What the hell was Emerson doing here? What was he doing here? I thought he had a meeting with the IT department. That's what Jason said just a few minutes ago.Sigh!Just as Emmerson took a few steps inside, I saw Jason behind him, holding his pad in his hand. He looked restless and a little out of breath.I on the other hand couldn’t help the surprise in my voice as I saw him there. I hadn't expected to see him here at all, at least not right now after our little talk upstairs.He came towards me and deliberately gave me a kiss, full on the mouth. Okay, it wasn’t anything PG, but still, he did that in front of Eric, and I couldn’t help myself but throw a glance towards Eric just to see his reaction. It was the first time we had been intimate with each other Infront of him. Eric had a disgusted look on his face that just made me smile more towards Emerson.“Hey, is everything okay?” Emerson asked me tenderly“She’s fine,” Eric snapped, cutting into our conversation. “Everything is fi
Emerson, rightly so, was mad, but I didn’t want that to feed Emerson’s ego any more than it already had.Emerson’s words came out through gritted teeth as one hand went protectively to my back, the other fist clenching and unclenching in frustration. His voice was low but unwavering as he directed his attention toward Eric.“Still, whatever it is you’re thinking of her, whatever your problems with her are, whatever feelings you have towards her, you’re still going to respect her. She’s my fiancée and I’m going to marry her. She’s here because you forced her. She’s helping this company, And for her to do that, you are going to respect her.”The whole room was tense with suffocating tension before Emerson’s next words broke through.“This is a place of business,” he continued calmly, his voice filled with authority. “Yes, I know it’s a place of business, but you still used your friends and your connections to have her here, because you want her back in this company. You think I don't k
"I don't understand," Emerson said, taking a step toward me.I moved quickly, rounding the desk and putting the desk between us to create some distance. We needed to have this conversation, and we needed to have it now.He sighed deeply, a hint of frustration creeping into his voice. "Okay, Mina, I don't understand what's going on, so why don't you just tell me? Instead of playing this game, explain what it is you’re upset about."I narrowed my eyes at him. "You think I'm playing a game with you, Emerson? Why did you come there? Why did you come to Eric’s office?"His brows furrowed. "I came to look after you. I just wanted to make sure you two had talked, came to an agreement, and that everything was okay.“ he answered, but when he saw the look in my eye he quickly added,“Honestly, I thought you would go through HR, and let them sort out the office situation with Eric. But when I heard you went straight to his office... Mina, nothing good ever comes from your interactions with him.
Knock, knock."Mr Blackwind, we really have to go," Jason said as he peeked inside. "The people are getting restless.""Yes, of course," Emerson said, shaking his head like he suddenly remembered. "Please don't tell me that you forgot about this meeting with IT," I asked him with a fake disappointed smile."I'm sorry. It's just, you really drive me crazy.""Then I think it's bad that I'm back here since I'm making you forget about your responsibilities.""No, never. You would never make me bad. You just make me work harder." He said with a wink.I could sense the innuendo in his answer, so I gave out a laugh. He grinned at me one last time before heading out.I saw an impatient Jason already filling him in as the two of them walked away. I watched them leave through the glass window, the sight of them walking away slowly fading from my view.Then I looked at my new office.It wasn't really mine. I was just occupying it for the duration of the project. People had tried rearranging the
"Eric," I began, my tone slow, as if I were talking to a child who had just misunderstood the simplest thing ever. "I asked about Rachel before I called her to my office. I was specifically told she was working with the filing team. So it’s kind of weird and crazy that you're saying now, that she's your secretary. You just agreed with me when I told you she was working in the filing office. So what the hell are you talking about?"Eric’s eyes narrowed as if I had just insulted his intelligence. "Well, you see, Mina, I know that she was working there. But yesterday, I already went through all the procedures. I talked with HR. There’s already a form there. I wrote her a letter, and she was supposed to come upstairs and become my secretary. So there you have it."I couldn't hide my disbelief. "If that was the case, why was she still down there in the filing system when I called?"Eric shrugged dismissively, an air of superiority coming from him. "I don’t know. Maybe you should ask her. B
I raised an eyebrow in question as I asked, "What is this?"Eric shook the cup in his hands, a faint smirk on his lips. "It’s your cup. Your favourite cup, if I’m guessing right." A winning smile on his face, like he was trying to get me to buy a product."And why do you have it?" I countered, arms crossing over my chest. "Do I need to do something to get it? Is that what you’re thinking? That you can hold the cup hostage over me, or something?"He laughed, the sound dripping with a hint of mockery. "Of course not, Mina. Your mind is running a mile a minute. It’s just a cup, stop being so paranoid. But I just remembered that you really like this cup. And since you’re back at work, I thought I could give it to you.""Why?" I asked, levelling my gaze at him, determined to read between his words. I didn’t trust him—not even for a second.Eric shifted slightly, his eyes darting away before he finally answered, "It’s a ‘Welcome Back’ gift, kind of. Think of it as...my version of a welcom
I stood there, stunned. My favourite cup suddenly felt like a hot coal in my hand. This—this was classic Eric, wasn’t it? He couldn’t lose. He couldn’t back down. And when the stakes were high, he played dirty. As long as he rose above in the end, The carefully laid desserts, the coffee, the damn cup—they were all off-limits now. The whole room was tainted, and poisoned, and my appetite was long gone.But then, another thought crept in. What if Giselle was lying? She’d hated me from the moment I’d walked into this company and resented me for my relationship with Eric. What if this was all part of some plan to alienate me, payback to make me mistrust everyone here?I looked at the cup again, doubt mixed with disgust. Could I really trust anything—or anyone—in this office?Probably not.I dumped the cup in the trash bin, the ceramic clinking hollowly l. It felt good to get rid of it, a silent testament to whatever petty games Eric was playing—or perhaps Giselle's manipulations—felt odd
“Mmm, I’m gonna have to break your heart there, lover boy,” I said, giving him a playful smile.“Oh, please don’t do that. What is it?” he asked, his face falling. “Don’t tell me you’re that busy. You just got back to the company today, and you haven’t gotten up to speed. Don’t tell me you’ve already started working.”“Not yet, it’s just that I kind of already had lunch,” I replied.“Oh, you’re coming from lunch?” he asked, his voice teasing.“Yes,” I confirmed.“You’re such a bad girl,” he said with a grin. “Why didn’t you just tell me or ask me to lunch? I would have loved to have lunch with you. I missed you so much and was looking forward to seeing you. And knowing that you were just downstairs was killing me. I was really looking forward to having lunch with you.”“I know,” I said, my voice apologetic. “ And I wanted that too, but I thought you might be busy, and I didn’t want to disturb you.”“But you could have called Jason and asked,” he suggested.“But then Jason is always so
I saw the flicker of shock cross my mother's face, the way her lips parted slightly like she was about to say something. But I didn’t give her the chance."I’m done," I told her. "I will never look for you. I will never call you. You’ve never done the same, so I expect nothing from you."I took a step back, looking at the house around me one last time."Do whatever you want. Redecorate, tear it down, erase every trace of me and my father—whatever makes you feel better. You can take this house, take your life, take Rita and everything else. But you can’t take my happiness."I let out a breath, "Guess what? I am happy. And I’m going to stay happy. I don’t need your negativity in my life anymore."I turned toward the door, my hands curling into fists."Goodbye, Mother."I glanced at her one last time."You’re dead to me."And with that, I walked away.She didn’t move.She didn’t say a word.She just stood there, frozen, watching me as I opened the door—And walked out.The moment I step
I walked up the stairs slowly, and deliberately, giving her time to catch up to me. And she did. Fast. I guess she still got it.Just as my foot hovered over the third step, her hand grabbed my wrist and yanked me back.I spun to face her, glaring at her."What?" I snapped."Do not go up those stairs." Her voice was low, "Get out of my house."I scoffed. "This is my home."Her lips curled. "Well, I just denounced you as my daughter a few minutes ago. Or did you forget?"I felt something in me crack, but I didn’t let her see it."So, since you have chosen everything over your family," she continued, "I am denouncing you as my daughter. From now on, you no longer have a mother. So get the hell out of my house."I crossed my arms. "I’m going into my old room. There are things I left that I want to take with me.""Since you left? When was the last time you were even in this house?" she demanded. "Ever since you got married to Eric, you never came here.""Of course, I did," I argued. "I ca
I looked at my mother, and then I found myself looking at her again. The way she was acting towards me—it wasn’t the way a mother should have acted, especially during a heart-to-heart talk like this. She was telling me hard things to digest, things that cut deep, things that felt too raw to be spoken aloud. And yet, she was speaking them without hesitation, without care.I expected something different. Maybe I was asking for too much from my family, but I couldn’t help it. The words left my mouth before I could stop them."Why haven’t you ever loved me?"She froze. Her lips parted slightly, her body stiffening. She stuttered, unprepared for the question. I had caught her off guard again tonight. She hadn’t been expecting it.Neither had I.I had thought about it before—late at night, in quiet moments when I was alone with my thoughts. Mostly as a kid growing up. But I had never said it out loud. Not to her. Not even to myself. But now, standing here, with all the painful truths she h
My mother didn’t back down. "I kind of thought you were marrying him for the money too, but even after you married him, there was no money there to see, and I don’t think there was ever any love between you two. Did you really ever love him?"I was fighting to hold myself together, what the hell was she even saying? "I loved him, Mom, okay?" I snapped back. "I loved him. I loved Eric. He was my whole world. I was working hard for him in everything. I worked hard at home. I worked hard at work. I did his work for him. I worked hard to get pregnant, and I never was….. I…..““ And that was such a blessing." My mother interrupted with a smile.I paused, my throat tightening. "It was such a blessing because when your sister started seeing him, she was happy. Eric was happy. They got pregnant even without trying so hard, the way you were doing with injections and all those tests and the therapies. They just got pregnant naturally, when they weren’t even looking to have a baby. They were
"I’m not saying that, but I did not dictate how she grieved her father. I did not want to be in that commercial!" I clenched my fists, trying to keep my calm. "You’re always acting so high and mighty. You know how much money I spent on your kids? on your education, and then, even after you were all done, you got married to an important man, a rich man, and you still did not want to take care of me. You left me and Your sister to fend for ourselves, after all I did for you…"Her words hit me like a slap. I had already been through this, hearing the same complaints again and again. "I asked you to just give me a month's allowance to help me out in the house, and you send me what? A thousand dollars? What am I supposed to do with it?""Mom," I said, forcing the words out through my frustration. "The money I had...““You had already gotten a good job, you were married to Eric. He moved you into a big house in a good neighbourhood. He even promoted you at work and you were working all th
I blinked at her, stunned by her words. “Get rid of him?” I repeated, my voice filled with disbelief. “What do you mean? Like, kill him? Like in the mafia? You think this is a movie?”I forced a laugh,“Call off the engagement,” she said, her voice Brooking no argument. “Call off the wedding. I want you to break up with him, Nina. End it. Now.”Her words landed like a slap across my face. I stared at her, trying to process the sheer absurdity of what she was saying.Then I thought about how she had begun this order,“Mom,” I said slowly filled with both anger and disbelief, “are you threatening me?”She met my gaze without flinching. “I don’t know how you want to take it,” she replied, her tone icy. “I’m not threatening you. I’m just telling you the truth. Nina, the life you’re building with Emerson is an embarrassment. It’s a disgrace to your father’s memory. He was Emerson’s friend, for God’s sake. They were the same age. He is older than me. Me!”She wasn’t done.“And let’s not eve
She motioned for me to follow her. “We’re still in the process, of course. We’re not done yet. As you can see, we haven’t touched upstairs yet. We’ve started downstairs. The workers are working on the kitchen right now.”She gestured toward the dining area as she spoke. “But it’s a great thing. Look at this,” she said, walking toward the dining room. “We’re done with this area, the seating room, and the tea room. Everything is coming together so nicely. Do you like the dining room? Do you like the setup? I chose it myself.”Her excitement felt oddly misplaced, and her next words made me blink.“Maybe it’s not too late for me to become a decorator of houses, you know, a home makeover guru or something,” she said, half-laughing.“It’s nice,” I said cautiously. “But why? Why change this house? It’s so unrecognizable.”She didn’t respond immediately, so I pressed further. “By the time you’re done with this, I don’t think I’ll even recognize my home. All the memories we had here, as a fam
I knocked on the door a second time. I was expecting my mother to answer the door, her stern expression greeting me, perhaps with a disapproving comment about why I was here so early on her doorstep. But no one came.Maybe she wasn’t home. Maybe this was a mistake altogether. I shouldn’t have come here. The thought suddenly appeared in my head as doubt crept in. I didn’t even know why I was here in the first place. If she did answer, how would I react? Would I stammer? Would she shout? God, I wasn’t in the mood for a shouting match, not today.I sighed and turned around, deciding it was best to leave before I regretted knocking at all. But as my foot hit the first step down, the door creaked open behind me.I froze and turned back. But instead of my mother, I was greeted by a man—a shirtless man.He was young, not quite my age but not far from it, probably a bit older. He stood in the doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. His hair was tousled, the kind of messy that suggeste
I sighed,"Honestly, I want to go to bed, okay? You're not an angel. You have gotten on my nerves a lot tonight. I have been mad at you a lot tonight. All I want is some space and sleep," I said, my voice sharp and filled with exhaustion.Then I pulled my hand away from him and started heading into the house.It was really late—so late that I wasn’t expecting anyone to be awake. I opened the door, stepping into the quiet house. Thomas, of course, would already be asleep at this hour. I didn’t bother turning on the lights. My only focus was on making it to bed, without further interruptions.But then, suddenly, the lights flicked on, and Madeline appeared right in front of me."Mina! What's going on? Why are you back so late? What happened? Is everything okay? Is Emerson okay? Where is he? Where's Emerson?" she asked frantically, her eyes darting around and looking behind me as though she expected him to walk through the door any second.Her questions came in rapidly, each one louder t