Library
Search
Home / Romance / HEAT BETWEEN THE LINES / Separate Corners

Share

Separate Corners

Author: Charles
last update Last Updated: 2025-09-16 02:01:05

After their confrontation in Jake's office, both Emma and Jake retreated to lick their wounds. The emotional intensity of finally voicing their fears and frustrations had left them both drained, and despite the moment of connection at the end, they needed space to process what had happened.

Emma sat in her apartment that evening, staring at her laptop screen without really seeing it. The fight with Jake had been devastating and cathartic in equal measure. For the first time since their kiss, she'd been completely honest about her fears, and Jake had been honest about his hurt. But now, in the quiet of her own space, Emma wasn't sure where that honesty left them.

She picked up her phone three times to call Maya, then set it down again. Part of her knew exactly what Maya would say that she'd been an idiot to push Jake away, that she was lucky he was still willing to fight for their relationship. But another part of her still wondered if she'd been right to try to maintain professiona
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Locked Chapter
Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Latest chapter

  • HEAT BETWEEN THE LINES    Emma's Decision

    Emma woke up in Jake's arms the morning after his proposal, sunlight streaming through the windows and the diamond ring he'd produced from somewhere in his nightstand sparkling on her finger. She lay still for several minutes, marveling at how different this felt from waking up after any other life changing moment there was no anxiety, no second guessing, just profound contentment and excitement about their future. Jake stirred beside her, his arms tightening around her as he woke. "Good morning, fiancée," he said softly, his voice warm with sleep and happiness. Emma turned in Jake's arms to face him, still amazed by how right everything felt. "Good morning, fiancé. I have to say, your timing last night was perfect." Jake's smile was tender and slightly amused. "You mean proposing right after you'd definitively closed the door on your past?" Emma thought about the evening's progression facing Marcus's manipulation with clarity, coming home to Jake's unwavering support, and then h

  • HEAT BETWEEN THE LINES    Midnight Confessions

    Emma returned to Jake's apartment at nearly eleven PM, finding him reading in bed with a cup of tea cooling on his nightstand. He looked up when she entered, immediately setting aside his book and studying her face for signs of how the evening had gone. "How was dinner with Marcus?" Jake asked, his voice carefully neutral despite the obvious concern in his eyes. Emma kicked off her shoes and moved to sit on the edge of Jake's bed, feeling emotionally drained but also strangely energized by the clarity she'd gained about her past and her present. "Jake, you were completely right to be concerned about Marcus's motives. He didn't want to apologize or make amends he wanted to use my current success to revive his own stalled career." Jake set down his tea and gave Emma his full attention. "What did he propose?" Emma found herself smiling despite the manipulative nature of Marcus's offer. "He wanted us to co-author a book together. He had a mock-up cover made with both our names, talk

  • HEAT BETWEEN THE LINES    Professional Dinner

    Emma chose a neutral restaurant downtown for her meeting with Marcus somewhere public and professional that wouldn't give him any opportunity to create false intimacy or manipulate the setting to his advantage. She arrived fifteen minutes early, wanting to be settled and confident when he appeared. Marcus looked exactly as she remembered: polished, charming, with the kind of practiced smile that had once made her feel special but now struck her as calculated. He approached her table with the easy confidence of someone who had never truly faced consequences for his actions. "Emma," Marcus said, leaning in for a kiss on the cheek that Emma deflected into a handshake. "You look wonderful. Success suits you." Emma studied Marcus as he settled into his chair, noting how quickly he'd tried to establish physical familiarity and how smoothly he'd moved to commenting on her appearance. These were tactics she recognized now as manipulation rather than charm. "Marcus, thank you for reaching

  • HEAT BETWEEN THE LINES    Jake's Jealousy

    Jake tried to act casual when Emma told him about the lunch invitation, but Emma could see the tension in his shoulders as he processed the information. "So Marcus wants to meet with you," Jake said, his voice carefully neutral as he continued chopping vegetables for their dinner. "After three years of no contact, he suddenly wants to have lunch." Emma watched Jake's movements become more precise and controlled a sure sign that he was working to manage strong emotions. "Jake, I haven't responded to his email yet. I wanted to talk to you about it first." Jake set down his knife and turned to face Emma directly. "Emma, what do you want to do about Marcus's invitation?" Emma felt the weight of Jake's question, recognizing that her answer would say something important about her growth and their relationship. "Honestly? Part of me is curious about what he wants. But a bigger part of me doesn't see any point in reopening that chapter of my life." Jake nodded, but Emma could see

  • HEAT BETWEEN THE LINES    Caroline's Return

    Three weeks after Emma and Jake's reconciliation, just as they were settling into the rhythm of rebuilding their relationship with newfound honesty and trust, Emma's phone rang with a number she thought she'd never see again. "Emma Chen? This is Caroline Winters." Emma felt her stomach drop, even though she was sitting in Jake's apartment on a peaceful Saturday morning, working on revisions while Jake made breakfast in the kitchen. She had definitively rejected Caroline's offers and asked to be removed from her contact list. The fact that Caroline was calling again felt ominous. "Caroline, I thought I made it clear that I wasn't interested in changing representation," Emma said, keeping her voice steady despite the anxiety rising in her chest. "Emma, circumstances have changed. I'm calling with some information about your current situation at Meridian Publishing that I think you need to hear." Emma felt Jake's attention sharpen from the kitchen, even though he couldn't hear Caro

  • HEAT BETWEEN THE LINES    The Decision

    Jake woke up at 5 AM on Thursday morning to find Emma's messages waiting on his phone. He lay in bed reading them three times, feeling his carefully constructed emotional walls beginning to crack at Emma's raw honesty about how their relationship had transformed her as both a writer and a person. *Jake, I'm not asking you to respond tonight. I just need you to know that every authentic emotion I've learned to write, every moment of genuine vulnerability in my work, every understanding of what real love looks like all of it came from what we built together.* Jake sat up in bed, running his hands through his hair as he processed the full implications of what Emma was telling him. She wasn't just acknowledging his role in her creative development—she was admitting that their relationship had been the foundation of her artistic breakthrough. Jake made coffee and settled at his kitchen table with Emma's messages still open on his phone. In a few hours, he would meet Emma for coffee at

More Chapters

You may also like

Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status