Amelia sat motionless on the couch, sunk deep into the cushions like the weight of her failure was physically holding her down. Aaron hadn’t even spared her a glance—he’d just handed her off to his bodyguards and left without a word.
Fury surged in her chest. She lashed out, kicking the coffee table in front of her. The heavy glass piece didn’t move much, but one of its legs slid off the rug and scraped sharply against the hardwood floor.
The screech cut through the silence like a blade, echoing mockingly in the quiet apartment, as if the noise itself was laughing at her—at her humiliation, at her losing grip.
Both her knees were still bandaged, raw and stinging from the fall. Any movement tugged at the wounds, but the pain was nothing compared to the rage that burned inside her.
Amelia sat motionless on the couch, sunk deep into the cushions like the weight of her failure was physically holding her down. Aaron hadn’t even spared her a glance—he’d just handed her off to his bodyguards and left without a word.Fury surged in her chest. She lashed out, kicking the coffee table in front of her. The heavy glass piece didn’t move much, but one of its legs slid off the rug and scraped sharply against the hardwood floor.The screech cut through the silence like a blade, echoing mockingly in the quiet apartment, as if the noise itself was laughing at her—at her humiliation, at her losing grip.Both her knees were still bandaged, raw and stinging from the fall. Any movement tugged at the wounds, but the pain was nothing compared to the rage that burned inside her.
Aaron was drenched in sweat. Ever since receiving Emily’s medical report, a thought had started to gnaw at him—was there even the slimmest chance that the baby she was carrying... was his?At 2 p.m., the Lopez estate was quiet—until the sudden sound of an approaching car. The butler, surprised, rushed to the door. Aaron wasn’t expected home, certainly not at this hour. Neither he nor the housemaids had ever seen Aaron return so early.The moment Aaron stepped out of the car, he stormed toward the front entrance, his strides wide, urgency written all over his face. The butler hurried to open the door.Without even removing his coat, Aaron barked an order: "Bring Mia—the maid who handled Emily’s meals."Less than a minute later, Mia was
Emily’s eyes lit up, a flicker of hope cutting through the haze.“What do you mean?” Her voice held both surprise and worry. “But I can’t take your money. That debt belongs to Aaron. He should pay for what he did.”She assumed Theo meant covering the bar’s two million himself—an impossible sum she couldn’t imagine repaying. Whether or not that amount was a small change to Theo didn’t matter. She couldn’t let him carry it.But Theo quickly clarified, “It’s not what you think.”Emily looked at him, puzzled.“Trust me,” he said steadily. “I’ve got a way to fix this properly.”
Aaron exploded like a storm.Just moments ago, Theo’s bodyguards had shown up in time to stop him. All he could do was watch helplessly as Theo whisked Emily away right in front of his eyes.Furious, he slammed his fist against the car door with a heavy thud. The metal rang with the force of it, the door visibly shaking. Pain shot up his hand like an electric jolt—like he needed the sting to snap him out of the chaos in his head.His assistant, Leo, stood off to the side with his head down, hands clasped politely in front of him. He’d already borne the brunt of Aaron’s fury just now—accused of incompetence for failing to report Emily’s hospital visit.Aaron had made it clear: he was supposed to be informed about everything
"Helped her?" Aaron looked genuinely surprised.Amelia put on a pitiful face, her voice soft, eyes wide. “I knew she meant a lot to you… so when I saw her about to fall, I didn’t even think. I just reacted.”Aaron’s expression turned serious. He spun around toward the doorway where Emily and Theo were just about to step out. “Emily, don’t you think you owe someone an explanation? Ami just helped you, and you’re leaving without even a thank you?”Emily paused mid-step, confused. She hadn’t heard what Amelia said earlier—and had no idea what the hell Aaron was talking about. She didn’t even remember almost falling.Before she could speak, Theo’s voice cut through the tension, sharp as a blade. “Helped? Or pushed?”Amelia’s face went white. “Excuse me? Why would I push her?!”She couldn’t believe this—this man, who looked so polished and composed, was accusing her like she was nothing. He hadn’t even checked on her after she fell—hadn’t shown the slightest concern. Every man she’d ever
Emily and Amelia were both taken to the nearby clinic for treatment. Before the way, Amelia kept her head down, sparing only two humiliated, angry glances at Emily and Theo before going quiet.No one really knew how the accident had happened.Emily recalled that she’d only been trying to get away from Amelia, who was badgering her endlessly. She’d taken a step forward, twisted her ankle slightly, and instinctively bent over for a moment. When she looked up, Amelia was already on the ground.Maybe Amelia had tried to grab her and lost her balance in the process.Amelia’s injuries were quite serious—her palms and legs were scraped up, and there was a nasty red gash across one of her calves, probably from hitting the edge of the steps. The clin
"I hope you remember WHAT you said before—you said we shouldn’t meet alone ever again," Emily said, looking calmly at the uninvited guest standing in front of her.It felt like ever since she’d joined the company, nearly every bit of drama had ambushed her right in this building.And now, it was Amelia’s turn.Emily knew exactly why Amelia looked so anxious and wound up—it was because she had left her message from yesterday on read. Not replying only made Amelia more desperate.Amelia lifted her chin, trying to look composed. Her gaze flicked to Emily’s stomach. “You’ve done a good job hiding it...”“You can pretend you never saw anything,” Emily replied coolly
Perhaps it was guilt gnawing at Aaron, but whatever the reason, he ended up staying for hours—well into the night—before finally leaving.The moment his foot stepped out the door, Amelia’s expression dropped like a mask slipping.Of course she thought this place wasn’t nearly big enough. Her sorry excuse of an ex-husband had made her sign a prenup before they got married, like she was some schemer he had to guard against.So when they split, all she was left with were a few gifts—nothing more.The car he gave her? Sold long before she came back. The designer bags and jewelry? Barely worth anything secondhand. She kept them for appearances&rsquo
Amelia spun around at the sound of Aaron’s voice, nearly dropping her phone in shock.Aaron had been in a foul mood all day—frustrated, irritable. As his car passed near Amelia’s apartment, he figured he’d stop by, since he hadn’t reached out to her in over a week.She’d given him the door code a while back, saying he could come by anytime. He didn’t expect to walk in and hear her sounding so agitated on the phone.He tossed his jacket onto the sofa, tugged at his pant leg as he sat down, and glanced up. Amelia was still frozen, her face full of panic."Why’re you so nervous?" he asked calmly, but there was a subtle edge in his voice.Her mouth opened, but no words came ou