Chapter 11:Not done

I searched for something, anything, that would make Lucian and Violet let me go. There was nothing. No matter what I said, they looked at me as if I were only making excuses.

So I slipped away toward the side entrance, where I could leave quietly. That was a mistake. My mother and Mia were already standing there.

The hardest thing about my family is that they never believe me when I am serious and telling the truth.

"You have to move on, Emilia."

"I'm done with Rui," I said, exhausted. "I don't even know if he's getting married today."

No one answered. I realized then that nothing would convince them I had no intention of going to that wedding. I no longer had the strength to argue, and I no longer felt like going out at all.

I went back to my room and stared at myself in the mirror. My eyes were red. I wasn't sad. I was fine. I had expected the news, so there was no reason for them to look that way. But everyone seemed to be waiting for a tear from me, as if my body had agreed to cry on their behalf.

I won't, I told myself.

I turned to the window and watched the evening light fade. Someday I will be happy.

A few days later, Steven asked me to collect some files from his house. He was stuck in a meeting at the company and couldn't go himself, so he gave me clear directions to his study.

The moment I stepped inside, I heard faint, strange noises somewhere in the house. I didn't want to believe what I was hearing. Steven was away, and the only people who should have been home were Natasha and the maid. I told myself it was none of my business and went straight to his office.

After I found the file, I reached for a bottle of water. Through the half-open door across the hallway, I saw something that made me freeze.

Natasha was sitting far too close to a man I had never seen before. Her skirt was pulled up, and her hands were on his face. I stood there for a long moment, because I needed to be sure of what I was looking at.

"Excuse me?"

They jumped apart. Both of them stared at me, wide-eyed.

"What are you doing here?" Natasha asked.

She looked me over from head to toe. She knew exactly who I was, so the question made no sense. She was the same woman who had once reminded me of my job.

"I came to take a file," I said.

I turned to leave, but a hand landed on my shoulder.

"Did you see anything?"

I didn't answer. I didn't know what to say, and I could tell she already knew the answer.

"Emilia, don't think otherwise, okay? He's my brother." She tapped the man's shoulder. "It has been a long time since we last saw each other, so..."

"You don't have to worry," I interrupted. "I understand completely."

I hurried back to the office and handed Steven the file.

"Here is the file, Sir."

"Thank you." He took it without looking up. "Did you happen to see my fiancée, Natasha, while you were there?"

Sweat ran down my back. It wasn't a question about whether I had seen her with someone else, but guilt tightened my chest anyway.

"Yes," I said.

That was all I said.

For the rest of the day, my mind kept returning to Natasha and the man. Was he really her brother? I couldn't tell. I only knew that I had seen something I wasn't supposed to see, and I didn't know what to do with it.

When I finished work, I gathered my things and was ready to go home when Ethan suddenly appeared in front of me.

"You're finally done?" he asked, glancing at the bag on my shoulder.

"Yes, and I'm exhausted," I said with a sigh. "All I want is to go home, take a shower, and rest." Then I blinked at him. "Wait, have you been waiting for me?"

Ethan chuckled. "Yeah. I just wanted to see you. It's been a while."

"Oh, I understand." I gave him a tired look.

Then I noticed he was staring off to one side, lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm trying to figure out how to say this." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I want to take you out. Just a meal, some snacks. I think you need it."

He was right. I needed to feel alive again. Ethan kept asking until I agreed. It wasn't a big deal, after all.

He took me to a quiet restaurant, warm and full of color. For a while, we talked and laughed, and I felt lighter than I had in weeks. Then Ethan's questions turned to the ones I had been trying to avoid.

"You told me Rui played you a voice recording, right?"

"Yes." I looked down at my hands.

"To be honest, I know the kind of person you are, and I would bet my life that it wasn't you."

His words touched me more than I expected, and my throat tightened.

"Do you have the recording?" he asked.

"No. He only played it for me."

"I wish you did. We could trace it and find out where it really came from."

"Really?" I asked.

"If we get the file, a friend of mine in cybersecurity can check whether it was edited."

Hope rose in my chest. "Is that possible?"

"Yes, Emilia. I can try."

I was still smiling when I looked past him and saw Rui sitting at the far end of the restaurant with another man. I quickly looked away. I hadn't expected to see him here.

"It's unfortunate you don't have it," Ethan continued, not noticing.

I couldn't find the words to answer. I glanced up again and caught Rui watching me, slowly rubbing his fingers together near his face. The sight made me uneasy. He would surely believe I had been seeing Ethan while I was still married. But it didn't matter anymore. I was no longer tied to that leech.

When I turned back, Ethan was speaking to a waitress, so I took the moment to say what was in my heart.

"Ethan, thank you for believing in me. You're a rare kind of friend." I smiled at him. "I never imagined our friendship, yours, mine, and Clara's, would last since high school."

Before he could answer, warm liquid soaked through my clothes.

I gasped. A waitress had spilled an entire cup of coffee on me. It was the same waitress I had seen talking to Rui earlier. I didn't want to believe what I was thinking.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am," she said. "I can help you clean up and find you something better to wear."

I tried to sit back down, but the wet fabric clung to my skin, and it was too uncomfortable. Ethan urged me to go clean up. I agreed, though I already knew this was Rui's plan.

In the restroom, the waitress kept dabbing at my clothes with a cloth.

"I'm sorry, madam," she whispered again.

Then I saw him in the mirror.

Rui stood in the doorway. He told the waitress to leave, and she slipped out without a word.

"She can't just leave like that," I said, turning to face him. "Who do you think you are?"

He disgusted me now. I wondered how I had ever loved him.

He coughed lightly, and a cold smile touched his lips. "You see, I always knew. It was you and Ethan all along. How could you? Immediately after the divorce, and already with the next man? Looking for someone more affordable?"

I stared at him, confused and furious. "What are you trying to say? I was only having a meal with a friend. It's none of your business, especially now that we're finished."

I tried to walk past him, but his hand closed around my wrist and pulled me back, as if I were still something he owned.

"I'm not finished with you," he said quietly.