Without another word, Gregory grabbed me so tightly that the air escaped from my lungs, making it impossible for me to breathe. Why, after all, did he look so terrified, as if I were in danger? His hands around my back and his face buried in my neck left me completely frozen.A few hours ago, he sent me a message letting me know he would be late. Gregory had bought me a new phone as soon as we returned to the city and made me promise that I would not change my number again. It was a somewhat hard promise to keep, but I agreed. It had been clear since the beginning of our marriage that messages or phone updates like this would not exist between us. Gregory never explained his schedule to me, and on many nights, he didn’t even come home.Yet there he was, holding on to me, worried about things that hadn’t happened.After a moment, he let go of me, faster than he had embraced me. Blinking rapidly a few times, he stepped back as if realizing he was making a mistake.“Did you have any stra
Emma.The side of the bed was empty. Gregory had left so early that I hadn’t even heard a single noise from him. I didn’t find my exhaustion unusual—after all, I had been feeling this way for days since I discovered the illness. I looked at the rumpled sheet, the messy spot he had left beside me, and thought about how comfortable he felt sleeping with me, even though I had nothing to offer.Not only that, but I got up and went straight to the kitchen. After living for so many years in Gregory’s enormous house, I had grown accustomed to walking a long distance from my bedroom to the kitchen, but here, I just had to open a door, and I was already in another room. Just a few steps, and I was in front of the sink, the stove, and the refrigerator.Lia had already arrived and was making coffee. I huffed in disappointment, watching them chew their food while I fed myself with a dark brown liquid that was ingested through my nose. I couldn’t blame anyone but myself. Likewise, I refused to eat
Gregory.I couldn’t understand the warmth in my stomach or the rapid beating of my heart when I looked at Emma while she slept. She was so still that morning that I had to check her breathing. I leaned my face close to her nose until I felt the warm air coming out of it.Emma was still breathing, but it was the closeness of my face to hers that nearly gave me a heart attack. I immediately pulled away. I got up, trembling. Heat is rising to my neck. I rushed to the bathroom to cool down and break free from all the forbidden thoughts circling my mind.I composed myself mentally before leaving the room without looking at Emma. Not only that, but I closed my eyes and only opened them once I was outside. When I ran into Lia, the nurse, she analyzed me as if trying to guess what I had been doing.“Is everything okay, Mr. Gregory?” My eyes widened immediately.“I’m great!” I should have told her that the morning light bothered me, but I spared her the lie.I quickly passed by and left the ho
Emma.I chewed my food and refused to swallow it. I wondered where the promise of not letting Gregory’s actions affect me had gone. Now, I felt anguish because I had believed things would be different, and Gregory had disappointed me for the thousandth time.I felt the tears welling up as my face inevitably grew hot. I put my plate aside under the watchful eyes of Lia and Samantha. They protested, but I was faster—I walked to the bedroom and locked myself in the bathroom.It wasn’t fair what Gregory was doing to me. He wanted to keep me by his side until the last day of my life, yet he did everything he could to make me hate him. He had risked his life to save me from Edward after searching for me tirelessly, but right now, he was breaking his promises.I searched for actions that could give him some credit, but they always came with mistakes Gregory made right after. I shoved the anguish into the deepest, coldest place in my heart and locked it away. Not only that, but I refused to c
Gregory.I only realized what I had said when I parked the car and looked at Emma. Her face was red, and her mouth was slightly open, astonished by my last words. I ignored her reaction and got out of the car. Walking around the vehicle, I opened the door for her to step out. I could still feel her warm gaze on me, watching every step and every gesture I made.It was strange for her to see me acting like this; for me, it was almost unbelievable. But I could no longer avoid it, not for Emma.I wrapped my hand around hers and led her to the restaurant in silence. I avoided telling Emma the details of what had happened that morning. Not only that, but I could explain it to her, and even then, she wouldn’t accept that Edward was doing absurd things to keep me away from her.I remembered the exact moment he locked me in the office. I was on the twentieth floor of the building; there were no emergency exits, and there was no way I could jump out the window to escape. When I heard the door o
Emma.Gregory pressed his lips against mine as I stood there, eyes wide open, feeling his kiss. My heart pounded uncontrollably, and an unbearable heat rose to my neck. His warm breath touching my skin sent a shiver all the way up to my ears.I quickly pulled away—actually, I pushed Gregory away. My chest rose and fell heavily as he looked at me as if he had just made the biggest mistake of his entire life.My fingers stopped at my lips—I needed to touch them to know if what had just happened was real.Forget this, Emma, I told myself as the first raindrops began to fall.“That’s enough wandering for today,” my face hardened, similar to the sky above my head. “I want to go home.”At my words, Gregory’s face tensed, and he let out a deep breath. Without waiting for any excuse, I turned my back and rushed to the vehicle before he could reach me and make the moment even stranger than it already was.This time, Gregory didn’t open the door for me. He simply unlocked the car, we both got i
Gregory.I was still tormenting myself inside for kissing Emma and not giving her any explanation afterward. It wasn’t that I hadn’t liked the kiss or anything like that. I just didn’t want to confess the reasons for doing it, and it definitely wasn’t sympathizing for Emma.Her reaction after the kiss left me speechless. She didn’t know what to say, and I would rather not say anything either. It was a kiss between two people who were married and were even going to have a child together. In other times, I wouldn’t even have remembered that kiss, but I was no longer the same Gregory as always.After she said that I felt sorry for her, I left the room, even knowing that Emma needed my help. I asked Lia to take care of her while I went out to clear my mind. My walk didn’t take me far, but it gave me time to think when my phone vibrated and Lia informed me of what had happened.I was uncomfortable and hated the fact that Emma was constantly on my mind. I should have been happy that she wan
Emma.I had a strange dream last night. I dreamed of my funeral.Not only that, but I woke up startled. Looking to the side, I saw the empty bed. I never woke up to see Gregory beside me. A lump formed in my throat when I remembered that, in the dream, he was crying over my death. I crushed any urge to cry, got up, and prepared myself to go to the hospital that day.Gregory was probably already at work, and he wouldn’t be by my side that day.The door to my room opened just as I was getting up, and I stumbled backward when I saw Gregory’s face standing in front of me. He was holding a breakfast tray in his hands, barefoot, wearing only a pair of shorts. Why did I even notice that detail about his uncovered body?“Good morning, Emma,” he said, closing the door with his foot and smiling at me.I must have been dreaming. That couldn’t be real.“What are you doing here?” I asked, still in shock.“I’m taking you to the hospital.” He placed the tray beside me and sat down, watching me with
EmmaWhen I woke up, Gregory was no longer by my side. Lia was dozing, her mouth open, and I found it funny the way she slept, but the smile disappeared as soon as I looked around and didn’t see him.I had asked him in the past few days to leave, to disappear from my life. I had ardently wished for that to happen, but when I didn’t see him, a wave of despair took over my chest.Waking up without him by my side scared me. I shook Lia, and she woke up startled. She looked at me and, after a while, realized where she was. I gave her a moment to recover and to ask where Gregory was.“He went home,” she got up, stretching, “and he said he needed to get back to work. He’s the president of the company now. Isn’t that amazing?”Lia reminded me of the reasons that drove me away from Gregory. The lies he told me, the truth he refused and hid from me, the way he used me for the second time. My heart started to ache again, and I began to feel angry at him once more.Why should I miss a man who, e
Gregory.Emma spent all her time with her face turned away from mine. She refused my help and yelled at me. She was unrecognizable, as if she were no longer the Emma I knew and fell in love with. I suffered seeing the distance she was building between us, but I refused to abandon her. I would stay there and fight for her until the end.After she fell asleep, Lia showed up. I would rather not leave her; I would have dismissed Lia if necessary just to stay by Emma’s side, but I needed to go home—I had a company to run that had been leaderless for two days.I stood up, leaned over, and gave a brief kiss on my wife’s forehead. She moved but didn’t wake up. I would hate to think that could be the last kiss exchanged between us.I left the room knowing I needed to visit Helena and take care of her too. That was when Emma’s doctor suddenly appeared, as if he had predicted my departure, and invited me for a brief conversation.Since Emma’s surgery, he hadn’t said anything about her actual hea
Emma.My heart now seemed to be pumping so much blood that I thought it would collapse under the pressure. My breathing was heavy, and my head spun endlessly with Gregory’s words. An impulsive cry tore through my throat.Lia’s appearance soaked my face. She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped my face.“I knew it wasn’t a good idea to leave you alone,” her hands trembled, and I could see how afraid she was. “I thought your surgery would only be in a few weeks.”But I couldn’t stop thinking about Gregory and everything I knew and heard. He said he loved me, and for a long time, I believed it. Gregory had shown in the most faithful way that what he said was true, but now none of it seemed to make sense. It was as if that love had never existed.I blamed myself for believing him.I felt bad for not being able to comfort Lia.She had grown so attached to me that she suffered at the thought of seeing me die. I should have refused Gregory’s help and walked away. That decision would have spar
Gregory.I drove as fast as I could to reach Emma. I couldn’t believe Helena would tell her my secret; I had asked my grandmother to be discreet, and she was good at keeping information. Not only that, but I feared that Emma would find out the truth that wasn’t from my lips.I knew where she was going, even though Emma hadn’t told me anything. Occasionally, I found myself surprised by how well I knew my woman. I knew exactly how Emma would act in cases like this. When she was angry, she always sought the shortest path to rid herself of her problems.I let out a sigh when I saw Lia at the reception desk, but she didn’t seem happy to see me at all. Her eyes widened, and she held her breath. Should I remind her that her boss — whether me or not anymore — was no longer the kind of man who pressured people? Here, Emma’s life was at stake — or rather, our marriage was. I needed to stop Emma from doing something crazy.“Where is she?” I approached, but Lia averted her gaze as if it were too
Emma.An hour ago, Lia snatched the phone from my hands and disconnected every screen device in the house. She said the order had come from my husband. Her face was heavy, like someone hiding a big secret. Immediately, I fought against my nurse. I lunged at Lia so she would give me the phone back, and she didn’t resist.The news was there, with a photo of Gregory and Helena being placed in an ambulance.The company appointed Gregory as its new president today amid many controversies.“What the hell is going on here?” My tearful eyes reached Lia. “Is this what you were trying to hide from me?”It was unfair of me to blame Lia. She was only following Gregory’s orders. I wanted to run to him and demand the truth, but something held me back, telling me to stay because Gregory would soon show up.And it didn’t take long for him to appear. Half an hour later, Gregory was standing in front of me, his eyes filled with pain. He knew the mistake he had made and he also knew the consequences tha
Gregory.I was able to see the exact moment they rushed to help Helena and take her to the hospital. If Edward intended to cause chaos, he had succeeded. I abandoned everything to go with her. In the past, I wouldn't have cared about leaving her in a hospital under someone else's care, but now I do. Helena was the only living family I had.The only one—because to me, Edward was nothing. He was born to make my life unbearable, and he was succeeding. He would only rest when he had taken everything from me and then some. I tried to forget all the confusion and help Helena. I knew that my presence would only worsen her condition, but I couldn’t leave her alone at that moment.When I got into the ambulance, she looked into my eyes and said, her voice trembling:“I always suspected that you and Emma didn’t truly love each other.”“Let’s save that conversation for later.” I turned my face away from hers. “You need to focus on your health now.”“Later, when, Gregory? When I’m dead? Do you pla
Gregory“Sir, we installed the cameras,” the head of security reported, entering my office to complete his task.“All of them? Are you sure?” I looked into his eyes, scrutinizing him. I couldn’t let anything slip by.“Positive, sir. If anyone enters the mansion, we’ll know.”I didn’t feel safe or at ease. Now that my grandfather gave me his entire inheritance, I could imagine Edward’s fury. His goal had always been to destroy me, even before our grandfather passed away. Now that the game had shifted, and the situation seemed to be in my favor, Edward wouldn’t just stand by watching me win.“Great!” I grabbed my briefcase from the desk and took one last look at my reflection in the mirror, noticing that I was ready to go take my place.Strangely, I wasn’t as happy as I thought I would be. The feeling of deceiving Emma burned inside me. I had already learned, in the cruelest way, the price paid for the wrong choices we make.“Keep an eye on Emma twenty-four hours a day. Don’t let her le
GregoryI still couldn’t believe that the inheritance I had fought so hard for was finally mine. The message I received that morning said I needed to sign the documents, and everything my grandfather had denied me would be passed on to me.I looked at Emma and felt that nothing seemed to make sense anymore. I would trade everything I had achieved to save her life. Even though I had fought bravely for that money, if Emma wasn’t with me to enjoy those benefits, nothing would be worth it.She asked me if there was something wrong, and cowardly I denied any information. I was still looking for a way to tell Emma the whole truth until I found that solution. I kept lying, deceiving her, knowing that when Emma found out, she would never forgive me.Anyone would understand that I had used her and the illness to gain Helena’s kindness, but I never once asked for the will to be changed. Helena was doing it more for my wife than for me, but Emma wouldn’t understand. It was because of that inheri
Emma.The illness had given a truce.Gregory and I didn’t discuss the illness anymore during the days we spent in Spain. Everything was so perfect that I didn’t want to go back home to that reality where Mason, Edward, Ayla, and so many other people I no longer wanted to see existed.I cuddled up with him in bed, listening to his heartbeat, when his phone vibrated beside us. Gregory didn’t move. He was sleeping so deeply that even if there were noise, he wouldn’t wake up to answer. I stretched out my arm and picked up the device. On the notification tab, there was a message from Gregory’s lawyer saying he needed to return to sign the documents.Gregory stirred, and I immediately put the phone back. We didn’t have the habit of going through each other’s things. Gregory didn’t check my phone, and I didn’t check his. In the past, I wouldn’t have even dared to touch that device. I remember Gregory always keeping it out of my reach while exchanging intimate messages with Alya—or at least,