Chapter Two

                          Chapter Two

The distinct and compelling rays of the sun coming from the window were what woke Emily up from her sleep.

She exhaled and put her face deep in the pillow. It was at that point that the fact hit her. She started recalling everything that happened last night.

That was when she realized

She was in a very large suite of a penthouse all by herself.

The other end of the bed was cold because the stranger had disappeared.

Her anniversary dress was neatly folded on the edge of an armchair with a small white paper also folded nicely beside it,

Emily opened the paper, and the handwriting was neat and deliberate. "You deserved better" boldly written below it, was only two initials.—D.K. Emily glanced hard.

Who could he be? Why do the initials look strangely familiar?

A quick knock at the suite door made her jump. "Your car is waiting, Ma'am" a woman's voice said quickly.

Emily jumped out of bed. What car? She asked, but fear had already gripped her.

She put on her dress quickly, put

the note inside her purse, and ran.

Her phone started buzzing by the time she entered the car.

It was Ryan. He had already left her twenty-three missed calls and seven messages. While Vanessa left her nine missed calls.

Emily switched off the phone off very fast.

She she didn'thave the emotional resilliance to speak about that, not yet.

As the vehicle drove out, she grabbed the note from her purse and read it again. D.K.

The initials resounded in her head. But before she could recall them, an enormous digital billboard lit up over the avenue. A nicely dressed dude looked down from it. That was the exact stranger from last night.

Below his picture, bold silver letters blinked over the screen:

DAMIAN KNIGHT

CEO OF KNIGHT GLOBAL

HOSTILE TAKEOVER OF CARTER HOLDINGS

Emily’s breath ceased.

Damian Knight.

Ryan’s archenemy.

And the stranger she had just had a one-night with. Her phone beeped over and over.

An alert of the news brightened the screen. Emergency Carter Holdings Gala Tonight: Damian Knight will be in attendance. Emily looked at the headline and then at the billboard, then at the note trembling in her hand. She concluded that this was only the inception of her anguish.

The car dropped off Emily outside of the penthouse she and Ryan shared.

Emily sat still for a minute, with her fingers grabbing her clutch purse firmly, before she stepped out.

The footman gave her a suspicious look.

“Mrs. Carter, your husband came back home by six this morning.”

Maybe expecting her to come back begging in tears. She entered the building quickly, rode on the elevator to the thirty-second floor, and pushed the door wide open. Ryan was already there waiting and the moment he saw her, he called out “Emily” his voice was filled with relief. She looked at him for a moment.

For three years, Ryan was her whole world. The only thing she can see now is a stranger. “For how long?” “Emily, please”

“How long?” “It is not exactly as you saw it.”

A very bitter laughter popped out.

“Is that so? Because from where I was standing, it seemed like my husband of three years was sleeping with Vanessa, my best friend, in our anniversary suite.”

“Emily, listen” “No you listen.”

She moved closer, and Angee finally took over.

“I stood outside that door for minutes thinking just maybe we could make this work. I even have a gift for you because this night meant something to me.” “It doesn't matter.” “Stop lying!”

The words resounded around the house.

For the very first time, Emily shouted at him. Ryan gazed at he as if he did not know who she was. That is a good thing because she doesn't recognize herself.

“For how long?” she repeated the question. His quietness was enough of an answer. Tears ran through her eyes.

“Has it been months?” Still, no answer. “Years?” “No!” he replied quickly. “It began three months ago.”

Three months? That was actually when he began getting distant. “Why? “It was a mistake,” Ryan said quickly. That did it for Emily. She brought out the velvet watch box from her purse and smashed it into the wall. Ryan flinched. “That was the gift I bought you for our anniversary.” The penthouse door opened before he could reply, and Vanessa stepped in. She was shaking when she saw Emily standing there. For one minute, there was silence between them. Then Vanessa composed herself. “Emily.” She called her without shame or guilt, just tension. Emily felt something ignite inside her. She paced through the room before she could process what was going on and she gave Vanessa a slap across the face. Vanessa fell backward, holding her cheek. Ryan rushed forward. “Emily!” “Don’t you lay those dirty hands on me.”

The bitterness in her tonesurprised him.

Vanessa’s eyes were bulging.

Emily never thought of hitting anyone in her entire life. But the hurt she felt in her palm was gratifying. “You assisted me in choosing my dress,” Emily said, with her voice shaking in anger. “You told me he would appreciate the surprise because men love surprises” “Emily, I can explain.”

“Please go on, I am all ears.”

Vanessa looked at Ryan, but that look was a big mistake because Emily understood it, the hidden communication. This affair is not a mistake,it was planned and it has been going on. She was even more upset at this point. “How many times?” she muttered. None of them responded. That was just the confirmation she needed.

Emily opened the door, took Vanessa’s

handbag, and threw it at her. “Leave.” “Get out!” she yelled again. Vanessa carried her bag and for a while, she felt embarrassed.

Then she fixed her face and walked out.

The door closed behind her. Ryan shifted to face Emily. “Emily, I know what I did looks unforgivable, but I swear—”

“You swear?” She gazed at him.

“That is laughable because I used to trust that your assurance meant something.”

He moved toward her and she moved backwards. “Are you leaving me?”

The question was so silly that Emily almost laughed. “You slept with Vanessa, my best friend, Ryan.” “It doesn't mean anything.”

For the first time, he ran out of lies to tell.

Emily removed her wedding ring. The diamond ring that once felt like security, now felt like a chain. She put it on the coffee table between them. Ryan looked at it for a while. “Emily” “I’m done with this.”

His heart was racing.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“We can make this right.” “There is no we between you and me anymore.”

She left him there and stepped into the bedroom.

“Where are you going?” “To get my things of course.” Ryan was full of panic. “Emily, wait.” He walked after her.

She turned around and yelled “Don’t.”

For the first very first time in three years, Ryan was full of fear. As he should be.

Because as Emily pulled out a travel bag from the wardrobe and threw it on the bed, something frightening dawned on her,

she hadn't figured out where she was moving to. But one thing is for sure, she couldn't stay here anymore.

Not after what she witnessed last night.

Especially not after learning that, Damian Knight, the man who had made love to her while she was in anguish was the exact man who was preparing to ruin her husband.

And as her phone buzzed again, a new message appeared on the screen, it was an unidentified number this time.

I need to talk to you tonight. Below it was a name, Damian Knight