Chapter 5: Emilia's POV

The apartment door wasn’t locked.

A bad feeling curled in my stomach as I pushed it open and stepped inside.

I expected the usual, to see my bestie Sarah laid back on the couch, scrolling through her phone.

It would be hard to say goodbye.

But when I got inside, the image was not what I expected.

I froze in the doorway.

Tyler.

Sarah.

Their bodies were pressed together and their lips were locked. Hands tangled in each other’s bodies.

I felt something slice through my chest.

They didn’t even notice me at all.

“What the fuck?” I screamed.

Sarah jolted, her eyes bulged and guilt filled them.

Tyler, on the other hand, just smirked.

My blood burned. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I said, my voice was sharp and it shook.

Sarah took a step forward. “Babe, it’s not what it looks like…”

“Shut it!”

I looked over at Tyler. “So, this whole time? You even let my mother pay you off to leave me when you were already screwing my best friend?”

Tyler exhaled through his mouth, like I was annoying him. “Come on, don’t be dramatic.”

Me! Dramatic.

More like enraged. That’s a better term for what I was feeling.

Sarah had the audacity to look guilty like she didn’t know exactly what she was doing. “I didn’t mean for it to happen, Emilia.”

I laughed but it was a bitter sound, “Don’t. Don’t do that, cause are you telling me that you tripped and fell onto his dick?”

Sarah flinched.

Tyler’s smirk widened. It seemed like he was enjoying seeing me in pain. “Look, Emilia, it’s over. It was always going to end. Pamela just made it easier and better for me.”

My hands curled into fists. “You’re disgusting.”

The argument escalated and we yelled.

I let my anger get in front of me and I reached for Tyler.

Someone shoved me.

I stumbled and my head hit a chair.

I felt the sharp pain in my skull.

Then everything went dark.

****

A dull ache throbbed in my skull as I slowly regained consciousness.

My eyelids were heavy and the air smelled different.

I forced my eyes open and nothing made sense to me.

This wasn’t Sarah’s apartment and it wasn’t my house either.

“Where…” my throat was dry and I coughed a bit.

Then I turned and saw her.

Pamela.

My mother sat in a chair, looking elegant and composed, sipping her tea like this was just a normal day.

A chill ran down my spine.

“Where am I?”

She set her cup down with a soft clink. “You’re in California.”

My eyes widened in shock.

My head swam.

“Why am I in California already? I haven’t even finished packing my important…”

She cut me off with a sharp look.

Her next words were like a bombshell.

“Your wedding is in a week.”

The words hit me hard.

What the hell is wrong with this woman?

Did I just hear her say wedding?

“You need stability, Emilia.” Pamela continued, her voice calm and with no emotion. “You need direction and at the moment you’re unemployed, single and making terrible life choices. I’ve taken it upon myself to fix that.”

I clenched my fists so hard I felt my nails dig into my palms. “You can’t just…”

“Oh, I can and I already have.”

“I’m not getting married.”

She sighed, like she was talking to a difficult teenager. “Oh, but you are. Because if you don’t, I’ll just have to sell your father’s house.”

Everything inside me froze.

She was using the house as leverage for me to be her little puppet.

She smiled. “I assume that’s enough incentive right?”

I felt like the entire universe was against me at this point. I didn’t have a job, a home, support or anything to give me a fighting chance.

I’m tired of this. Tired of fighting and losing.

Pamela tilted her head. “Well?”

What the hell? I had no choice anyways and there was no fight left in me.

“Fine.” I whispered. “I’ll marry whoever you want. Just don’t sell my house.”

“That’s a good girl.” She smiled. Like I was a pet rather than her daughter.

A part of me wondered what kind of a man married a girl in a week without even knowing her.

Was he blind?

Crippled?

Old and grey?

Whoever he was, I’m going to make him feel like the worst being for being a part of my pain.