" Oh my goodness! Miss! " Mrs. Adams said, hastily attending to Emma. " I'm so sorry, the doctor will be here soon!" Emma stared at the woman who seemed very familiar. With her help, she was soon on the bed and opened her mouth but no words came out.She felt parched. Her throat was dry. So dry that she wondered just how long she'd been in that state.In seconds, a man came in with a stethoscope and soon appeared beside her with a focused countenance." I don't know what happened. I came in and met her on the floor. She hasn't spoken a word since then." Mrs. Adams reported, her concerns grew by the prolonged lack of speech from the little Miss." She's alright. My guess is she'll need a little bit of easing in before she is able to use some of her limbs. Get her some sips of water and she'll speak when she's ready." The doctor said, " Thank you so much. The boss is on his way. If you could stay back a little to speak with him, that would be great."" Sure, I just need to make sure–"
" It's him! It's actually him!" Emma's subconscious screamed. The same man she'd met on that day! How didn't she figure it out the whole time?" Mr. Braxton." Mrs. Adams said, drawing attention to herself.Asher maintained eye contact with an alarmed Emma. " Take care of her. You've been given guidelines. Adhere strictly to it. I don't want any mishaps." " Yes sir."Mrs. Adams' words brought a feeling of comfort to a panicked Emma. One thing she knew, the old lady was a sweetheart. From her first encounter with Mrs. Adams, she had grown to trust and feel comfortable with her. She got an absurd motherly feeling from her and oddly felt covered in her company.Being placed in her care only made her less fearful of what it meant for her to be in company of him.Asher leaves the room after an intense, wordless eye contact with Emma. Taking a bow to the elderly woman, he conveyed his requests before finally leaving.Emma felt dumbfounded. Above that, she felt in need of an explanation. F
" Fire guts woodland areas of the city. Two dead."" Mystery fire at the outskirts of the city. Natural accident? "" Fear arises as fire draws closer to the city. Masses evacuated."Emma's fingers shook as she read the titles of the numerous blog posts while simultaneously viewing the inferno.Her body shook at the blurred pictures of two very familiar people, seemingly burned beyond recognition. They were her original captors. Without doubt, it translates to the idea that the entire disaster was somewhat related to her.Because of her, people were killed and the homes of many were threatened. What was it about her? What did she do to have people so much after her? She was just a girl trying to survive but how could she when everyone wanted some pieces of her?Emma's entire body shook and multiple thoughts ran through her mind. With those thoughts, came multiple previously locked up memories. Her body suddenly became hot, her insides churned and she struggled to breathe.It didn't ta
" What do you mean engagement?" Emma asked, while Mrs. Adams approached her bed." Oh dear! We don't have time. You need to be ready before the young master comes in." She tutted, taking in her appearance. " There's so much to do and yet so little time!" " Wait a second." Emma said, holding up her hand. " Get ready for what? I don't remember making plans with anybody and I don't feel too well right now." She excused, hoping she could be left alone." Are you okay? Where does it hurt? Why didn't you say anything? I'll invite the doctor over." Mrs. Adams fussed, desperately searching her pockets for a handphone. Emma's eyes widened. She felt alright and intended to get them off her back using that excuse but apparently underestimated their dedication to ensuring she was doing good.Scratch that, she couldn't understand their dedication to her. " No, no , no. I'm alright! I mean, I just need to rest and everything will be alright." She said, hoping that she'd get the gist of things an
" All done! Betsy will be here with your dress soon." Mrs. Adams announced." Who's Betsy?" Emma asked, unsure of the person's identity." Try to keep up Emma! She's the designer. Oh good. She's here." Mrs. Adams announced, going through her phone.Emma sat in silence, having nothing to say or contribute. She felt like some sort of rag doll. Having people dote and wait upon her. She soon understood that she wasn't the least bit comfortable with being treated like glass and royalty. Matter-of-fact, when she got the alleged princess treatments, her subconscious usually found ways to make her believe there was some ulterior motive behind them.Being brought up by her parents as a child, she was familiar with the whole notion and treatment But ever since their death, she grew suspicious of every activity that led to her peace of mind.Living with her stepmother and sister opened her eyes to the dangers of trusting people or letting them take care of you. Her belief on the topic was rever
Emma was all dressed. Mrs Adams had informed her of the surety of her dinner with Asher and suddenly she felt choked.Somewhere in between the chaos and general situation, a side of her must have relaxed on the idea of meeting him. Being a person who thought things out until it became easy, she was once again shocked to hear that the dinner was being held after the situation on the news.How could he still have time to entertain her? Was it fake news? Did they all make a mistake?Emma wondered as she waited in her red sleeveless gown, oozing all sorts of appeal. She felt the prettiest she's been for the longest period of time. Somehow, staying in a home where all she had to do was recuperate and get attended to was all she needed to regain flesh and healthy skin. If not for the state of her mental health and the horrors she's been through, she was a hundred percent fine and happy to continue her newfound lifestyle.Emma sat with fidgeting hands, awaiting the presence of Mrs Adams who
" Would you marry me and make it all go away? " Asher asked, baring his soul with his words." W-what do you mean? " She asked, gulping uncomfortably." I mean exactly what you heard. Marry me and make it all go away, Ms. Emma. Would you marry me? " He asked again." I told you. I got my memories back. We've been through this before…" " That's besides the point. You wanted to know why I'm lounging around while my life's work burns to the ground? This is it." He explained curtly." I'm sorry but that's hardly an explanation." She said, picking up a glass of water." I am under serious pressure to marry a lady from the Steele's household. In other words, to regain full leadership and supreme power over my empire, you need to be by my side, as my wife." Asher spoke like it wasn't a big deal. His tone was similar to one speaking about the weather meanwhile Emma felt like a fish out of water.In fact, she choked on her water upon hearing Asher's words. Being the perfect gentleman, Asher
Before the crack of dawn, Asher left the house with a bandaged palm. He drove his SUV out of the house, headed to a park he frequented as a child. After spending some time at the park, thinking and doing nothing in particular, he got up, hopped in his car and headed to work. Contrary to popular belief that he'd stay hidden until the ruckus on air and his failure dissipated, when he got to the office grounds, controversy ensued.As usual, people greeted him as he walked past, a few of them happy to see him while others sneered and leered as soon as he was past them. Due to his public failure, people who usually kissed his feet weren't eager to do so anymore and spent their time analyzing the possible reasons why he'd shamelessly shown up.Asher was undeterred and continued with his business. He had no plan whatsoever but his spirit willed him to bury himself into work despite having less than forty eight hours to turn the tides around.In the short while he'd been out of seat, a lot o
For the first time ever, Emma was outside her room. Led through a dark staircase, she tried and failed to get a feel or look on anything but the floors. They got to the dining room and a long king sized table stood in front of her. " Finally! Come sit." Kaden said from the head of the table, " We can't have you missing breakfast."Emma jittered towards him. The doctor attended to the bruises that formed through her body earlier this morning but she still felt pain at every turn. Her biggest concern remained on the health of the child that grew within her- a topic that posed a taboo when she brought it up to the doctor." Oh don't be afraid, I'm in a good mood this morning! Sit, we have a whole day ahead of us." Kaden spoke like he didn't abuse her the day before, one would think his memories from the day before were washed and a demon possessed him to do the evils he did.Emma sat down with her head bowed, the maids immediately got to serving breakfast. In no time, their plates were
Inside a dimly lit room, a sea of heads and computers depicting the various streets and spots of the city covered the entire room with little space for easy access. Jason noticed Asher come in and headed with information garnered since their last meeting. " Any news?" Asher spoke first, eyes fixated on the organized chaos before him.Jason stood beside him, " A lot. We have to talk, privately." He led the way to a little room by the corner.Asher entered and took a seat behind the motherboard. " What do you have for me?" " We narrowed our focus on Kaden," He started, but immediately felt Asher's disapproval, but continued anyways." After his reveal, we decided it was best to uncover things about this man, and we weren't wrong."" Get to the point."" Kaden somehow managed to have contact with Rebecca, Cole, Emma and her Step-Mother." Asher's eyes widened, " not just that, but he met these people at the same period of time. Coincidence?"By now, Jason had his full attention, " Do we
Jason followed the trail of the car that took Emma into the outskirts of the city. He slowed to a stop where he found the vehicle used to perpetuate the act seated on the highway- clean of everything that pointed at the situation at hand. It took a moment before he realized that he led a wild goose chase- one that seemed intentional on the part of the people who left a brand new vehicle opened and waiting for his arrival. “ Shit!” He kicked the tire, hard enough the car skipped a beat from its impact. Jason headed back to his car feeling played. Before starting up the car, he texted Asher, reported the situation and angrily informed of his immediate return. On the other hand, Asher sat in his home office, a place he hadn’t left for the longest time, corroded with thoughts that kept his eyes opened and in search of answers. Unknown to Jason, while he made his way back, his movements were monitored. The moment he went back to the city, Kaden received feedback of his unfruitful searc
Emma gripped the steering wheel like her life depended on it. And it actually did. If there was one thing capable of killing her, it was the thought of her designs burning to ashes, months of hard work vanishing into thin air. She needed to save her work, and fast! Her phone rang non-stop, every single call received a text behind, all of which she knew came from her husband. Her very worried husband. A screeching sound filled the air and it took a moment before Emma realized that her tires were giving out. “ Oh shit!” She cussed, forcing the car to a halt and stepping out. Her tires were ruptured, all four of them. How she didn’t notice it from before was a mystery. Impatient, Emma looked around in search of something. Anything that would get her out of the situation. The hairs on her body stood and she felt a presence loom over her. A rising dread course through her veins but before she could turn around, the sting of a needle pierced her throat. The more she felt its liquid cont
“ What do you mean?” Asher asked Jason over the phone.“ Her body was discovered in the early hours of the day. Investigations on the cause of death is ongoing.” He informed, “ You need to lay low for the meantime, both of you. At least until we uncover the details behind her death.” Asher felt distraught, “ What is the state of events? Any leads on her killer?” “ I’m afraid not, whoever did it, did a clean job. Dumped her into the river with a body cleaned of trails.” He answered, sighing afterwards. Emma walked into the room, and straightaway, noticed the atmosphere. “ What’s going on?” She mouthed.“ I’ll call you in a minute.” Asher ended the call with a huff, her eyes narrowed in concern.“ Who was that?” “ Jason.” “ And?”“ Rebecca is dead.” He declared without missing a beat.“ Oh my goodness! What happened?” She asked, face aghast. “ Murdered. I don’t have the details yet but I will soon. For the meantime, stay home. I don’t want you moving an inch out of this house, unt
“ Surprise!” Chara and a couple others yelled when the door opened. “ What in the world?” Emma tried to stabilize her breathing.“ I’m sorry we startled you.” Chara said and a chorus of agreement followed, “ This is your party, Emma. Don’t be shy!” She urged her into the living room. Emma took in the lounge party in awe, slow music played in the background and there was a light chatter in the air. “ Excuse me everyone,” the public address system caught the attention of the people, “ Can we raise our glasses to toast our beloved Emma Braxton, the strongest woman I know.” She remarked and the intimate congregation clinked glasses and cheered.Asher, watching the event from his home office, joined the party, raising a glass to the one person he figured didn’t want to see him at the moment. After thorough checks of the footage, he discovered he didn’t sleep with Rebecca. He was out of it and even defenseless to her motives but something made her retrace her steps and take some pictures
“ Hey! It's not what it looks like..” Asher caught her arm, but she struggled.“ Let me go! This is a fake marriage so you don’t have to explain, this isn’t real.” Her words cut deeper than expected and he let go, burned.“ Oh really? This is what it's about, huh?” His tone turned cold, “ You still aren’t allowed to parade yourself in a disgraceful manner, Emma.” He lashed with blazing eyes, “ Don’t think I don’t know of your shenanigans!”Emma recoiled, a sore taste in her mouth, “ I got blackmailed with those pictures from my past. I will clean up my mess.” Asher watched his wife leave the house, unable to speak. He threw her scandal in her face and felt like a dog about it. What sort of husband wouldn’t know their wife was getting threats? His anger fizzled and all that remained were regrets.Jason appeared in his line of sight, wearing a calm demeanor, no doubt he heard their little scuffle and ached to use the infamous line- ‘I told you so.’Meanwhile, Emma spoke into her phone w
Asher returned to a house void of his wife. He marched into his room, dialing her number to no avail. He muttered some curses under his breath and immediately made way out of the house. On his way out, he bumped into Rebecca. “ Asher.. what’s going on?” Her tone doused with concern, “ Are you alright?” “ Goodnight.”He made to leave but her hand held him back, “ I’m sorry. Just..please don’t walk away.” His eyes narrowed on his arm and she immediately let go, “ I promise I mean no harm.”Asher didn’t speak, but his countenance didn’t seem like he wanted to kill her anymore.“ We can have some wine,” She suggested, “ Catch up on old times.” Without waiting for a reply, she immediately headed to the cellar, wining her waist as she went. A few minutes later, she returned holding a bottle of expensive wine and two glass cups. She handed over its filled content with a smile, “ Tell me, what is this I hear about your company expanding into Africa?”“ Just another business move.” He shrug
Mrs. Steele stepped down the stairs with a smug look on her face. It was finally time to meet with her long, lost and awaited step-daughter. Their eyes connected and a triumphal smile ushered its way through her face. “ Trouble in paradise?” She corked an eyebrow and took a seat. Emma held a permanent scowl,“ I see you haven’t changed.” Emma remarked curtly, her tone took her by surprise.“ I see you’ve grown teeth.” Mrs Steele raised her hand and a glass of water was brought to her, “ What do we owe to this...unscheduled visit?”“ Don’t act dumb. Take responsibility for what you did.”“ I think you are mistaken." She circled the tip of her cup, “ This is my house and I will not be disrespected. If you are here to do so, I suggest you leave.”“ Take the pictures down!” Mrs. Steele let out a short laugh, “ Leave us.” It didn’t take a soothsayer for the employees around to scramble away, giving the women some much needed privacy. Mrs. Steele got up on her feet;“ I’ll forgive you be