changed. Helena was doing it more for my wife than for me, but Emma wouldn’t understand. It was because of that inheri
Emma.The illness had given a truce.Gregory and I didn’t discuss the illness anymore during the days we spent in Spain. Everything was so perfect that I didn’t want to go back home to that reality where Mason, Edward, Ayla, and so many other people I no longer wanted to see existed.I cuddled up with him in bed, listening to his heartbeat, when his phone vibrated beside us. Gregory didn’t move. He was sleeping so deeply that even if there were noise, he wouldn’t wake up to answer. I stretched out my arm and picked up the device. On the notification tab, there was a message from Gregory’s lawyer saying he needed to return to sign the documents.Gregory stirred, and I immediately put the phone back. We didn’t have the habit of going through each other’s things. Gregory didn’t check my phone, and I didn’t check his. In the past, I wouldn’t have even dared to touch that device. I remember Gregory always keeping it out of my reach while exchanging intimate messages with Alya—or at least,
Emma.Cutting my hair wasn’t the same as losing an arm or a leg, but cutting it felt like I was losing an important part of my body. I knew it would grow back, that if I were lucky enough to live another year, it would be long again, just as beautiful as it was now. But seeing the scissors cutting through my locks and, right after, the clippers running over my scalp made me shed tears.No one should be forced to shave their head, but the illness wouldn’t leave a single strand behind, and I couldn’t bear to watch my hair fall out slowly without being able to do anything. I tried to be strong, to see the bright side—the one where there was hope of watching it grow back like a plant—but the pain I felt was inevitable.When I looked in the mirror, I saw Gregory’s reflection right behind me. His eyes shone with deep sadness, but he tried to smile to show that everything was okay. I never imagined I would feel bad seeing Gregory suffer, especially knowing that I was the reason for his pain.
Emma.I glimpsed Gregory as soon as I woke up the next day. He was lying beside me, his icy eyes fixed on me so tenderly that I thought I wouldn’t be able to look at him for long. A smile played on my lips. Last night had been a mixture of feelings I couldn’t explain.During those years of marriage, it was the first time Gregory had given me all his love while we slept together.He leaned in and kissed me, then covered me a little more before getting up and saying:“Stay in bed.” He got dressed quickly, and I could feel the cold creeping into the room. “The weather in Spain is simply bitter. You’d better stay covered from head to toe so you don’t catch a cold.”“I would rather not spend the day in bed.” I threw the blanket aside and got up.That was when I looked back and noticed many strands of hair on my pillow. I froze for a moment, just staring at them as if they weren’t real. I tried to raise my hand and place it on my head, running my fingers through my hair as more strands fell
I admired Emma in silence as she ate, wishing that moment could last forever, until my phone vibrated in my pocket. I ignored the first call, but it didn’t stop after that. Not only that, but I should have turned it off—that was my truest intention—when a message from Helena lit up my screen.“Answer the phone, Gregory. I’ve changed the will.”I jumped from my chair. Emma’s distraction that day prevented her from noticing. She only saw when I stepped away to the other side to take Helena’s last call.“You should have called me and told me what happened.”Her voice was trembling on the other end of the line. I turned my head to look at Emma, and she was watching me intently. It was impossible to pretend normalcy in the face of what was happening.“Emma and I are fine.” I closed my eyes and massaged my temples. “There was no need to change the will just because of that.”But what the hell was I saying? I had desired that inheritance for nearly my entire life, believing it should be mine
Emma.When we arrived at the hotel, it was like another bomb exploding in our minds. Gregory paced back and forth in the room, his face red as he gestured while speaking with his lawyer about the situation. We should be enjoying ourselves now, but I felt trapped, unable to do so.“We can’t leave the city,” he threw his phone onto the bed and ran a hand over his face. “We can’t go back home either, not until the Spanish police clear us.”“This could take months,” I said, feeling discouragement wash over me. “Then let’s drop the complaint.”“Things aren’t that simple, Emma,” he huffed, lifting his head toward the ceiling as if pleading for help from the heavens. “Let’s make the most of our trip. I won’t let Edward take this from me, too.”Bravely, Gregory took my hand and pulled me out of the room. I didn’t question him, trusting his decision, though my heart pounded uncontrollably in my chest, fearing that Edward would appear again to finish what he had started. On the way to the build