Emma's POV It was a beautiful cottage, only the kitchen was modern, as I could not deal with the old ways of cooking and wanted everything to be very functional and easy to use. I was still thinking about it when the doorbell rang. I went to open the door and saw him standing there with his luggage. The moment Ryan stepped into my home, his eyes widened in amazement. "Wow, your home is beautiful," he exclaimed, practically bouncing on his toes. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his enthusiasm." You came here in the morning as well, you didn't say anything at that time." I reminded him. " I wanted to, but George had told me to be quiet as you were very upset and tense, and later on when you were normal, we were already discussing more pressing and serious issues. But seriously, Emma, this place is like a dream!" He said and I thanked him with a polite smile. " I can't believe, I am going to live here with you. " He said again looking around. "Ryan, let's get one thing strai
Emma's POV "Ryan, I am allowing you to stay with me in my home, but since none of my family members are here, we don't need to pretend or be friendly. So stay as far as possible from me. Make yourself almost invisible to me. I don't like noise or to be disturbed, that's why I bought this cottage in the calm surroundings. Don't even think of spoiling the peace and tranquility that I need and feel here. " " I swear, you are very pretty but extremely boring. Fine, I will try not to disturb you deliberately. But I am not your servant, you need me more than I need you. So I will try not to disturb you, but I don't promise to follow your rules." He said. I was annoyed with his arrogance but I had no other choice as I had already introduced him to my family. " Fine!! But keep one thing in mind we need to be very convincing. My family will leave me alone only if they are convinced that I'm dating a serious, responsible man. So, no dance parties, no fights, no flirting, no guests, and def
Emma's POV " Are you not interested in men? Or are you interested in some particular man?" He asked again with a raised eyebrow. Ughhh!!! God, please forgive me, If I kill this man someday soon. " Listen for once and for all. I am saying this for, the last time, none of the assumptions you made are correct. I am not interested in all this. For me, my work is everything; I don't have time to waste on useless emotions. " I said firmly, and just then, the doorbell rang, and he went to get the food. He had ordered Italian food. He got the food while I got up to lay the table. The food smelt good, and we served food on our plates. I was so tense and felt guilty about deceiving my family. So could not eat much. He seemed to be very hungry and finished his food. " Hey, why are you not eating, the food was so good, you didn't like it? If so, I will order something else for you. " He asked. " No!! I don't feel like eating. Please don't worry. I am fine, just tense as I feel that I am
Emma's POV Next, he made me sit on a garden chair and made Ryan sit by my feet with his head on my lap, my fingers were in his hair. I got conscious of this as it was quite intimate. As the morning sun climbed higher, we changed outfits and locations. From the picturesque garden, we moved to a quaint café downtown. I wore a flowy sundress, and Ryan donned a crisp white shirt. George directed us to a cozy corner table by the window, where we sipped lattes and shared a pastry. The atmosphere was charmingly romantic, and for a few fleeting moments, it was easy to imagine we were just another couple in love with any person but me. I was a bit stiff. "Lean in closer, Emma," George instructed, his camera lens trained on us. "Rest your head on Ryan's shoulder."I hesitated for a second before complying, feeling the warmth of Ryan's body against mine. The scent of his cologne was comforting, and I closed my eyes, trying to immerse myself in the role I was playing. George's shutter continue
Emma's POVFinally, only a few more photographs were to be clicked, though I was not in a mood, so we went to another location. After the pictures were clicked. George went to do some other assignments, while Ryan and I thought of coming back to our office. Ryan wanted to go back to his hotel to pack his stuff so that he could vacate it. So he decided to go back after dropping me at the office. ********We were coming back to our office when I thought of the perfect gift for Eva and I smiled. I had a hobby of buying very rare and designer jewelry, and I had bought some very beautiful pieces a few months back, but since they were very expensive, I kept them in my bank locker because I lived alone on the outskirts of the city. Eva had always liked my collection, and these pieces were the most recent additions to the collection, she had not seen them as I kept them in the back immediately after buying them. My bank was on the way and I could get some of the designs out of the locker.
Emma's POV I had left for work at the right time in the morning as I always did; I liked to arrive at the office at the same time as the other staff; my father arrived later, his chauffeur dropping him off outside the office premises at about 9:30. The bank was situated inside the city, and the manager greeted me. Though he was my senior, everyone knew that I was my dad's heir, so I was usually being handled cautiously with kid gloves, not just by my fellow workers but also by my superiors, all of whom were very conscious of the fact that I was the chairman's daughter. It was not an enviable position despite what the sum of the contemporaries thought... I had overheard one of the other girls making Katy remarks about me in the clock room, I felt set apart from the other girls alien to them. I never got the privileges they seemed to think, I had. I was all too conscious that my dad was expecting me to do well.In the evening, while other girls used to enjoy themselves, I used to rep
Emma's POV " We should take her upstairs to the boss," the other gunman instructed the first one. And I was taken there to the boss. " Boss, she is the chairman's daughter." He informed the powerfully built man with the coldest, shrewdest eyes I had ever seen. " Really? " He asked with a raised eyebrow. " Yeah, I thought we could get a good ransom, " the first gunman said; a quick turn of Boss's head silenced him. " Good, we will take her with us, she can be our insurance to go out. " The boss said and they took me with them. And whatever happened after that, still haunted me in my nightmares. They gagged, blindfolded tied me, and took me out in a vehicle. Though they all were silent, I could feel the presence of other people being around.The bank was supposed to open in five minutes now, and by the time they realized what had happened, these goons would have taken me far away. I was sitting on the floor of the vehicle, bound, blindfolded, and gagged. My body ached from the
Emma's POV The whole nightmare had left me close to the edge of a complete mental and physical breakdown with the result that I had finally told my parents that I would never return to the bank. My parents tried to make me understand, but I was so scared of it that I wanted to leave all that and take the career of my choice and live a quiet and safe life. My parents protested, especially when they learned that I wanted to move away from the home. They tried everything to keep me there, even got me engaged to the man my dad thought was best for me and fixed the date of my wedding to Daniel, but I didn't want to stay there, though I could not say no to getting married to the man. I had never liked him but my parents would have ignored the fact even if I had told them more firmly. The city had become a place that terrified me, I could not walk down a busy street without being overcome by the feeling that someone was walking behind me, stalking me, without the fear I had known in that