Chapter 6: After the Wedding

Chapter 6: After the wedding

Amusement flickered in Lucas's eyes as he reminisced about Emma’s reaction to discovering he had booked the entire hotel for the wedding. He couldn't risk anyone finding out the truth about the wedding.

They both walked through the hotel corridor, as they headed toward their room. Lucas watched Emma carefully as she dragged herself beside him. “she must have been tired from all they did today.” he pondered, feeling a little guilty.

They arrived at the penthouse and Lucas was about to use the key card when Emma suddenly asked “ Where do I sleep?”

“On a bed, where else,” Lucas replied as he opened the door to the penthouse.

He glanced over at Emma as he watched her eyes widen in shock till worry was etched all over her face.

Don’t worry, I asked for two beds,” Lucas stated, closing the door.

Emma exhaled the breath she'd been holding, uncertain of how she'd bear sharing a room with him for the night.

“And rest assured, nothing will ever happen between us,” Lucas affirmed.

“If you need me, I'll be on the other side of the room. You can go wash up everything you need is there,” Lucas added, gradually stepping out of Emma’s view.

Lucas poured himself a glass of Scotch whiskey as his thoughts drifted to all that had happened within this week.

His mind swirled with a whirlwind of emotions as he pondered the twist of fate. Seeing his grandmother after years was already surprising, but now, a week later, he found himself married to a woman who looked exactly like Mia.

He took a sip of his whiskey, wondering what joke fate was playing on him this time.

“Umm… Mr Anderson, can I join you?” Emma asked Lucas who was looking into thin air, lost in thought.

Lucas darted his eyes to Emma. “Sure, if you want,” He replied nonchalantly.

Emma strolled over to him and took a seat beside him. “Can I also have what you are having?”

Lucas smirked, poured Emma a glass, and handed it to her. He was surprised but he didn't let it show.

“You can call me Lucas when we're together, you don't have to call me Mr. Anderson,” he told her.

“Okay if you say so,” Emma agreed, taking a sip out of whisky.

An unspoken tension enveloped them, a thick silence settling in the air as they sat beside each other.

Lucas felt Emma’s eyes on him but when he turned to look at her, she turned away immediately.

“You must have questions you want to ask me, don't you,” Lucas questioned, fiddling with his glass.

“Yes, a lot, can I ask them,” Emma requested.

Lucas nodded in acknowledgment giving her approval.

“Why did you want a contract marriage?” She asked.

Lucas sighed, he knew this question would be thrown at him sooner or later.

“Well if you must know, my grandmother wanted me to be in an arranged marriage but I refused,” Lucas stated.

Emma raised a brow at his confession, she didn't realize that he still had problems with his Grandma “And let me guess, it's the woman at the office the other day.”

“Yes, Carla Giovanni, She is the one,” Lucas responded, leaning back into his seat.

Emma couldn't forget Carla Giovanni. How could she forget? Carla had tormented her every day just because Lucas loved her instead.

“Why did you choose me then, She looks like your perfect match,” Emma questioned. She wanted to know what Lucas meant when he said he'd choose only her the first day they met at the office.

Lucas turned so that he was facing Emma, directly “She would never be a match for me, and I chose you…” He said before pausing for a moment.

He looked into her eyes for a moment before he turned away “ I chose you because you look like her.” he answered, raising his right arm to his forehead.

“Who are you referring to, who do I look like,” Emma asked.

She knew he was talking about her, but seven years had passed and he was supposed to forget her.

“That’s enough questions for now, Emma I am going to wash up, You can go to sleep, we have a long day tomorrow,” Lucas replied, evading her question again.

He was long gone before Emma decided it was time for her to sleep.

She exhaled a sigh of relief when she found twin beds in the bedroom, which meant Lucas was saying the truth earlier.

She was already asleep so she didn't notice when Lucas walked in.

He was just going to go ahead and sleep but he couldn't help it. He sat down beside her as he stared at her face ever so gently. He was tempted to hold her face in his hands but he was scared that she would wake up.

A gentle whisper escaped him as he wondered, “How does she resemble Mia so much?” He stayed in that position staring at Emma’s face till the night ran out.

The next morning…

Lucas wakes up to find Emma still sleeping peacefully so he lets her be.

Their flight was scheduled for noon so they had enough time to get ready. He got up and left to make himself coffee.

He had some business matters to attend to, so he left Emma a note and rushed out.

Emma woke up thirty minutes later to a note from Lucas, he said that he was going to join her by the Jet and that he had some matters to attend to.

Emma didn't know anything else to do so she got ready and waited for him to arrive.

Two hours later the hotel staff came to call Emma and told her that the Jet was ready so she had to go up the roof.

Emma was a little worried that Lucas wouldn't show up like he had said but when she got to the roof, Lucas was there waiting patiently for her.

Emma greeted him but he only nodded his head in return. He didn't even bother to look in her direction.

During the ride back home, Lucas maintained an unsettling silence, not uttering a word or meeting Emma's gaze, leaving her to wonder if she had unintentionally done something wrong.

They arrived at the rooftop of the Anderson estate a few hours later and still nothing had been said between them. It was as if Lucas had set up a wall in between them.

Emma wanted to rush home as soon as possible. Lucas was acting cold and she had no idea what the problem was.

She was about to leave the estate when Lucas finally spoke to her.

Lucas offered her a ride but she declined saying that she could get home by herself.

“Wear the red one to dinner tomorrow,” Lucas said, handing her a bag.

Emma somehow knew it was clothes but Lucad had not mentioned that they were ever having dinner.

“Dinner,” Emma asked, her eyebrows raised.

“Yes, dinner with my Grandma,” Lucas replied, his mouth set in a hard line.

“What!!!,” Emma screamed.

She hadn't expected that it would come so soon, she wasn't ready to face his grandma not after what happened seven years ago.