Chapter Nine: Unraveling Threads

“I’m not sleeping in the same room as you,” I said the moment we stepped into the penthouse.

Xander tossed his blazer on the couch, casting me a glance over his shoulder with that irritatingly smug smile. “You’re my wife now. Technically, you already did.”

“Technically, that was before the contract. And before I knew your voice well enough to regret it.”

His laugh was low and lazy. “Fine. Guest room’s yours.”

I didn’t thank him. Just turned and walked away.

Behind the safety of the guest room door, I sagged against the wall, the velvet hem of my gown brushing the floor like a memory I was desperate to shed. Too many eyes had been on me tonight. Too many questions, tucked neatly beneath polite smiles. Natalie Blake had the poise of a queen and the gaze of a hawk. Her compliments had been lovely—but there was nothing soft or uncalculated about her.

Still... it wasn’t her steel that lingered.

It was Danielle.

Her warmth. Her sincerity. The way she held my hands like we were old friends instead of newly minted sisters-in-law. I wondered how she survived in a family so accustomed to masks.

I moved to the window and hugged myself, watching the city pulse beyond the glass. I hadn’t planned to feel anything tonight. Just smile. Endure. Retreat.

But then there was Xander.

Watching me all night like I was a riddle he wasn’t sure he wanted to solve.

I shook off the thought and reached for my phone. One name blinked back at me: Bella.

She answered on the second ring.

“Emma?” Her voice was cautious, fragile. “Is that really you?”

“Yeah. It’s me.”

“Diane told me you bailed. She made it sound like you fell off the planet.”

“I didn’t go to the interview.”

A beat of silence.

“Wait… what?”

“I was supposed to,” I admitted softly. “She insisted. Said it was a huge opportunity. But... something felt wrong.”

“And you listened? To me?”

“Yeah. This time, I did.”

Bella let out a breathy laugh. “I never thought I’d hear you say that.”

“I should’ve listened the first time.”

“First?”

I froze. That word had slipped out too easily.

“I mean... forget it. Just—Bella, keep your eyes on Diane. And Robert. Something’s off. I don’t know how deep it runs, but I need you to trust me on this.”

“I already do,” she said, no hesitation.

We hung up after I made her promise. While I figured out what this second chance meant, I needed someone to guard the past I’d barely escaped. This life felt like borrowed time, and I wasn’t going to waste it repeating old mistakes.

Sleep didn’t come easy.

I drifted in and out, trapped in dreams I’d buried too deep.

Footsteps. Cold tile. Laughter where pain belonged. Blood.....thick, warm, terrifying.

And her face.

Diane.

Standing over me, her expression twisted into something cruel and almost... triumphant. The knife gleamed in her hand, and my scream tore through the dream, waking me with a strangled gasp.

My throat was raw. My skin damp with sweat. I pressed a trembling hand to my chest, steadying the wild beat of my heart.

In the next room, Xander stirred.

But he didn’t come.

---

Xander’s POV

I couldn’t sleep.

I sat in the study, lights low, untouched whiskey sweating in my hand. Fingers tapped rhythmically against the glass.

And then it came again.

A flash...... Blood. Her eyes wide with fear. A wound. Screaming. Hands grasping. Then....blackness.

I opened my eyes slowly, heart thrumming.

Something wasn’t right.

After our one-night stand, I’d looked her up. Emma Davis. Everything on record had seemed… normal. No history of trauma. No signs of anything close to what I’d started seeing in these dreams.

But the visions were getting stronger. More vivid.

And the strangest part?

Her name. Her face.

It felt like I knew her.

Not in the way someone remembers a stranger at a bar.

No.

Like I had met her before.

Like we had... lived something.

Together.

---

Emma’s POV

Morning came like a dull hammer to the skull.

I wandered into the kitchen in leggings and one of Xander’s oversized hoodies—an unintentional trophy from last night’s hurried unpacking. The sleeves swallowed my hands.

Xander looked up from the island, coffee mug halfway to his lips. “Didn’t expect you up this early.”

“Didn’t expect to survive dinner with your family.”

He chuckled. “You did more than survive. You won over my mother. That’s practically impossible.”

I headed for the coffee machine. “Can you blame her? I’m charming.”

He tilted his head. “Don’t get too comfortable and make this more complicated.”

“How so?”

“Because if you act too natural, she’ll expect this to be real.”

“Isn’t that the point?” I asked, facing him.

He didn’t respond. Just took another sip.

Then, gently, “You okay? You look like you saw a ghost.”

I paused. “Just bad dreams.”

He nodded but said nothing else. I could feel the weight of his curiosity, but for once, he didn’t push.

“Xander... I need a job.”

He blinked. “You have one. Being my wife.”

I gave him a look. “I mean something that gets me out of here. Makes me feel useful.”

“I can have you placed at Blake & Rowe.”

“I don’t want a handout. I want to earn it. Like everyone else.”

He studied me for a moment. “You’re not planning to vanish, are you?”

“Not yet,” I murmured under my breath.

He didn’t hear me. Or maybe he did...and chose to pretend otherwise.

I turned toward the window. The city was alive, chaotic, beautiful.

It didn’t feel like home.

But maybe it could be a battlefield.

And maybe I could win.

---

That afternoon, I packed a small bag.

“I want to stop by Diane’s place,” I said, avoiding Xander’s eyes. “Just to collect a few things.”

He frowned. “Emma, you don’t need to go back there. We can buy whatever you need.”

“There are things I left behind. Things I can’t replace.”

“I’ll send someone.”

“No. I need to do this myself.”

His expression tightened. “Then I’m coming with you.”

I almost protested...but the worry behind his eyes silenced me.

“Fine. But you wait in the car.”

Diane wasn’t home.

That helped.

I moved quickly through the apartment, grabbing the essentials: my journal, my mother’s old charm bracelet, a hidden flash drive of stories I’d never published.

But when my fingers closed around the bracelet—

The vision hit.

Diane’s face. Twisted. Spitting venom. “You think you’re better than me?”

The knife.

My scream.

Robert’s voice, far away, not helping. Watching.

My stomach turned.

I bolted.

.........

Back in the car, I said nothing. Xander didn’t press.

But as we drove through the city, I knew something inside me had cracked open.

I wasn’t just haunted anymore.

I was remembering.

And the people who betrayed me?

They had no idea what was coming.

Not Diane. Not Robert. Not even the girl I used to be.

She was gone.

And in her place…

Was someone new.

Sharper. Colder.

Ready.