Fred’s POVAll of the turmoil from the press and public opinion, not to mention the pressure from Grandfather, was starting to weigh heavily on my shoulders. I had never been an anxious guy, but I felt myself falling further into a dark pit these days. This incident had a significant impact on my family, not only me. The driver dropped Nancy off at her parent’s house; it was the best option for now. Grandfather’s words echoed through me again: I wouldn’t mind letting Nancy disappear from your life again. The last thing I wanted (and needed) was more trouble involving Nancy, so keeping her away from the scene was the only way forward. “You promise me this isn’t the end, Fred? You’re not going to leave me, darling?” Nancy asked me just before getting into the car, her face filled with sorrow. “Of course not, my dear, I just need a little bit of time to sort things out. Emily and I lived together for three years, you know that. I won’t let her suffer public criticism because of me…
Emily’s POVThe public news coverage was quickly extinguished and my first reaction was that my brothers had helped handle the situation. After a call between Leon, Richard and myself, I learned that this wasn’t the case, which I’ll admit, shocked me. Who else could it have been? Was it…Fred? It couldn’t be. Fred doesn’t care about me, so why would he have a hand in squishing a story that involved me? Plus, we’d just quarreled, and my last words to him weren’t exactly pleasant…This terrible attack on me should make him happy. “He’s probably too busy picking wedding dresses with Nancy, anyway,” but before my mind went down a rabbit hole, I stopped the flood of incoming notions.The next few days were busy, with one client meeting after the next, and tying up a few major deals for the company. I was grateful for the distraction. Now, a little downtime was in order following my latest successful negotiations for one of the AirLoft Group’s biggest projects to date. Amber, one of my c
Emily’s POVWaiting for the worst to happen, I realized this man’s fingers were no longer clenched around my neck. From the mixture of surprise and emotions, it took me a few moments to come to it, coughing as I caught my breath again. A shrilling outcry from the gathering crowd is what activated me out of shock. The next moment, someone gasped. As my vision settled, I looked around me to see where the perpetrator had gone but was astounded once more. Lying there on the ground next to me, he had already been knocked over, and Fred was standing over him! Why is Fred here?! “You better watch yourself,” Fred threatened, aiming at his lower body with his fists, “if you want to walk again AND not go bankrupt, best you walk away, now.” But he wasn’t done with his demands and commanded the man to apologize to the waitress immediately. Looking like a deer caught in the headlights, the man was frightened by Fred’s powerful threats and reluctantly apologized before exiting the bar.“I don’t
Emily’s POVThe following day, Richard informed me that he had sent someone to investigate David’s company. He said that even if it wasn’t the same “David,” he’d rather be safe than sorry — for the sake of the business. Calling me into his office, I pulled the leather executive chair around his desk and waited for him to share his findings. His demeanor told me that what he was about to share wasn’t pleasant. “I’m glad you brought this to my attention, Em. I don’t know if we would have picked up on it otherwise. Although it’s an all-round shitty situation, if this never happened, who knows if we would have found out the truth about this man.” According to our investigator’s sources, David’s company had been manufacturing products that had caused many unforeseen deaths due to quality problems. “I can’t say I’m entirely surprised, Rich, but how does no one know about this?” I huffed back, but Richard interrupted me before I could continue. “Well, sorry to cut you off there sis, but
Fred’s POVNancy relentlessly called me asking me for help following the trouble ensuing David and his company.David’s behavior at the bar disgusted me, but what surprised me most from that day was the change in Emily…She had been so brave protecting that waitress even though she didn’t know her; I had never seen that side of her before…Nancy was still staying at her parent’s place, and after our fifth phone call that morning, I hoped I had finally put her mind at ease. But this whole thing with David did make things a little more intense. It was nearing one o’clock when an email came through from John. It was titled ‘Urgent: David.’ I opened it immediately, unearthing its contents like a curious treasure hunter. John had come across some valuable information. Over the last 24 hours, David’s company had been all over the news. Turns out the ones behind the public scrutiny were the Stewart family. But why would they get their hands involved in dirty business? David’s company was an
Emily’s POVFred’s out-of-the-blue meeting left me confused. Did he suspect something? To completely dispel his suspicion, I informed Sheila that I wouldn’t be the one attending the meeting with Mr. Walker today. Instead, I would let someone else meet Fred in the conference room in half an hour, pretending to be me. Fred wasn’t an easy man to fool, and luckily, Richard’s girlfriend, Sophie, happened to visit him that afternoon. She had brought him lunch and they were still in his office. I had seen her when she first arrived and their laughter still echoed down the hallway from Richard’s office. I really liked Sophie and hoped their relationship would last, unlike my marriage to Fred. “Knock, knock,” I said, peaking my head around the corner of Richard’s office, “I hope I’m not interrupting.” “Ah, Em, it’s so good to see you! I was going to pop into your office on my way out, which should have been an hour ago. But your brother just won’t let me go!” Sophie smiled. “Well, Sophie
Emily’s POVFred’s sudden irritation from the news of my “marriage” was unexpected. Once our divorce proceedings were complete, we would have nothing more to do with each other. That day couldn’t come sooner… Who I wanted to be with was my business and my business alone. I’m so done with all this drama, albeit I had added slightly more fuel to the fire with my last message to Fred. After about the tenth attempt, the phone calls finally stopped and my phone was silent. Opening the drawer, I retrieved my mobile. The next moment, the phone began to ring again. This time, it wasn’t Fred calling. Hopefully, he had given up. A random number flashed on the screen. Maybe it’s a client. I better answer it just in case. Swiping open the call, Fred’s voice chimed down the line. He was using an unknown number; it wasn’t from his office or home either. Without letting him say anything more than the first hello, I got straight to the point. “If this is about Richard’s cheating, Fred, there’s
Emily’s POVFred proposed divorce. I knew this day would come sooner or later. But I never expected it to happen today, nor did I expect him to be so resolute with his decision. He left divorce papers with his signature on the table, the black ink glaring back at me. The whole thing was difficult for me to wrap my head around. I loved Fred with all my heart! If it were up to me, we would still be together. I didn’t want the separation and … I had married for love. Fred was annoyed by my hesitation, his frustration apparent like an angry child who can’t get his own way. “What did he expect?” I thought but didn’t dare to say out loud. Did he think I’d be okay with this whole situation, smile, and agree? “But, Fred, I…” I began, trying to explain how I really felt, the words trembling out of my mouth. “You knew the deal, Emily,” he interrupted, “we both agreed from the start that our marriage would only last two years,” Fred shot back, a hint of embarrassment as the words left his