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
Emily’s POVAfter reading Nancy’s text, I was determined to make a difference. Some things needed to change in my life. I won’t let anyone or any man cause me this kind of heartache again.The car pulled up to the massive Stewart family estate. Approaching the glass villa doors of the main house, a row of servants and maids were waiting outside, individually bowing as we arrived. “Welcome home, Miss Stewart,” the head butler said, turning the oversized gold doorknob. Only my brothers had known about my marriage to Fred. “Dad has postponed an important meeting with one of his big-time French clients,” Leon consoled. I smiled, appreciating the sweet gesture from my father. “We all know he’d rather lose a big-time deal and be here for your birthday instead,” Richard chimed in. “He canceled his flight on the private plane just for you, Em.” It didn’t surprise me; I was a daddy’s girl through and through. With two older brothers, it wasn’t hard to understand why. If only Fred could ha
Emily’s POVThe cheerful mood suddenly turned very sour, instantly leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Making out the silhouette of Fred’s BMW even in the dark, there was the sound of his familiar car remote clicking. He marched angrily towards us standing at the entrance. Why was he here? But I suddenly remembered that his grandfather stayed in the same area. Maybe he’s visiting him? But it was not my circus, not my monkeys anymore. Richard’s face was NOT pleased to see Fred either. He quickly stepped in front of me, guarding me from Fred. Out of my two brothers, he was definitely the one with a more forcefully protective nature.I gently patted his arm, signaling to him that I was okay. “Thanks, Rich, but I’ve got this one,” I said to him softly but appreciating the gesture all the same. Why was Fred angry? We were already divorced, right? I then glimpsed sight of Nancy’s shadow hanging behind Fred. Looking closer, her dainty face was painted red with rage and jealousy. Jealousy
Emily’s POVLeon wanted to ask me something — probably about what the hell that was all about — but I wasn’t in the mood and shot him a look which meant don’t ask. Driving to the hotel, I was extremely nervous. Not just because of what had happened, but more so because I was going to see my father very soon. It had been a long time since our last face-to-face meeting…You see, much to the horror of my parents, and especially my father, I had left home all those years ago in search of a normal life. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate the childhood I’d been fortunate enough to have. And it wasn’t because I didn’t enjoy the finer things. But I had longed for something more, something to achieve on my own. The last conversation between my father and I often played on my mind. “Emily, my dear daughter. You’re now no longer a girl, and I’ve always envisioned you joining the company one day…” My father had shared with me. Although I was the youngest, and a woman, the family always teased
Fred’s POVHenry our butler told me Emily had actually signed the divorce agreement, and I’m not going to lie, I was surprised. “She also got into a Rolls-Royce, Sir,” he told me when I returned home that evening. Retreating to the living room, I settled down in front of the fire Henry had made. I can’t believe that she really did it. I honestly didn’t expect her to sign the papers so easily! I dwelled to myself. But this was what I wanted, was it not? I had longed for Nancy all these years, and finally, we were together. But who was the owner of that Phantom? I couldn’t recount Emily knowing anyone with such a fancy car. Henry came into the room, handing me a cup of tea to help soothe my nerves. Whenever I was in a foul mood after a long day at the office, Em would always make me a cup. He probably gathered from everything that happened today that I desperately needed one. I took the first sip and instantly tasted something wasn’t quite right. “Henry, how did you brew the tea?
Emily’s POVAs a way to welcome me into my new position, my staff had organized a large shindig at one of the elite venues in town, signaling the start of exciting times to come as their new boss. “Tonight is all about reclaiming your long-lost happiness, Em. It’s been a minute, hasn’t it,” I thought to myself on the drive there. Gone were my days of suppression, and playing the role of a good, obedient stay-at-home wife. I hadn’t fully realized how subdued I’d become during my marriage to Fred, a shadow of the vibrant person I was before. But I knew those times were over and I could finally be the Emily I used to know. For now, I’m simply going to enjoy myself. Halfway through the evening, I was giving a speech on stage, opening a bottle of Moët to toast the crowds when the buzzing atmosphere was halted by a sudden uproar! Peering through the masses, I had to blink twice to believe my eyes…Fred, yes, my ex-husband Fred, was pushing his way through the crowd and elbowing my coll
Fred’s POVThinking about the scumbag in front of me, I wanted to beat him to a pulp all over again! A flurry of security guards arrived, and with them the owner of this nightclub, Elijah. We were friends from college days.“Elijah, forgive me about the uproar, but man, that guy came out of nowhere!” I said and tried to suppress my anger.I didn’t know what the hell was that about. It wasn’t like me to act this way, but when Emily was attacked, something overtook me and I just couldn’t stop.“Fred, please don’t mention it. I never meant for any of this to happen. My apologies,” he replied and turned to his security. “Guys, let’s clean this mess up and get this buffoon out of here. Amp up the security, too,” he ordered. Patting the assailant down to make sure he had no weapons on him or had stolen anything, one of the security men pulled something from the man’s left trouser pocket: a small bag of white powder. Not only had he tried to hurt Emily, but this guy was clearly on drugs,
Emily’s POVOpening my eyes, I felt an immense throbbing sensation in my head. A hangover from hell greeted me, signaling just how much I’d drunk last night. Also, speaking of last night, I wonder what happened? I couldn’t remember much. I remembered it was a staff party but the rest of it was a blur. “Oh my God,” the memory flooding back, “Fred was there, too!” Out of all the people, why did it have to be him? He was the last person I wanted to see and for a very long time at that. The memory of it made my head spin even more. On top of that, today was my first day as the new boss of the subsidiary — that much I did know — and I needed to pull myself together. Glancing over at my bedside clock, it was already 6am. Dammit Em, I needed to start getting ready, I didn’t want to be late on my first day. Gulping back a glass of water and a couple of painkillers, I quickly showered and dried my hair. It smelled like vomit. I ran my fingers across the business suits and expensive dre
Emily’s POVScoffing back at Fred’s accusations, I tossed my head; I didn’t want to waste my time on a drunk man. “Fred, you have no right to keep interfering in my life,” I reminded him for the umpteenth time, “Why do you continue to insert yourself into everything I do? I don’t want you around. I’m doing fantastic on my own, thank you very much.” “Yeah, listen, mate,” Leon chimed, “I think it’s best you start listening to Emily and leave her alone…for good.” “So, are you and this guy an item?” Harry asked from the background. For a second I had forgotten he was there; Fred’s accusations had annoyed me that much.“Of course they are! I’ve seen Emily with him multiple times. And look at them,” Fred abrasively added in from the sidelines. “Actually, wait a second…”Seeing the calculation on his face, I could tell Fred had put the puzzle pieces together. “You look oddly similar to Emily’s other boyfriend, Richard,” Fred exclaimed, tightly grabbing Leon’s arm, “maybe you’re not Emil
Emily’s POVLeon called me out of the blue to tell me that David had been arrested. He mentioned to me that he would prosecute as the lawyer for the case against him. The evidence we collected privately would certainly come in handy. “See, I told you, Leon. I knew the right moment would arise for us to play our cards. I’m glad we initially kept our findings to ourselves,” I told him on the phone. “Yeah, I know, you were right, darling sister,” he agreed. “Of course, I am always right,” teasing him, “but anyway, now it’s time for you to shine, Mr. Big Shot Lawyer,” I joked back, although I had full faith in my brother’s capabilities. “Thanks, Em. Trust you to be my number one fan. But in any case, I won’t let anyone bully my baby sister and get away with it. David’s turn has finally arrived. I can’t wait for him to face judgment, and you get the justice you deserve,” Leon consoled, “also there’s something else…” Uh oh, whenever I heard that specific tone of Leon’s, I prepared myse
Fred’s POVHarry sat across from me at the bar. He had been staring at me intently since we arrived, and half an hour had already passed. “How long are you going to keep staring at me like that?” I finally had to ask him. “Sorry, mate,” Harry laughed playfully, “I’m just curious, what was it about you that your ex-wife liked so much?” His sudden out-the-blue question about Emily took me by surprise. What was he on about? I had taken time out of my busy schedule today to meet him here, but was he now just ridiculing me? I wondered if he noticed my astonishment. “Are you jealous of me?” I shot back, cooly sipping my glass of wine. At least the liquor was helping to quell my irritation. I had too much pride to let Harry know how much his question vexed me. “Fred, relax. You overthink things way too much, you know that? I would never be jealous of a man going through divorce…especially if he’s drinking because of love,” Harry poked back. “Aren’t you the one who asked me to come out?
Fred’s POV“Ah-choo!” Nancy’s sneeze abruptly interrupted my thoughts about my trip to the hospital with Emily. It had been strange accompanying her, and something neither of us was used to for quite some time. Looking over at Nancy lying on the bed, today began to feel more terrible by the minute. Rushing back from St. August’s to my villa, I found Nancy standing in the pouring rain. As much as Henry had pleaded with her to come inside, she refused, telling him she’d wait outside until I returned home. It was in these instances that I slowly began to realize how Nancy was starting to manipulate me, softening my heart for her gain. It felt a little self-abusive to tell you the honest truth. But she succeeded, and I succumbed. If it weren’t for Nancy and my love for her, I would never have let things with David slide so easily. One of her recent requests was to help him out financially. It was a pretty big task, but Nancy had a way of getting what she wanted out of me. All I could
Emily’s POVWhile Fred was in the hospital in Wexschire, there had been a terrorist attack, and the hospital was caught in the crossfire. This was also the same day that Fred woke up.It all happened so quickly; the bomb outside, the screams and shrills from patients, doctors and injured visitors. Only just waking up, Fred barely had time to adapt to the light, let alone the sounds. I had been attending his bedside at the time of the explosion. As soon as the first bang rang through the ward, Fred flung himself over me, protecting me under his body, the infusion pump’s cords dangling off his arms. Suddenly, the ward caught fire, and my body kicked into work mode. After all, he was my patient, and he was the one lying in the hospital bed. It was my duty to save him. Discharging him from the drip attached to his arm, I did the best that I could and managed to pull us both out of the inflamed room, coughing and sputtering as I dragged us out of there. Fred’s eyes had been temporaril
Emily’s POVHarry’s confident stare began to irritate me and left me wondering if Fred knew any “normal people.” His flirtations were very obvious now, but I suspected Harry was only doing so to tease me and didn’t really mean it. After all, he had never shown any special feelings toward me on the few occasions we had met. But Fred had always been around, and they were friends. “Harry, I know you don’t know me very well, but there is one thing you should know … I’m not someone you can play with,” warning him. I wasn’t going to let him have it that easy. “I’m serious, Em,” Harry shot back, “and can I call you that?” “Give me a reason to trust you,” crossing my arms and looking at him, completely ignoring the last half of his sentence. “If I had to give you a reason, hmm, for one, I think you are very special,” he complimented. What a flimsy reason, rolling my eyes at him. Harry cheekily grabbed at his heart, as if my eye roll agonized him. Acting coolly, the conversation contin
Emily’s POVThere was no doubt that Harry had purposefully asked this question. He and Fred were friends, and besides, my ex-husband and my breakup had been splashed across the tabloids. He clearly wanted to embarrass me. The moment he leaves here, I bet the first person he is going to call is Fred and replay exactly what has happened here today. Despite him hinting that he knew who I was, I played it cool, using an alias. “Nice to meet you. Just call me Emma,” came my words in a quick attempt to hide my identity. Harry had caught me off guard. “Oh, is that what you go by these days? Emma? Isn’t your name Emily?” Harry teased, “Don’t look so nervous, Emma, I won’t tell Fred — maybe. Say, how would you feel about a drink? Both our nerves are shot from this flooding nonsense. Let’s get the matter cleared up, and then I buy you a drink to say thank you.” No thanks were needed; it was our warehouse that had flooded, not our client’s. But Harry was a smooth operator and was just using
Emily’s POVCursing myself for being so careless, I grabbed the keyring from Fred, hoping he had been too distracted to notice my Louis Vuitton. But this could be the opportunity I was looking for. Instead of explaining the truth, I went along with the charade Fred had created. If he continued to believe that Richard and I were an item, maybe he’d stay out of my life. My next words were deliberate. “Well, despite what you think, and what may or may not be the truth, I’m willing to wait for Richard,” my comeback hitting him like a ton of bricks. Fred had no right to blame me. After all, my love for him had been acquitted, and for many years. But that didn’t change the consequences of the past weeks. All he could do was stand there stunned. Breaking the silence, Fred continued, “But why would you want to be with a man who loves someone else?” That’s rich coming from you, Fred. “Em, please, I beg of you, resign from this job. I’ll even introduce you to a new one, one that’s better
Emily’s POVIt should have been a simple matter, but nothing was ever that easy with Fred. Not accepting the fact that I didn’t want him to drive me home, he persisted further. “But, Em, I insist. Or is it because you just can’t wait to get rid of me that you’re in such a hurry to leave me?” He continued. Giving him a wary glance, I didn’t answer his accusations. Fred’s unreasonable worries were becoming too much. Plus, I hadn’t been feeling well all day, and now, I was more than ready to get home and finally get into some comfortable clothing. It was never my intention to stay here until this late … All evening, the dizzying sensation I felt in the morning had gotten increasingly worse, but I had tried my best to act normal around Fred’s grandfather. ‘Never show your opponent your weaknesses.’ My father’s words rang through me; another one of his advisals he had shared with me. By now, the dizziness was too hard to ignore. Dinner was the first chance I had gotten to eat a prope