EMMA
After that awful scene in the bedroom, I’d worried my father wouldn’t be able to stomach anything for the rest of the night. But the anti-nausea drugs he took helped, and he’d managed to eat more than a few bites of dinner and drink some lukewarm chamomile tea.It was nowhere close to how he used to eat before, but I was glad that he didn't throw up again. Immediately after dinner, my parents had gone up to their bedroom so Dad could rest well and prepare himself for another session of chemotherapy tomorrow.Sighing, I set the plate I'd just rinsed on its rack. The househelps had been willing to do the dishes as usual, but I had insisted on doing it myself. It had helped to take my mind off things.Wiping my hand with a napkin, I walked back into the hall to the living room where Celia was sitting, typing something on her laptop. Before I could sit down, the doorbell rang.“I’ll get it,” Celia said, beginning to set her laptop aside.I swallowed. Jealous?Sure, Hillary's sudden appearance had rattled me, considering everything she had stood for in the past, but that didn't mean I was jealous.Before I could throw that argument at Celia, I heard the twins yelling from the living room.“Daddy! Daddy!”My entire body went still.Liam’s voice rang clearer than Liana’s, and before I could blink, he came rushing into the kitchen, beaming.“Daddy’s here,” he said breathlessly. “He said to get you.”Celia arched a brow and sneered, “Probably done with his girlfriend now.”I ignored the tight twist in my chest and pushed my chair back. “Let’s go,” I told Liam softly, and followed him out of the kitchen.Alex stood in the living room, his hands buried in his pockets, his expression earnest. He looked up as I entered, his eyes meeting mine with something halfway between frustration and uncertainty.“Can we talk?” he asked.I gave a small shrug. “Sure.”He crouched slightly to face the twins. “Can you two give Mummy and me a
EMMAI stared at the rows of cereal boxes, but I wasn't really seeing them. My hands tightened around the handle of the shopping cart as the twins darted between shelves, their excited voices echoing through the aisle."Mummy, can we get this one?" Liam held up a garishly colored box covered in cartoon characters. I gave a vague nod, barely glancing at it before he tossed it in the cart."Liam already picked something. Can I get this?" Liana held up a different box."Sure, sweetheart," I said quietly.They both blinked at me, then exchanged a look. I knew they'd noticed I wasn't really present. I couldn't help it. My mind was stuck on what I'd seen outside Alex's office.Hillary Harris with her arms wrapped around him like she belonged there. The way she said my love had sounded so natural. And familiar. And Alex had let her.The ease of her presence. The way his arms hadn't immediately pushed her away. He hadn't even looked angry. Just stunned.Had she been in his life all this time
ALEXEverything had been going great. I'd just given the kids a tour of the company, which had brought us even closer. They both wished to do what I did when they grew up, and even though I knew they might change their minds as they aged, it still filled me with a deep sense of pride.But all that came crashing down when a familiar voice spoke and long-forgotten arms wrapped around me.I froze, my muscles going taut, mind racing.This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be her after so many years.I hadn’t seen her face in eight years, but I would have recognized that voice anywhere.Through the haze of my shock, I could make out Emma standing just a few feet away, staring.There was something raw about the way she looked at me in that moment. Something hollow. Before I could figure it out, she cleared her throat and stepped back.“We’ll go now,” she said quietly, as if she was afraid of breaking a moment apart. “The kids and I will continue to the supermarket.”Liam and Liana were alr
ALEXI was in my office reviewing some files when there was a knock. Without waiting for my call, the door opened and the person stepped in.I knew only one person who did that, so I didn't bother to look up.“Tony,” I muttered, flipping a page on the file.“Awn, I mean so much to you that you've even memorized my scent,” he said as he strolled in.Then he dropped himself into one of the chairs across from my desk like he owned it. “You need to hear what I overheard at the reception.”I looked up, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Do I?”He grinned. “Oh yes, you’ll want to hear this one. I heard three of your employees discussing that ever since you came back from your little getaway in Spain, you’ve been greeting people and smiling and saying good morning. And everybody is getting freaked out by it.”He barked out a laugh like this was the funniest thing he'd ever heard as he continued, “They’re trying to figure out if Alex Miller 'The Ogre' was replaced with Prince Charming.”I let o
I knew I should move. I should say something to stop him. Anything.Instead, I just stood in place, watching him, breathing in his cologne as his face got ever closer to mine.But just as I thought he was really going to kiss me, two small giggles cut through the moment.“Awwn, so romantic,” came the dreamy sigh of a little girl.I snapped back so quickly that my head nearly hit the fridge behind me. Heat flared across my cheeks as I spun toward the doorway.There they were, Liana and Liam, both looking far too entertained for my emotional well-being.Alex muttered a curse under his breath.Liana tilted her head innocently. “Daddy… were you going to kiss Mummy?”My eyes flew wide. “No! Of course not! Daddy was just blowing something out of my eye,” I said far too quickly. “What do you even know about kissing anyway?”Liam chuckled like an old man with secrets. “Kissing is when two people are in love and—”“Okay!” I cut him off, holding up a hand. “Thank you. That’s… enough. I believe
EMMAAfter that awful scene in the bedroom, I’d worried my father wouldn’t be able to stomach anything for the rest of the night. But the anti-nausea drugs he took helped, and he’d managed to eat more than a few bites of dinner and drink some lukewarm chamomile tea.It was nowhere close to how he used to eat before, but I was glad that he didn't throw up again. Immediately after dinner, my parents had gone up to their bedroom so Dad could rest well and prepare himself for another session of chemotherapy tomorrow.Sighing, I set the plate I'd just rinsed on its rack. The househelps had been willing to do the dishes as usual, but I had insisted on doing it myself. It had helped to take my mind off things.Wiping my hand with a napkin, I walked back into the hall to the living room where Celia was sitting, typing something on her laptop. Before I could sit down, the doorbell rang.“I’ll get it,” Celia said, beginning to set her laptop aside.