LOGINEmmaIva sits with me a little longer and tries to cheer me up. “If digging through those old records doesn’t turn up anything, I’ll hire a private investigator to help find your biological father.”“No,” I snap, shaking my head. “I don’t want to bother you with all my problems. And besides, that kind of thing costs a lot of money. I can’t let you do that.”Iva smiles softly. “I know. But I'm willing to help.I sit there for a while, staring at my hands, thinking. Then I look up at her. “Why are you helping me so much? You barely even know me. I mean… why do you care this much?”She smiles again, but this time there’s something sad in her eyes. “You remind me so much of my younger sister. It’s funny, she had the same name as you. Emma.”I feel a small smile tug at my lips. My heart feels a bit warmer. “I’d like to meet her one day. She sounds nice if she’s anything like you.”Suddenly Iva looks away. Her face changes completely. The smile fades and she looks really sad.“Oh no! Did I
I sit at the table, my gaze fixed on the food in front of me. The fork in my hand feels too heavy, like I can't summon the energy to lift it. Each bite I take feels like I’m swallowing something I don’t want, and even the taste seems wrong. I push the plate aside, feeling the weight of it in my stomach, but my mind isn’t focused on food.Iva glances at me from her laptop, her eyes softening when she notices. "What’s wrong, Emma? You haven’t eaten anything.""I’m just not hungry," I murmur. "I don’t feel like eating."Her expression shifts into something kind and understanding, a soft smile that doesn’t reach her eyes but says everything without words."I understand," she says gently. "Everything will be okay. I’m here for you."I nod, the tightness in my chest threatening to break open. I try to keep the tears from spilling over, but it’s like the dam is weakening with each passing second. “Thank you,” I whisper, barely able to keep the words steady.Iva’s gaze flickers with concern
EmmaI sit on my bed, knees pulled up to my chest.My work clothes still cling to my skin, stiff and uncomfortable, like they no longer belong to me.I’ve been avoiding Iva all night. Every time she knocks on my door, asking me what happened, I turn her away. Earlier, she knocked twice. I lied and told her it was just another argument with my stepfather. She believes me, because that’s how it always is at home.But that’s not the truth. The scene keeps replaying in my mind. Knox and Mr. Adams, standing there, their eyes cold. Their words cut through me like knives. They accused me of leaking client data. They said they had proof. But that is no proof, because I didn’t do it.Tears pour down my face. I can’t stop them. I wouldn’t ever do that. My work is the only thing I have left. Why would I destroy it?The door creaks open, and I quickly wipe my eyes, trying to hide the evidence of my tears. My hands shake as I scrub my face.Iva peeks in, her eyes immediately softening with conce
KnoxI sit behind this massive oak desk, knuckles white from how hard I’m gripping the edge. The evening light coming through the tall windows.Mr. Adams is across from me, laptop balanced on his lap, looking all pale and fidgety under that screen glow.“So you’re telling me we got compromised?” I ask, voice low, but I can hear the rage barely holding back.He nods slowly, pushes his glasses up with a shaky finger. “Yes. I was digging into those missing funds and this popped up. Someone’s been leaking client data to the competitors. The trail goes right to one of Emma's logins.”My stomach drops. I can’t wrap my head around it. Emma? Doing this to me? I trusted her with everything. Let her get way too close, into my life, into my damn heart. Now this betrayal is staring me right in the face. Was it her mother pushing her? Or did she cook this up herself? The thoughts burn like acid in my gut. All this time I thought she actually loved me, and she could just turn on me like that. Mak
EmmaHe reaches for my hand again. I pull it back before I can even think about it. That actually hurts, like a pain deep inside my chest that will not go away. Every part of me wants to fall into him to disappear where it feels safe and warm.I cannot do that anymore. Not after everything that has happened."So that is it then?" he says, his voice rough with disappointment at first then it quickly changes to something angrier. "You are seriously not going to change your mind?"I cannot even look at him. If I make eye contact with him for one second I will completely lose it. So I stare at things instead. His laptop, the edge of the desk, the floor. Anything but his face."Do not make this harder," I say. My voice is tiny and weak, barely loud enough for him to hear.He steps closer, his voice dropping lower. "Then let us fight for this Emma. Come on. You are really going to throw it all? All those nights, every promise, every time I held you and swore I would never let anything hurt
EmmaThe day drags on, and I do my best to focus on the work in front of me, pushing everything else out of my mind. The sound of typing and the soft murmur of office noise all serve as a distraction. I need to stay busy, need to bury myself in something just to keep from succumbing to the mess inside my head.I’ve just finished replying to a string of emails when the click of heels echoes through the office. The sound grows louder, and before I can fully register what’s happening, my mother is walking towards my desk. I freeze, my heart thudding loudly in my chest.Then she walks past my desk without so much as a glance and heads straight to Iva’s desk. I watch, still sitting frozen in my chair, as my mother drops her laptop in front of Iva with a sharp, irritated movement. My heart sinks as I see the tension on Iva’s face.“What is this nonsense?” my mother snaps, her voice icy. “You were supposed to get the details of every lead you found. Where are they?”Iva looks up from her
KnoxThe soy sauce hits the table with a deliberate clink. Too loud. I feel it in my molars.Emma’s thighs have already parted from the movement of her legs. And the sight of it almost makes me laugh out loud. Not because it’s funny. Because it’s pathetic how badly she’s trying to pretend she stil
EmmaI am still under the desk when he finishes.His hand tightens in my hair one time, his hips jerking forward and then I feel the hot liquid hitting the back of my throat. I swallow fast.He groans and then he pets my head. “Good girl.”My knees hurt when they press against the floor. My thighs
KnoxStanding at the rooftop, pain tearing through my heart.The moment she left, I felt a void inside of me. I'm still drenched with water, my wet clothes stuck to my body like a second skin.The starlit sky illuminated the entire space but all I felt was darkness from the anguish surging through
EmmaThank the heavens I had cleared up the mess in the living room after I left Knox's room.Every thing was going smoothly, well, I'm pretending it is. Until I heard his voice. The man I just had explosive sex with, Knox.I was so embarrassed, no, tgsts not the word to use. I was drenched in sham







