Emerson lets out a sad laugh, shaking his head as if he can’t understand what’s so difficult about this."What’s so hard about it?" he asks." Don't act like you don't know..." I answer narrowing my eyes at him. "You love me. I love you. I don’t see anything complicated about that. If we want to be together, we can be together. I more than just want to be with you, Mina. So it’s up to you. We can get married again. We can have the life we want. It is that easy. You’re the one making it complicated."I take a deep breath, calming myself down."No, Emerson. It’s not that easy," I say, my voice firm but soft. "I’ve been through a lot since we went our separate ways. I can’t just say yes tonight and expect everything to go back to normal."I exhale slowly, choosing my words carefully."Do I love you, Emmerson? Yes. Do you make me happy? Yes. Do I want to get back with you? More than anything."His eyes light up for a moment, but I don’t let him get ahead of himself."But if we’re going t
As we both come down from breathing so hard, Emerson looks at me with a sly grin on his face. His eyes are dark with amusement and something else."Come on," he says playfully. "Let's go inside so I can give you the real thing."I smile mischievously at him. That release was exactly what I needed. Because now, at least, I can think semi-clearly. And I know that asking him inside is not the right move.I shake my head, still smiling. "I'm sorry, Daddy, I can't," I say, placing my hand on his chest, and pushing him a little farther away.He raises an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly. "Why?""Because we have house rules," I tease. "If Trey can’t bring women in, I shouldn’t bring men in either."Emerson steps closer, his voice dropping lower. "I would love to fuck you on his bed. It’ll make all the anger for him disappear right this minute. And I'll even entertain him as your friend."I burst into laughter, shaking my head at his ridiculousness. But looking at him, I realize—he's actual
We’re headed back to Trey’s penthouse, and when we pull up in front of the building, I hesitate. Emmerson's fingers hover over the door handle so he can open my door for me. I stop him with a hand on his arm."It’s fine," I say, offering a small smile. "I’m safe, as you can see. There’s security." I motion toward the doorman standing at the entrance, "You don’t have to walk me in. I’m okay.""Yeah, I know," he says, his voice calm. "But it’s not like I’m gonna just stay out here in the car waiting."I frown. "What do you mean?""I’ll come up with you. I think you need help with your luggage.""My luggage?" I echo, confused."Yeah," he says, giving me a look like isn’t it obvious? "I thought you might have stuff to pack, whatever you left behind."I blink at him. "Pack? Emerson, why would I need to pack?"He hesitates, then rubs the back of his neck. " I thought we talked about everything at dinner. I thought we were back together."I stare at him, trying to process his words. "I thou
I laugh, shaking my head as I step inside the elevator. “Emerson, you are ridiculous.”He follows me in, standing way too close. “Five minutes, Mina. That’s all I need.” His voice drops lower, rough. “You know I can make it worth your while.”I cross my arms, pretending to be unimpressed. “You think you can.”He grins, getting closer. “I know I can.”The elevator doors slide shut, trapping us inside. My breath hitches as his hands skim my waist, his touch deliberate. I should push him away. I should tell him to behave. But instead, my body hums in anticipation, betraying me.The elevator starts moving, but the air between us is completely still, charged with tension.I glance up at him, trying to keep my cool. “You’re really not going to stop, are you?”He smirks. “Not until you admit you want me as badly as I want you.”I roll my eyes, but I don’t deny it. Emerson takes my silence as his cue. His smirk de
Trey suddenly bursts into laughter. I stare at him, completely thrown off. What the hell am I dealing with here? His laugh is almost manic like he's unraveling "It's nothing that bad," he finally says, shaking his head as if trying to convince himself. "I can't believe I'm reacting like this." I blink at him, not buying it. "What do you mean? Just go straight to the point, Trey. You're acting weird, and it's starting to freak me out." He sighs, rubbing a hand down his face. "You know, when I was doing it, I didn’t think it would mess with me like this." His voice cracks slightly, and then, he laughs again. "Fuck. I don't even understand myself." "Trey, seriously. What did you do?" I demand, my patience wearing thin. He exhales and looks at me. "Okay, okay. I didn’t do anything bad, and I think I might be overreacting about the whole thing. I’m being dramatic." I nod, urging him to keep going. "I slept with someone I shouldn’t have." My stomach drops. For a second, I just sta
I’m still shaking my head, staring at Trey, hoping—praying—this is one of his twisted jokes. That he’s playing a trick on me. That at any moment, he’s going to smirk and say, Gotcha, Mina.But he doesn’t.He just sighs, rubbing his face with his hands like he wants to erase the last twenty-four hours."Is this a joke?" I finally ask, my voice barely above a whisper.He looks up at me, seriously. "No. No, it’s not a joke." His voice is low, almost ashamed. "It happened, okay? I slept with your younger sister...."" My ex-younger sister—" I am quick to correct."Eric’s wife," he interjects bitterly."Your friend's wife," I whisper, my voice thick with disbelief. "She's pregnant, Trey. She's carrying his baby."He lets out a humourless laugh and runs a hand through his already messy hair. "I know all of that, Mina.""Do you?" My voice rises. "Do you?! Because if you really knew that, then you wou
By now, I have to cut him off. "Okay, stop! Wait a minute. I don't want to hear how you did it or where you did it. Fuck it. Trey.""Yeah, that's the gist of what happened." He Answers unbothered by my statement.I can't believe this. I keep saying to myself, but he continues."So, then by nine, She wakes up gets dressed and tells me She better hurry on before Eric wakes up and doesn’t find her. Kisses me and leaves the hotel in a hurry. So I don’t think anything about it.""You don’t think anything about it, Trey? Are you serious? You slept with somebody else's wife, a married woman, and you don’t think about it?""Hey, why are you so mad at me for, Mina?" Trey asks, his tone exasperated. "I mean, I'm not the one who's married. I'm not the one who promised my life and my faithfulness to somebody. I don't have a girlfriend. I don't have a wife. I'm not committed to anybody. Why are you so mad at me? Why aren't you mad at me, Rita? Why are you mad at me?"I can't believe this. I keep r
"Listen to me, Trey. Just because Rita is a cheater doesn't mean your mom was.""But she did cheat, didn't she? She cheated on my father.""And she told you that she was sorry. If your father knew, it means that she was honest. She confessed And she apologized to your father, and they moved on. I really think if you find it in yourself to forgive her. I know it won't be easy. It won't be quick. Do it at your own pace.""But I feel like I'm like her, Mina. After what I did, what's the difference between her and me? And Eric is my friend. I'm the worst human on earth, Nina.""Okay, let me tell you something. I know you're sad. And you've been wallowing in your own feelings for quite a while. So, why don't we do something to get your mind off it? Come on. Just get bathed. Get dressed. Let's go to work. It'll take your mind off it. I even promise to go to a club with you. Tonight.""Hold on, tonight?? Aren't you back with Emerson? Aren't you
Mina I was in the delivery room about to bring my baby into this world, and who knew it hurt like hell? Mmh! I was very lucky and very grateful to have my husband here with me. He kept holding my hand, telling me sweet things, and encouraging me when the doctors told me to push. He pushed with me, breathed with me. It was kind of crazy. I don't know, maybe after I was done here I would think about this moment and laugh about it. It was a moment in my life when I really needed him, and I was so, so happy and so grateful to have him here beside me. The two doctors that Mr. Emerson insisted on having here were top in their fields. He didn’t care, he had to fly one in as long as I got everything and I was in great hands. The doctors were great, they were encouraging. I just wanted this moment to be over and for my baby to come into this world so I could hear their cry. We were still in the dark; we didn’t know if we were having a girl or a boy. I was just waiting for that moment wh
EmmersonThe next morning, I decided to handle things myself. I know Mina’s already been through enough trauma with her family, so I don’t want to involve her in this. She’s still asleep, and I slip out quietly to deal with Eric.I find him at the hotel, slumped over, still asleep. I nudge him with the toe of my shoe, the force making him stir. Slowly, his eyes flicker open, and the haze of sleep and alcohol makes him groggy. He rises, blinking and groaning, his hand clutching his head."Wake up, Eric," I tell him as I open the curtains, letting the bright light flood the room. He immediately shields his eyes, groaning louder."My head... hurts," he mutters, his voice thick with a hangover. He grabs the bottle of water on the bedside table and gulps down a large portion in one go."Last night," he laments, "I didn't like how your men dragged me out of that nightclub.""You call that a nightclub? It was a strip
EmmersonOh yeah?” Mina’s voice is a little high-pitched.And then Rita says something that makes my blood cold.“Of course,” she replies, her voice dripping with arrogance. “I mean if I could take Eric from you so easily before… When you weren’t this heavily pregnant, and we weren’t even living in the same house. Just think how simple it would be to take his father from you now.”Her voice is low and suggestive. Mina scoffs, maybe out of shock, but Rita doesn’t stop.“I mean, look at you,” she continues, mockingly. “You’re pregnant. You can’t even walk properly without someone holding you. You have to be carried just to get around.” She chuckles,“And me?” she adds. “I’m just getting started. The exercises I’ll do, the maintenance I’ll keep up… You know I won't be breastfeeding, right? This baby is feeding from the bottle. Nothing is messing up this....hot body.”In my mind, I can already picture her motioning to her bo
Emmerson By nightfall, the police have already paid us a visit. It’s all over the news. Madeline had a little accident on the highway. Her car hit the side of a bridge and went down under. She suffocated. But I know the truth. Let her feel what it’s like to lose air. Anyway, the point is—she’s dead. The police came because, after her attack on Mina, there was already a record of her actions. They were just here to deliver the report. To tell us that she was gone. That also settled the issue with Rose. Mina had never been convinced that Rose was behind it, and now that Madeline was out of the picture, it was clear she had been wrongfully accused. Mina was shocked with the news, I never thought she would actually be upset after everything. Even though there’s still sadness in her eyes, I can see the difference. She’s no
EmmersonAfter I had taken Mina home, I gave her a bath, making sure she was okay and taken Care of. She was reluctant to eat at first, but I insisted. “You need nutrition,” I reminded her. “I know you don't want to but do it for the baby. You’re pregnant, you're doing it for our baby.”She sighed, but eventually gave in, taking small sips of the warm soup I had prepared. I watched her closely, ensuring she had everything she needed. Then, I sat her down and gently caressed her hair.I kept talking as I did it—about everything and nothing at the same time. Just filling the silence, making sure she felt covered and safe. My voice was low and comforting. I caressed her head, feeling the softness of her scalp, letting her know she wasn’t alone.And then, she fell asleep.Once I was sure she was deep in rest, I finally allowed myself to feel it all—the anger, the frustration, the overwhelming sense of failure.How could I h
As Emerson's voice continued on the phone, offering words of comfort, trying to calm me, I felt my tears flow faster. I couldn't hear him clearly anymore over the noise in my head, the panic, the certainty that I was going to die. I just listened to him, letting his voice be a thread tying me to something.Then, the banging stopped.I hadn't even realized it.Instead, a knock. A soft, reassuring knock."Mina, Mina, come on, open the door," Emerson's voice came through the phone, clearer now.I still didn’t understand what was happening. My mind was so clouded by fear, but hearing his voice… it soothed me in ways I couldn’t explain. I was barely aware of his words, just the sound of him calling my name, telling me it was okay."Emerson, is that you?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper."Yes, it's me. Open the door, Mina."The reality of it hit me. I had been trapped in a nightmare, my heart frozen with terror, bu
I started scribbling on the piece of paper.[I can't do this anymore. I'm going to kill myself.]I set the pen down and exhaled. "Okay, I'm done."Madeline narrowed her eyes. "What did you write so fast?"She stalked toward me, snatched the paper out of my hands, and read it. Her expression darkened, and before I could brace myself, she slapped me hard across the face. The force nearly knocked me out of the chair.A sharp sting spread across my cheek, my vision blurred for a second. My entire face tingled from the impact, and I gritted my teeth, refusing to let a single tear fall.Who knew I would ever be in this situation? Kidnapped at gunpoint. Forced to write my own suicide letter.Madeline took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. Then she smirked."You're smart, Mina. We can argue about a lot of things, but not that. You're a smart little thing, a devious little thing. That’s how you got Emerson i
Madeline’s grip on my arm became almost painful. I could feel the gun on my side, like a silent, invisible threat.I forced a laugh, shaking my head. "Oh, you know... My condition." I gestured vaguely at myself. "It’s still hard for me to get up, takes a while to get out of bed. I was sleeping."Tom stared at me, his eyes searching my face as if he was trying to read through my words.Then, finally, he gave a slow nod. "Okay."But he still didn’t leave."Can I come in?" he asked. "I can give you some company.""No!" The word shot out of my mouth too fast, too loud, too desperate.Madeline pressed the gun against my side, a silent threat, a warning that made my blood turn cold.Tom’s frown deepened.I forced another smile, shaking my head quickly. "I mean—no, it’s okay. I was sleeping. I don’t need company right now."I gave an awkward laugh, motioning toward the inside of the apartment. "If you came in, you’d just be sitting alone because I’m going back to bed."Tom didn’t look conv
"I'm sorry, Madeline, I swear I didn’t—""Just tell me why!" she shouted to my face, her voice filled with frustration.I was shaking, my throat dry, my mind running a mile a minute. "I don't know, okay? Maybe because he was there. He was nice. He was understanding, and he made me feel safe. He made me happy. He made me feel like I could be the person I wanted to be." My voice cracked, and I rushed to explain, desperate for her to believe me. "It was never about his age, Madeline. I always thought he was cute, you know? I always thought he was really handsome. And then when we slept together, I realized I could have everything I ever wanted with him, okay? I'm sorry. I really didn’t know—"She let out a cold laugh, cutting me off. "You're not sorry. Stop trying to act like some innocent girl who thought he was ‘the one.’"Her voice was mocking, twisting my words into something dirty."You don’t even love him. Not really. You love the things he represents." She took a step closer, he