Emma couldn’t help but wonder about Rowan’s words; even as they boarded the plane back home, she couldn’t sleep a wink. Layla, on the other hand, was elated to be a grandmother, and just the first day of landing home, she had sent gifts for Ryan, and Ryan was so happy with them. Emma thanked her. Emma’s mom had rekindled her friendship with Layla, knowing she had always been grateful for the day that Layla took care of her in the hospital. And though Emma had tried many times to get the thought of a certain man out of her head, his hoodie was always hung by her closet; the hoodie that belonged to Rowan reminded her of the passion they shared that night. But it made Emma annoyed, annoyed by the fact that Rowan, who had gotten her stupid hopes up and not texted even once, hated that she thought of him when his words were empty. "Ugh, you should have known better, Emma,” she scolds herself as she stands up, stretching. She gets ready for the day, showering and dressing up as she goes
I want you to come to the city, Emma,” Rowan says, his gaze serious, and Emma couldn’t help thinking he was mental for his suggestion, especially after their history.“Are you going crazy or something?" she asked.“I’m not forcing you, but I do want you to think about it,” he says, handing her the paper. “Your job is still there; the position is open even after years pass; you are very talented and overqualified for your talents to be wasted here."“Rowan.:”"Look, you applied to my company without knowing I worked there; you wanted to be there; don’t ruin your dreams and make them wait any longer, Emma.""Rowan, I can’t just leave everything and go? I have a life here."“Do you? Or you are just living like this because this was the only option after you got away from me after what I did, and just the thought of me making life difficult for you is killing me, Emma, It’s messing with my head because I know fully well that this is all my fault and that you are passionate about working fo
Emma wakes up the next day, knowing that in a few hours soon, Layla and Rowan will arrive to take Ryan out for a playdate.And even though she slept in a weird mood yesterday after the conversation she had with Eric, she wasn’t going to let that distract her today.“Honey?” Her mom calls Emma, who quickly breaks out of her thoughts. She looks to see that the bowl she kept in the sink was overfilled. And the fruits her mom told her to wash were drowning in the sink."Oh my god!” she called out, turning off the tap as quickly as she could. Of course, she was still too deep in her thoughts."Is something on your mind, dear?”“This all feels weird; why do I feel like I’d wake up, and it will be a dream, and Rowan was never here, and this weird feeling I just keep having, I want to go pursue my dreams, you know?"“As I said, I’m with you every step of the way, honey,” she mutters, hugging Emma, who squeezes back tightly.“Thanks, Mom,” she says before she points at the bowl. "I cut up a few
"What do you mean, go to New York alone?” Emma asked her mom, annoyed, as she questioned Julianna. Ryan was already asleep, so she took him to her room and dropped him there before she came back out.“Mom, I don’t understand why.”"Working for such a big company has always been your dream, and baking has always been mine. I found my passion back, and I still want to work here, but I know you don’t belong here. This isn’t your passion."“Mom, why? I thought you wanted us to be together...," but Julianna had crossed the room to hold her daughter, hugging her tightly and pouring all the love she could in it. ."I do, but you're here. Because of me, you did things and accepted a lot of things for my sake; now I want you to live for you; I want you to be happy,” she says to Emma, who begins to cry.“Mum.”"Don't cry, baby; I will come anytime. Anytime you need me to be there, I will be, and for sure, I’ll send you and Ryan your favorite cakes and pastries," her mom promised.She knew that t
The elevator dinged as it reached the top floor; the floor only had two doors, one for her and the other for her neighbor. Layla punched in the code and told Emma she could change it if she wanted to. Emma could hardly keep her mouth closed because of how beautiful the house was. They walked into the entrance gallery, filled with light that resonated through the perfectly white-painted walls.There were three rooms, all decorated beautifully with minimalistic yet stunning designs that mesmerized Emma.Layla gave her a tour of the grand gallery and the small room that was her office in case she still had work to do for him from the company."And that’s the tour; I have been here a lot, so I’d leave you to figure out where you want to choose,” Layla called as they stepped into Ryan’s room.It was painted sky blue with beautiful stickers of whales and stars; his bed was a beautiful beige canopy, and the moment Ryan walked into the room behind his mom, his eyes widened. "And this is your
“What?”Emma was shocked out of her mind by Rowan's announcement. Did he just say he was her neighbor—the neighbor who just moved in with her?“What would you do?""You know my hands are full with the groceries,” he says, showing Emma his hands filled with groceries, and even Ryan joined in as he raised the small bottle of milk."Me too, me too, mom, let’s go in." Ryan whined, and Emma had no choice as she opened the door, letting both father and son in.She was still in disbelief, but she didn’t want to talk to him in front of Ryan. "Ryan, can you go wash your hands, please?” Emma notes this to Ryan, who runs to his room.And the moment he was out of earshot, Emma turned to Rowan, her eyes mad and searching as she confronted him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Rowan? You’re stalking us now.“No… I was staying here first.""That's total bull, Rowan.""I have a lot of houses here, and I just wanted to have a change of location, and coincidentally, you were here too.” Emma wa
She accepted his ride, learning to put her pride aside juts this one time , and she couldn’t ruin Ryan’s bonding time with him anyway; she didn't have the heart to.They got into the car, with Rowan putting Ryan’s seat belt on before he walked into the driver's seat and then turned on the ignition. For a split second, Emma held her breath, taken aback by the moment that Rowan leaned over to her side, making her instinctively close her eyes. She wondered if he was just going to kiss her like this, and her heart skipped a beat. But then she heard a loud click, opened her eyes to see that a belt had been passed over her, and clicked in. He was just putting her in her seat belt, and Emma felt so embarrassed. She felt blood on her cheeks and ears as she turned to the window, clearing her throat as she turned away, embarrassed by what she had just done."Why would you even think he was about to kiss you?" she scolded herself as Rowan smirked before he reversed the wheels, and they were ou
Emma left the elevator and quickly remembered that she was supposed to be at work in less than 20 seconds as she cursed Rowan in her head for distracting her with his damning smile.She reached the department with other recruits already lined up and waiting, and she felt embarrassed that she got in last with everyone looking at her as she joined the small group.She checked herself, making sure her clothes were right and her hair too, as she calmed her breathing the minute someone else walked in."Hello everyone." An older man called, getting all their attention as they all turned from their work desks to the new group at the center."We have our recruits today, and I’d like we can all give them a hand in welcoming them to the planning and strategy department of Kings Consolidated,” the older man says, and the room goes up in applause and smiles."I am Mr. Sanders and the assistant manager of this department. Our manager is a little grumpy this morning, but he’s over there, so be sure