Chapter 4
THREE MONTHS AGO
"You are getting married."
Emma still remembered her grandfather's words to her. She hated the fact that he still had that much authority over her life and what annoyed her more was the fact that she could do absolutely nothing. She had to go with whatever her family said because of her mother. Her mother whose treatment relied on her grandfather. She hated it but she was also in a helpless situation. There was absolutely nothing she could do about it.
When she was told she was getting married, she had no idea it would be someone twenty years her senior. He may be referred to as a dilf by the public but to her, he was nothing but trash. Emma had always hated him and nothing could change the fact. She tried to get her family to reconsider but her grandfather along with her cousin were dead set on it. Her father was anything but helpful. Just the mere sight of him disgusted Emma. She had just gotten back home that morning after her night out with Brandon but then she found out her cousin had been up to no good. Her family happened to be rivals with Brandon's family but that did not mean that she would support dirty underhanded tricks. There was no reason for her cousin to expose whatever was going on in Brandon's company to the public. Brandon's family never did that. His family was honest and even if she knew they highly disliked her own family, they made sure the fight was legitimate. Battle with what you have. She admired Brandon's family for that.
"What do you think you're doing?" Emma asked her cousin, immediately she saw him but she regretted that. She should have known it wasn't a wise decision to just barge into his room without knocking. He was halfway into a female who looked as plastic as she seemed.
"You may want to try knocking next time, cousin." Godson said to her with an irritated look.
Emma immediately turned to face the door. It was the least she could do to avoid the embarrassment.
"Get out." Godson said.
The plastic female smirked thinking he was talking to Emma who still stood rooted in her position.
"Get out." Godson said as he adjusted himself.
"Wh…what?" The female asked him with a frown.
"Don't make me repeat myself a third time." Godson growled at the female.
She gave him the stink eye but picked up her clothes from the floor. Emma didn't turn around until Godson told her to do so.
"You should really learn to knock, cousin." He told her as he settled on the couch.
"And you should learn to stop pokenosing in other's business."
"I fail to see how that relates to the matter at hand but let's hear it. What do your righteous self think I've done wrong?" He asked her with his ever boring gaze.
"Silver enterprise never did anything to us. You don't need to sabotage them. Why is the news public? We can fight them using other means….."
"Who said I was behind whatever had been revealed to the public about the silver enterprise?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"You are not?" Emma asked him with a raised eyebrow also.
She was a hundred percent sure her cousin was behind this. There was no way news like that would be made known to the public without there being a source. And one of the dead giveaways that made her believe her cousin was behind it was the station that had first made it public. Godson had a very close relationship with the owner of the company.
"As always, cousin, I don't know if perception is one of your talents or maybe it's your hard head." He told her with a smile.
"My hard head maybe?" She asked him.
"Take the news down. This is not the honorable way to fight silver enterprise. We should be going about this some other way." She told him.
"Some other way?" Godson asked her with a mocking laugh.
"Tell me, dear cousin. What other way is there? To fight with what we have? The companies? There is no way we will win that. And besides that is just too lame. There are other ways to crush your enemies." He told her.
"Lame? There is nothing lame in fighting that way. And what makes you think we wouldn't win? There is a reason why I'm the CEO. I promised to improve this company and if you take a look at…."
Godson yawned.
"Is this all you wanted to talk about?" He asked her.
"Well..yes but I'm not…."
"You are as boring as ever, cousin. You should just focus on the task assigned to you. Be the face of the company and make it seem legitimate while we bring in the real money from behind. You knew all this before you decided to get involved. Oh, that wasn't really your decision was it? You had no choice in the matter. You had to do this if not, your mother would be long gone right? It's such a pity." Godson told her with a smile.
There was no ounce of pity in his gaze. Emma hated him. She hated how he used her like she was some toy. She was a puppet in their scheme and she had to play her role. If not, she would be tossed away, along with her mother. She could not afford that.
"Now, what you should be concentrating on is your marriage to Victor. The engagement party is in roughly three months." He told her.
Emma hated hearing the name. Hugo Victor was a man she disliked due to his wandering eyes and dishonest ways. He may be fit and look handsome but being handsome wasn't just about the body. At least it wasn't just about the body to Emma. Being handsome also takes Into account the person's way of thinking and everything in between. Hugo Victor was a scum among men. How the society still saw him as a dilf was surprising to her.
"You should really focus on yourself, Emma. Don't forget that it's because of grandfather, your mother is able to receive treatment at the hospital." Godson told her.
"I know that." She replied through gritted teeth as she tried desperately to hold back the tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
"Are you sure? I'm not sure you do. If you knew that, then there is no way you would be here, fighting for someone else and speaking about being honorable. You are fighting not only for your life but also your mothers'. Do not forget that the doctors said she would be out of the coma in a few months. Then you would be able to thank me and grandfather with your head against the floor." He told her with a chuckle.
Emma couldn't summon the will to be happy even when she heard her mother may be coming out of her coma in a few months. She tried to feel the slightest bit of happiness at the information but there was nothing. Nothing at all. It was like she was an empty shell. What kind of daughter wouldn't be happy for her mother? What kind of daughter wouldn't smile for her mother who was finally recovering?
"I'm sorry for coming here." She told him and without waiting for a reply, she left his room, making sure to bang the door. She was a prisoner in her own family. She was the scum of the family. The one who had no value and would be discarded at any chance her family got.
She had just gotten to her home when her phone rang and it was the person she was expecting although at this point, she was not so sure she was expecting anybody to call her. She was just so tired and needed to rest her head and eyes. She also has to prepare to visit her mother in three days. She was going to record everything she could. Okay, that was an over exaggeration. But she wanted to treasure the next days to the visit and try to remember as much as she could so she could tell her mother. With a long sigh, she threw her phone on the chair and moved to take a bath. There was nothing she could say to Brandon. She knew he was calling because of what was now trending regarding his company but she had no idea what to do. There was nothing to tell him and it's not like they were dating. They were just sleeping with each other. Brandon didn't even like her, neither did she though. She owed him no explanation but she still felt guilty that her family had caused his family this much pain. She had faith in him though, it was just a small matter. Brandon and his brother would scale through. She was sure of it. This was not the first time Godson had done something so obvious to his family.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Lydia asked Emma with a frown.
"Yes, just a bit nauseous." Emma replied to her with a smile.
Lydia was the only friend Emma had and it was the only time they got to see each other because Lydia was so busy. Ever since she finished her residency and even before that, they hardly ever saw each other although they talked on the phone. But talking on the phone was different from meeting in person. Emma missed her greatly and even if he had been feeling a bit sick for the past few weeks, she did not want to pass this up. Lydia was the one joy she had.
"Are you sure? You look like you also have a fever." Lydia said worriedly.
"Believe me,it's nothing. I just feel nauseous. It's been going on for weeks now." Emma waved her concern off.
Lydia frowned. Weeks? Nausea? She did not want to think about it. There was no way something like that could happen. She was sure Emma was very careful but she could not shake the feeling.
"Perhaps, do you also feel weak?" Lydia asked her.
"Yes. Wow, I never even told you that and you figured it out." Emma said to her with a smile but Lydia never gave her one back.
"When did you say this started?" Lydia asked her.
"I noticed it when I came back from visiting my mother." Emma said to her with a frown.
"And when did you stop seeing your mystery man?" Lydia asked her.
Emma swallowed. Why was Lydia asking about Brandon? Although Emma never told her Brandon was the man she had been sleeping with. She refused to tell Lydia his name using the excuse that she wanted to be sure where their relationship was headed before she told her. who he was but she could not understand why Lydia was asking her this question and with such a face.
"Why are you asking me?" Emma asked her.
"Just tell me okay?" Lydia pleaded with her.
"This week will make it a month." Emma told her.
"When last did you see your period?" Lydia asked her.
Emma widened her eyes in shock. She now understood why her friend was asking her these questions but that was impossible. Whatever Lydia was thinking about wasn't happening. It couldn't even happen and she was sure of it.
"Come on Lydia, you don't really think that's possible right?" Emma asked her with a smile.
"I don't want to think so and it could be that I'm just being paranoid or something but…you know what? Let's go get you a test kit or let's go to the hospital preferably." Lydia said to her as she picked up her bag.
They were seated in Emma's living room with junk food scattered on the table as a movie played in the background. They were supposed to have gone out but because of how nauseous Emma felt, they decided to stay in.
"Lydia, sit down. It's been a few hours since you arrived and I can say firmly that you are being paranoid and worried about nothing. I know what protection is okay? And I made sure we used it whenever we had sex." Emma told her.
"I know you used protection. I trust you to use it but…it's not a hundred percent. And I'm not saying you are pregnant I just want us to be sure okay? I may just be paranoid, like you said but let's just clarify this okay?" Lydia asked her.
"It will be so shocking to you when you find out this is just a normal illness or maybe it's even something psychological." Emma told her as she stood up.
"What do you mean?" Lydia asked her with a frown.
"I found out my mother wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. They thought she was improving but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore." Emma replied to her with a shrug.
She was trying to make it look like she did not care. Like it was something inevitable but Lydia knew better. It hurt her friend. Frankly speaking, it would hurt Lydia also if she found out that her mother who had been improving in the hospital was no longer improving but instead, her health was deteriorating.
"I'm so sorry." Lydia said to her. She moved in to hug her friend but Emma avoided her.
Lydia knew Emma hated any form of physical contact when she was hurting. Or rather, any act of pity. Her friend wasn't even a fan of hugs. She knew that but it still hurt when Emma avoided her.
"I'm just going to change so we can go to the hospital together." Emma told her and without waiting for a reply, she moved upstairs to her bedroom.
Lydia gave her a smile and waited patiently for Emma to be done with dressing up. She hoped she was also wrong about Emma being pregnant. She really hoped so. And Emma was also adamant on the fact that she could not be pregnant but then, life had a way of playing games on you right?
Emma was still in disbelief and so was Lydia who stood shocked, rooted to the ground. Emma was pregnant and it was obvious to the doctor who performed the test that none of them had thought it would come out positive. But she was sure. Emma was a little over one month old. Just shy of a month and two weeks. While there was also the shock of her being pregnant, one thing rang through Emma's mind. She had been pregnant the last time Brandon had sex. She was already pregnant before then. And she had no idea. She was stuck between rejoicing at the fact that she was having her own child and screaming in horror at the fact that it was Brandon's child and there was no way her family would accept this if they knew.
Chapter 5THREE MONTHS AGO "Do you know who the father is?" Lydia asked Emma once they stepped out of the hospital."What? Oh, yeah. I do." Emma replied to her with an absent mind."Who is he?" Lydia asked her."What?""Who is he? I reckon you have to tell him." Lydia told her."Um, I….I'm not sure. I slept with some people these last few months." Emma replied to her as she averted her gaze.Lydia frowned. Emma wasn't being truthful and she knew it. "Emma, I know you are lying to me right now and just so you know, you gave yourself away. You have only been with one person right?" Lydia asked her "What? Absolutely not. I just told you I can't recall. I've been with a number of people this…""You definitely used the word 'we' when you were talking about sex with the father before we arrived at the hospital, Emma." Lydia pointed out."What?""Yeah. And you also just told me you know who the father of the baby is but now, you are denying it and claiming to have been with 'numerous peop
Chapter 6THREE MONTHS AGO"What are we doing here?" Emma asked Godson with a frown.She had woken up tired that morning feeling tired but she knew she had to show up at work but then, Godson showed up in front of her apartment with the excuse that their grandfather wanted to talk with both of them. It wasn't really surprising to Emma. Sometimes when their grandfather summoned both of them, Godson stopped by to take her to the meeting place which was usually his home or office so Emma went with him. She thought that their grandfather wanted to talk to her regarding the engagement which she refused to go ahead with but it seems Godson had other plans. The vehicle they were in, stopped in front of a hospital."Take a look, Emma. Do you recognise this place?" He asked her."It's a hospital and it's obviously on the way to grandfather's office so yeah, I do." She replied to him.Godson tsked."Look closely. I'm sure you stopped by this place some days ago." He said to her with a raised ey
Chapter 7PRESENT DAYEmma stood looking at her reflection in the mirror. Her dress was dazzling but it wasn't something she would have picked herself if at all she was given the opportunity. It was a bit too much or maybe it was just her nerves speaking. Her engagement dress was sleeveless and had a floral lace design. It held her bust but spread from the waist down, sweeping the floor. The designer really took floor length to another level. Emma still wondered if she was making the right decision. She had doubts that this wasn't the best decision she could make. What if after everything, she loses her child and her mother? She looked outside the window. The weather looked dreary but even at that, she heard chatting and rejoicing from the guests. The hotel in which they were holding the engagement party happened to be one of the Templeton's hotels. It was one Emma had put in enough hard work to make it become what it was, now. She took in the dreary weather. Even the weather wasn't
Chapter 8"Enjoying the party?" Godson asked.Brandon turned to give him his attention. He hated people sneaking up on him especially when they were the likes of Godson. Brandon fought the urge to roll his eyes and punch Godson's face. What was he so smug about?"Seeing as you came all the way to my office to give me the invitation, I couldn't miss this." Brandon replied to him coolly."Of course you came here only because I gave you the invitation….""Um, no. That's wrong. You only delivered it individually. I had no idea we were that close. You came all the way to my office?" Brandon asked him."Ah, my apologies. You're right. Well, I hope the party is to your liking." Godson said to him."It's fairly okay. I have to say, I expected more from the Templeton's though." Brandon said to him."Oh? What exactly is not up to your expectations here?" Godson asked him."You don't really need me to spell it out for you now right?" Brandon asked him."Well, if it's not a bluff then I'm sure yo
Chapter 9"You can't use that on me forever. It will grow old at some point and you know it." Hugo said to him with mock bravery.Godson scoffed."Don't let people know of this." He said to Emma and walked out.Emma stood rooted to the ground. What just happened and why was Godson telling her not to fuck things up. Surely Godson knew the kind of person Hugo was before he and her grandfather went ahead with the engagement.Hugo released an annoyed sound and turned to Emma with eyes full of hatred. He held her shoulders in a tight grip and leaned close so she was within hearing distance and so that no one could hear what he was going to say to her. "You stay out of my business and I'll stay out of yours or your grandfather finds out that you are holding the lowest of the low in your stomach." He told her.He released his hold on her and gave her a small smile."Smile, bride. The world can't know we don't really suit each other now, can they?" He asked her with that same smile plastered
Chapter 10"Emma? Can I come in? It's Lydia.""Oh." Emma said as she breathed out a sigh of relief."Come in." She called out.Lydia opened the door and walked in with a small smile on her face."Hey.""What's up?""I couldn't find you downstairs. You k ow the party is for you right?" Lydia asked her.Emma released a tired sigh and folded her arms across her chest. She wasn't so sure the party was for her. It felt more like it was for her family than it being for her."I'm not so sure that's right. There is no way that party…..this party is for me." Emma said to her."Then who is it for?" Lydia asked her. "I don't know. My family? Godson? My grandfather? I have no idea who it's for but it certainly does not feel like a party for me." Emma said to her."So what do you plan to do then?" Lydia asked her."I don't know now. I'm not sure but it still doesnt feel right to go on with this. Do you think I should go ahead with this engagement? I men, I know my family wants this and I can hard
Chapter 11Emma munched on a dry cracker as she busied herself with her work. Due to the plans of her engagement, her work had piled up and she had to catch up with it and make any due appointments as was necessary. She was getting used to dealing with her morning sickness. Eating dry crackers really helped a lot and also drinking ginger ale helped with the nausea. Her day was already planned. Everything was supposed to go according to plan. It was going according to plan except for one little mishap."Um, Miss. Templeton?" Emma heard her assistant ask as he walked into her office.She was about to reprimand him for not knocking before entering but then she saw the look on his face. He looked conflicted but she had no idea why he would be conflicted."Is something the matter?" She asked him.He hesitated as he adjusted his tie. The move irritated her."Can you just tell what the matter is, Timothy or do I have to figure it out myself?" She asked him,her voice was laced with every bit
Chapter 12"Like I said, I came to see you and perhaps my unborn child?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow.Emma sat upright in shock. What exactly did he just say? Could it be possible that he knew? No, that wasn't possible she said to herself with a shake of her head. How will he know? The only people who knew she was pregnant happened to be no more than three but including her, four. There was no way Brandon knew she was pregnant."What did you just say?" She asked him with a raised eyebrow as she gave him a cool look. There was no need to get nervous over a speculation because she was sure Brandon had no idea that she was actually pregnant.Brandon relaxed in his chair and stared at her with a smirk plastered on his lips."You heard me clearly Emma." He said to her,"And I have no idea what you are talking about. Where the fuck did you get the idea that I would be pregnant with your child?" She asked him.Brandon laughed almost immediately after she asked him that question. She f