EMMA.“Laura?” I called her name, trying to push out some answers.Her eyes were still darkened, but she was silent.“All these while you've been helping me…you were doing it because you wanted to get back at Isabella?”She still didn't answer that. I, honestly, didn't care that she was helping me out of spite for Isabella, but she could have at least informed me.Of course, it came as no surprise that Isabella had made a ton of enemies. It was her motto. She loved to thread, and trample on anyone.I watched Laura in silence, what could have motivated her to hold such a grudge?My memory went back to the past few hours. I had noticed some sort of discomfort between both parties, but never did I think it would be deep.“Laura talk to me,” I urged,She leaned forward, “my business with Isabella is unimportant,”“Is it unimportant if you're willing to do everything to take her down?” I queried, “I don't really need to know the details. I just want to know why you're so hell bent on ensur
ISABELLA.There is nothing money can't solve. Absolutely nothing.I smile to myself as I watch John walk into the courtroom.Rather than just releasing a press statement, I decided it was best to get Emma out of that place as soon as possible. I wanted John all for myself, and I knew it was impossible, as long as she was still in there.So, I made a quick call, and got him an impromptu meeting.Of course, Kaitlyn knew better than to pass a guilty verdict, but I didn't want John to know that. It was exciting to find him preparing his speech for the judge. Given that he was informed only thirty minutes beforehand, he better have solid proof.I had gotten Kaitlyn to post bail for Emma. An exorbitant amount I knew she wouldn't be able to afford. That way, she would have to return to me, and she would owe her freedom to me.It was a solid plan. Why bother being the villain when you can turn the narrative by playing the role of the good guy?I remained seated in my car, listening through th
EMMA.“Thirty grand,” I whispered out, feeling the weight of the amount on my tongue. “Where am I supposed to find thirty thousand dollars?” I asked out again.Where in hell was I supposed to find that amount of money? It was just the same as spending the rest of my life in jail.I pushed the paper away, trying to avoid it.“What do we do?” I asked, wiping my face.Technically speaking, I was supposed to be excited that I wouldn't be spending the rest of my life here, but then, the cost was just excessive. How was I supposed to pay all that?No one would even be able to lend me such an amount.“Emma, we know the amount demanded is high-”“It's not just high!” I bursted out, “it's ridiculous! Horrible even! Thirty thousand dollars. If I had thirty grand, would I be here?”I turned to find Laura's brows knitted, but John still typed away endlessly.“What are we to do?” I asked, again.I could feel my heart hammering in my chest. I knew I wouldn't be able to pay for the bail, and wishing
EMMA.I never thought this day would come. As the weeks went by, I had slowly grown to accept the fact that I would be here permanently. When the bail came in, I knew for sure there was no way out.As much as I had asked John to seek help from Isabella, I had my doubts. Would she really want her arch nemesis out in public? Was she really ready to risk me seeing her husband?I hissed at the thought of Alex. She definitely had nothing to bother about. If there was anything this entire ordeal had taught me, it was the fact that Alex only knew how to make promises. He would never defend, nor protect me.I was foolish to have believed his lies. I should've known better. What was I even thinking? If he truly cared, he would have made us official,“He filed for a divorce,” a voice whispered in my head,I pushed it back immediately,How many years did it take for him to decide he wanted the divorce? And after that, how much longer did it take for him to get her to sign the papers? He never d
EMMA.Okay! Breathe… I needed to breathe. I need to calm down.I stood, fixated by the door, watching to see if everyone would stare at me. Of course they did, I was the stellar client they could've made a fortune from, but didn't.“Come in,” he urged, motioning towards me.I looked at Laura who nodded encouragingly. I knew she thought I was panicking because of the board.I wish I was.Despite Laura's approval, I still couldn't get myself to move. He was in here. In a black suit, watching me intently.Did he recognize me? I watched his facial expressions. He looked…confused, but there wasn't an iota of recognition on his face.“Ms…” he started to call out my name, but then paused to check the paper, “Ms Emma Martinez,” I let him call it out, “please sit with us,”I walked up to the table, dragging my feet on the floor. How was he here? Why was he here? Why couldn't he just be a normal one night stand like the others? Why did we have to cross paths again?I looked around to find the
EMMA On our ride home, I considered bringing Liam up again. I didn't want her to know I was affiliated to him in some way, but I had to know about him. Moreover, I had had sex with the man.“So, what's it like working for Liam Anderson?” I started the conversation slowly,She continued driving, but a smile crept up her face. “You’re asking about Liam again. You have a crush on him, don't you?” She asked,“No,” I denied immediately.“Emma, it's alright to admit you have a crush on my boss. Everyone does.”“Do you?” I teased,“I used to, but I knew I was better than that.”“Better than that, how?”“Liam Anderson is a great boss, and probably a great human, but he would be a horrible boyfriend. He is always partying, always with different girls. Everyday, a new magazine releases a clip of him with someone else. It's obvious he's not looking for something serious, and he wouldn't want to commit to it. I, on the other hand, am done with games, and have no intention of settling for such st
EMMA.I stood from the chair immediately. When last did I actually get my period?I touched my fingers, trying to make the calculations, but it fell off.I wiped my face with my hands. God, I couldn't be pregnant. I just couldn't. There couldn't be a worse time on earth for this to happen to me.No.I touched my chest, trying to calm down. I wasn't pregnant, because if I was…No.I couldn't be pregnant, and that was it. I didn't want to consider the possibility of Alex being a father to my child, or worse, Liam. It would be even more dramatic.I touched my neck, closing my eyes. Liam was in fact the last man I had had sex with. But then, he used protection, I think. No, he definitely did. He had to be wiser than that.Heck, I could have been pregnant, even before the one night stand I had with him.I groaned hard, trying to push off everything. I had been so drunk that night, everything was fucking blur. I didn't even know how I approached him, and made those moves. Fuck, it was a mi
ISABELLA.To the best of my knowledge, Emma was out of town, and that was all I needed. With her gone, Alex was more focused, and making more money. His net worth had tremendously increased, making him top one in his career. He was the face of magazines, and blogs after successfully bagging one of the biggest contracts in the city. That was my man. My Alex.I touched my glass, watching as the liquid flowed within it.El was still busy narrating how her day went, but I couldn't get myself to focus. She was boring, and uninteresting.I wanted to talk about myself.I hissed when she mentioned her fiance-no, boyfriend- that had never treated her right.“And he even closed the door for me!” She exclaimed,I raised a brow. “That's the bare minimum. Any man is supposed to do that,” I said to her with all honesty,Her face bent into a frown, but then I watched as she shoved me off, and the light returned to her eyes,“Isa, you're not getting the point. He never used to be a gentleman, he's c
EMMA.At about five pm, Samuel had texted, telling me I would get picked up by eight. That meant I had three hours to prepare. Kristina and I had already chosen the dress, shoes, and bag I would use so it wasn't that much work left, but I still panicked.I needed to get my hair, and make up right.We eventually started preparing by six pm. A girl needed her time to prepare right?I sat before the mirror as Kristina worked her magic with my hair. Luckily, Zara had some curlers around and we made judicious use of them.“This date will be amazing,” Kristina said, brushing my hair.“I hope so,” I replied, trying to ease the tension I felt in my chest.It had been a while since I went on a first date with anyone. What were the etiquettes? What would we talk about?For someone who had decided to dump the dating pool for a long while, it surely was too early for me to be rehearsing what to say on a first date. What would we even talk about? I couldn't think of one thing we had in common. Su
EMMA.I knew Kristina often worked out to tone her body, and maybe gain some strength, but I was beyond surprised when she lifted the heavy box off the floor, and headed into the living room.I stepped out of the way giving her all needed chance just so she could do what she wanted.She slammed the box on the floor, turning to face me.“It wasn't even that heavy,” she said, breathing heavily. Yeah…“It wasn't that heavy but you lifted it off the floor, and slammed it down like a two hundred and sixty five pounds man. Oh, and the delivery man himself refused to lift it because she thought it was ‘too heavy’”“Come on, you know I work out. I lift weights often. This is a breeze.”“I work out too, but you don't see me lifting things like superwoman.”.She laughed out, wiping her face.“There's absolutely no point in arguing over this. Samuel gave you a gift, and I helped you bring it in. The least you could do is appreciate me.”“Fine,” I agreed, “thank you.”*You're welcome.”“Now let'
EMMAOh well. The day I agreed to go on a date had arrived.I didn't inform Kristy, neither did I tell Zara. Not even my mother was aware.I sat on my bed, pondering on what to wear. I knew I should have told them what happened, but after yesterday's event, we all clocked out.Since then, I just couldn't come up with a way to tell them. Not that they would be annoyed or anything.I knew they would be excited for me. They loved me.Kristina on one hand would be over the moon. She had been waiting for this for a long time.But in my heart, I harbored some thoughts.Was it wise to start something with Samuel?What if it didn't work out? What would happen to his lovely relationship with my family? He knew them before me. I didn't want to get in the way of anything.If I ended up ruining their friendship, I would be pissed at myself forever. I couldn't even tell if I would recover from that.Then again came the question of time. Wasn't it too early to date? Did I want to fall in love jus
EMMA Well, it was safe to say this was the sweetest and most intentional thing any man had ever said to me.I was dumbfounded, and couldn't even come up with any concrete reply. “Emma,” he called my name.“Yes?” I croaked out.He seemed to be genuine. As I stared at him, I will ndered if his words were genuine? They could always be lies.I would be a fool to believe his lies.“Emma, I want to take the appropriate step. Can I take you out on a date tonight?”Tonight? I had nothing to wear. All the clothes I had brought were casuals, and it would be almost impossible to find an outfit that would work in less than six hours.“What's the time?” I asked,He pulled out his phone. “Six thirty three.” He answered.No. Definitely too late.“I don't think I can,” I replied, slowly. I just hoped he didn't get the wrong message. I did want to go on a date with him, but I was beyond unprepared.“Why?” He askedIf I asked for a dress for the date would I come out as entitled?I mean, he had alrea
EMMA.He turned around.“Are you sure about that? I can always come by later.” I closed off my phone, “I'm sure.” I replied.His smile was all too bright for his excitement to be hidden. It somehow made me excited too. He had this boyish glow in his eyes whenever he was excited.I walked up to him.As I approached him, I noticed his eyes following my chest.Little did I realize that I wasn't exactly clad. I had unbuttoned my shirt, and while I had covered up, the buttons were mixed up, giving him access to see my chest. He looked away immediately. What a gentleman. Well-behaved. He maintained eye contact with me, and in his eyes, I could see him battling not to look again.Something about that turned me on.“Please come back,” I said.I said out loud just because. It was good that I did. I wanted to choose someone who wasn't Alex, and I had done that. I verbally, outrightly chose someone who wasn't Alex.I had broken free away from his grasp. I was my own woman.I took a breath, l
EMMA.The first time I had made an attempt at calling Alexander Blackwood after his wife pleaded, he did not answer.I was immensely grateful for that. At least, I could say I tried.I mean, it would go down in record that I dialed his number, right?Yes, it would. I hadn't done anything wrong.I laid in bed, watching the ceiling, engrossed in thoughts.The day had gone all so well. Kristina and Samuel had gotten into a deep conversation about me, and I didn't want to be there while they analyzed my lifestyle.Well, two hours had gone by, and neither of them had come up to me.I looked out the window, only to find the entire family, and some friends in the backyard. They seemed to be having fun discussions, and eating together.Did anyone notice my absence?Did it matter?I was sure they were preoccupied with activities.I laid back.Looking at my screen, I stared at my wallpaper. There was a picture of me in sunglasses, and red lipstick. My smile was broad, and genuine. I was all too
Emma.“Hey, Emma. We need to talk,” Mrs. Blackwood's voice came out as soft and gentle, but it was enough to send a chill down my spine. I sucked in a deep breath and wondered if picking her call was a good idea. I hadn't thought it through before picking her call.“Mrs. Blackwood,” I replied, sounding a little apprehensive. “How may I help you?”I didn't need a mirror to know my face had turned pale. I could easily tell from the weird and worried look plastered on Samuel and Kristina's faces. Kristina mouthed the words, “Are you okay?”I shrugged.Mrs Blackwood let out an audible breath before continuing. “It's about my husband.”My mouth ran dry. I knew bullying Anna wasn't far from him, but talking his wife into speaking with me? I didn't think he'd go that low.“Firstly, my husband didn't send me to call you, if that's what you're thinking,’’ she continued.“Okay,” I whispered into the phone. I could feel my heartbeat pick up pace. If Alex had not coerced her into calling me, the
EMMA.“Well,” Samuel started his speech, still standing really close to me, “I would try to initiate a conversation to see if there's any remote chance we could have anything serious.”“And then?” Kristina urged,I knew what she was searching for, and judging by the kind of person Samuel seemed to be, he would play along, and that would ruin me.“After that, I would try to make a grand gesture for her. That is after she has given me a green light of course,”Did I, by any chance, give him a greenlight?“And what's the definition of a greenlight to you?” Kristina probed,“I don't think it's wise to disturb,” I tried to divert their attention, but Kristina was so focused on what she was trying to achieve.Knowing the kind of person she was, I let her be. If she wanted to prove, she better do it.Moreover she would be gone in three days, and after that, the only source of information she would have would be me. I would definitely make her suffer. It wasn't time yet.I just had to endure
EMMA.I didn't know how to react to that message. Well, it was obvious Samuel wasn't trying to hide his status, but what was he doing in such a small town? He was supposed to be with the top leagues.I had heard of the johnsons. Although I had never met or had any personal encounter with them, I had attended some of their parties. Of course, Alex had been invited to some of their parties, and when I worked as his assistant, I was an immediate invitee.I bit my lips gently. If I was wiser, I should have taken advantage of that opportunity.I should have made some friends, even at the least a few connections with some elites. They would have helped.I took a deep breath.“What is he doing here though? As a sheriff at that,” Kristina finally asked the questions in my heart,“We have no idea. Although some say his father is trying to build a brand here so he's kind of preparing the place for him.”“Hmm…” I took a breath, “so, he's brooding this place.”“Something of that sort,” my mothe