5. Did something happened last night?

Author's POV

Shawn had been drinking until dawn and, as a result, couldn't wake up in the morning. Meanwhile, Emma, rising at 1 pm in the afternoon, groaned loudly while holding her head in her hands.

"Ugh... I feel like someone pounded my brain," she muttered to herself as she tried to shake off the sleep intoxication.

Opening her eyes fully, she glanced around her and sighed in relief upon realizing she was in her own room. She then looked to the other side of the bed and found it empty.

"If Shane neither dropped me off nor came with me, then who brought me here?" she questioned herself.

"Did I come all by myself?"

"No, that's not possible. I was so drunk; I wouldn't have even realized if someone had carried me," she said, reminiscing about her wild night of dancing and revelry with her friends.

Emma removed the duvet cover from her bed frame, stood up, and made her way to the bathroom. After taking care of some necessary business, she checked herself in the mirror and confirmed that she was still in the same clothes from the previous night.

She shed her clothes and stepped into the shower, determined to wash away the remnants of the intoxication. She lathered up her hair, trying to alleviate her throbbing head, and let the water flow for a few blissful minutes.

When she felt the intoxication slowly leaving her body, Emma exited the shower, changed into a crop blouse and shorts, and headed downstairs to dry her hair. Once downstairs, she requested a strong coffee and headache medicine, prompting Nancy to appear promptly with a towel and medication. She instructed the servants to prepare the coffee and handed Emma a glass of water along with the tablets. Nancy also gently massaged her scalp and patted her hair dry with the towel.

"How many times must I remind you, Emma, not to walk around with wet hair? You'll catch a cold, my child. But let's leave that for now. First, tell me how much you drank last night to forget to come home," Nancy scolded her.

Taking the medicine, Emma offered a apologetic smile and embraced Nancy before kissing her cheeks and apologizing. Nancy returned her smile and warned her not to repeat such antics before leaving. A servant provided her with the coffee mug and departed to attend to other duties. Emma, with her head lowered, blew on her coffee and took small sips while gently massaging her forehead. The euphoria from her shower had faded, and the headache returned.

Emma was so engrossed in her coffee that she didn't notice when Shawn appeared and made his way downstairs. He too held his head in his hands, wearing a sleeveless tank top and trousers. As he stood near the dining table in the living room, he loudly requested a strong coffee and medicine from Nancy, catching Emma's attention as she jumped in her seat.

"What is he doing here? Oh, no!" she thought.

She turned to find him looking incredibly attractive in his morning disarray.

When his eyes met hers, memories of the previous night rushed through his mind – from pushing away Shane to dancing with Emma, the kiss, and the stinging words she had hurled at him. But why did it hurt him? Shouldn't he be happy for his brother and Emma?

Emma, feeling caught while checking him out, froze but soon regained her composure and offered a small smile. She gulped down the coffee in her throat and looked at him, making him raise his eyebrows.

"Um... Did you bring me home last night?" she asked nervously, quickly adding, "I mean, Shane wasn't in any condition to drive me, nor was I. Even if we had taken a cab or gotten help, we should have come together, and he would be groaning in bed next to me right now," she chuckled at the image of Shane with a headache.

Her laughter died down as she noticed his cold gaze on her and zipped her lips. Nancy, sensing the tension, walked in and handed him his medicine.

"Yes, it was me, because your dad asked me to," Shawn replied dryly in a gravelly voice, and Emma nodded while sipping her coffee.

After a few seconds, her heart clenched, and turmoil churned in her stomach as her overthinking mind posed a troubling question, sending shivers down her spine. She snapped her eyes towards Shawn, who was sipping his coffee but froze when he noticed her gaze on him.

"Now, what?" he asked, annoyance creeping into his voice.

"Did something happened last night?", she asked hesitantly and he keenly looks at her with a stern face.

"I mean did I do or say something I shouldn't have?" Emma blurted quickly changing her question. As fear was clouding her thoughts but his face went more serious and she gulps as his icy cold gaze held her strong in her place.

"I mean.. actually... you seem upset with me. I don't know, but I have this feeling. Did I do something wrong or trouble you, Shawn?" She questions again nervously, and added his name at the end, causing him to raise his brows.

Meanwhile, inside his mind, Shawn grappled with guilt, thinking, "How should I tell you what you did? And what I did? Instead of asking you to behave, I joined in your mistake."

Emma waited for him to respond, while he contemplated what to say, but before he could reply, Shane arrived. He greeted Emma with a kiss on the cheek and took his seat beside her. Something inside Shawn stirred, and he clenched the coffee cup tightly. Meanwhile, Emma reciprocated Shane's gesture with a kiss on his cheek as they exchanged pleasantries. She then took Shawn's coffee mug, and he sipped from it, while she frowned but ultimately forced a small smile before turning her attention back to Shane.

Suddenly, Shawn's authoritative tone sliced through the air, causing Emma to flinch in her seat. She tried to study his face, which was marked by a hard scowl, clenched jaw, and gritted teeth.

"Sha..." Gathering her courage, she began to ask what was bothering him, but she was cut off by his roaring voice.

"Why the hell did you add sugar to my coffee? Don't you know I hate extra sugar?" he snapped, glaring at Shane, who was engrossed in his phone, seemingly uninterested in his brother's outburst. The caretaker, with his head hung low, trembled, even though he hadn't done anything wrong.

"And where is my... breakfast?" Shawn growled, rising to his feet.

Taking a few steps back, the caretaker stammered, explaining that he had been preparing it when Shawn demanded it.

"How long does it take you to do your job, huh? Just get out of my sight before I fire you. I don't want anything now," Shawn declared before pushing his chair away and leaving for upstairs with heavy footsteps.

The caretaker, Elen, fought back the urge to cry and reached for the coffee cup to return it to the kitchen. However, Emma's trance was broken, and she stopped him.

"I'm sorry, brother... Please don't take it to heart. It wasn't your fault," she said, trying to console him.

"Yeah, don't pay him any mind. He's just a grumpy old man, always in a foul mood and a jerk to everyone. Just ignore him, like I do," Shane chimed in, earning a glare from Emma.

"What?" Shane said defensively, and Emma merely shrugged.

"It's alright; you can leave it here. I'll have it. And don't let it ruin your mood; after all, it's your birthday today. Actually, how about a day off? You can enjoy your birthday. Mariah, Carey, and Jenny will handle the rest," Emma suggested casually, surprising Elen, who was touched that she remembered his birthday.

"Thank you, ma'am. But, sir..." Elen tried to decline, concerned about George's reaction, but Emma assured him that she would handle everything. She and Shane wished him a happy birthday with bright smiles before he left.

Emma then slumped back in her seat after bidding him farewell and frowned as she contemplated Shawn's strange cold behavior after Shane's arrival. Those furious glares exchanged between him and her at the end left her puzzled. Eventually, they both shrugged it off, as Shane taking her cup sips from it while she reached for Shawn's and sipped from it to soothe her headache.

"I can't taste your lips, I know, but at least I can taste your leftover coffee," she mused to herself.

"Hey, what happened?" Shane asked, elbowing Shawn, and Emma shrugged her shoulders.

He then says about the event she wants to attend and mentioned to him last night before leaving for club. And as the conversation takes its pace, they gets lost in it forgetting about Shawn and his behaviour. And like that they chatted for a while until their coffee ran out, and then Shane became engrossed in a phone call while Emma, feeling bored, decided to go upstairs after informing him.

But gets caught on her way to go upstairs as something eye pleasing catches her attention and she gets bounded by heart to commit another mistake.

Oh-My-Lord!!!