Emma, who exited Grayson & Co. hailed down a cab and went back to the Watson mansion. To find Madam Watson fuming over something and lashing out at Amanda, with the poor woman trembling in fear.
Unable to bear it any longer, Emma cleared her throat, making her presence known, her expression gentle and a calm smile painted on her lush pink lips.
“Where were you? Have you seen the time?”
Madam Watson’s expression soured even more than before as soon as her gaze fell on Emma.
“Did you need me for something?”
Emma calmly asked, disregarding Madam Watson’s tone, as this was how the older lady always spoke to her.
“The dinner is not yet ready! And Stella’s room looks like a haunted house! Is this how you arrange things?”
Madam Watson lashed out at her in a shrill voice, a few octaves higher than her usual tone, stating how angry she was.
“I will take care of it before dinner. As for dinner, I will see what is taking time.”
Emma’s smile was intact, her voice steady as she softly spoke.
“You better.”
Madam Watson harrumphed before storming off from the living room, making Amanda heave out a sigh of relief as her shoulders slumped.
Emma smiled softly at the reaction as she walked to Amanda.
“Why is the dinner not ready yet? You know, right, Madam Watson likes to have her dinner early because of her intermittent fasting.”
“Madam wanted different dishes than the ones we planned today. Due to Madam Watson's late notification, we had to spend more time preparing different dishes."
“Different dishes?”
Emma questioned as she made her way to the kitchen with Amanda on her toe.
“Yes, Mrs. Watson. Madam suddenly wanted shrimp, Abalones and Crawfish instead of the Grilled chicken and Grilled Fish we finalised yesterday.”
Amanda sighed in distress.
She missed the flash of mockery in Emma’s eyes as the latter was walking before her.
‘Of course Madam Watson will know Stella’s favourites by heart and make last-minute changes to prepare her favourites.’
Emma thought to herself, before brushing off the thought and looking at Amanda with her usual gentle smile.
Entering the kitchen, Emma looked over all the dishes’ progress, before instructing them few changes while asking them to hurry up, before making her way upstairs.
Emma entered the room, prepared for Stella, and almost scoffed.
The room was nothing but prim and proper guest room of Watson Mansion. Even the toiletries were all arranged according to the list Emma prepared before leaving the house.
There was nothing more that could be done here, in there.
‘Does Madam Watson want me to change the interior as well?’
Emma scoffed in disbelief. She instructed the servant behind her to change the bed linen and curtains to purple, Stella’s favourite colour.
This was the only change she could do apart from asking the servants to spray the lavender room fresher, which was also Stella’s favourite.
Taking one last look, she left the room.
‘If Madam Watson still found it haunted, then I sending down Shayne to keep her company is the only thing I can arrange more.’
Emma scoffed in her heart, but her face still displayed a serene, demure smile.
Going down and entering the kitchen, she quickly helped out the servants' few things to finish up the dinner.
Then she started arranging the cutlery on the dining table along with Amanda. When they were almost done, Emma heard voices from the living room.
She went out to check to find Stella and Shayne back, along with Stella’s luggage, which the servants were currently handling.
“Emmie.”
Stella’s overexcited shout almost made Emma wince and cover her ears but she held back and instead displayed an indulging smile, like always, the only difference being it wasn’t genuine like always.
“Are you done sorting out everything outside?”
Emma asked softly as she walked towards the duo, even when she wanted to do nothing with them.
They made her disgusted beyond measure, but she could only grit her teeth for the time being and continue with her obedient act.
“Yes! Thankfully, Shayne helped me out, so I was done earlier than expected.”
Stella said as she clung to Emma’s arm like she usually did. Emma wanted to pull out her arm, but Stella’s tight grip almost made it impossible to pull out.
“That is great. Your room is arranged. Freshen up, the dinner is almost ready. Also, if you don’t like something in the room, let me know I will have the servants change it.”
Emma calmly stated as she patted Stella’s hand in hopes she would let her go.
“Thank you, Emmie. Then I will go and freshen up.”
Stella's sweet tone almost gave Emma diabetes.
‘How thick I was to notice how fake she was all along?’
Emma shuddered at her own denseness, but almost laughed out loud when she noticed Shayne’s lovesick expression.
‘My denseness was at its peak.’
Emma chuckled at herself inside her head, before finally freeing herself from Stella's grip as the latter released herself.
Ignoring her so-called husband, Emma walked into the kitchen to finish the dinner arrangements.
By the time she was, everyone was already at the table waiting to be served.
Dinner was the same as breakfast.
Madam Watson fussed over Stella as she cozied up to Madam Watson, while Shayne watched them silently with adoration.
Whereas Shayne’s father and Spade couldn’t bother themselves by acknowledging what was happening around them.
During dinner, Emma received a message from Royce, asking her to collect the documents from the front door.
Excusing herself, she left the table, the only people who noticed being Shayne’s father and Spade.
Emma made her way to the front door and went out, closing the door behind her.
She shuddered lightly as the night chill crept onto her, making her realize she wasn’t wearing her windbreaker.
Bearing the chill, she walked to the gate and opened it to find a black, low-key Maybach waiting outside, making Emma slightly frown in confusion.
“We meet again.”
The voice of the man she wanted to avoid so badly resounded from beside her, startling her.
“We meet again.”Startled by the sudden voice from beside her ear, Emma stumbled back by instinct making her trip onto the air and fall backward.Resigning to her fate, Emma shut her eyes tight, waiting for the impact of the hard, cold ground on her butt but was confused as it never came, instead, there was a pleasantly, familiar pressure on her waist.Peeking her eyes open, her eyes clashed with Christopher’s ocean blue eyes full of mirth.“Though is it an extreme honor. I can’t have you falling for me left and right, I don’t want such a pretty lady to get hurt.”“Thanks for the save and it is Madam, not Lady.”Emma still cool as cucumber answered in a calm, measured voice, a complete contrast to the rampage of elephants inside her stomach and the sprint her heart was currently running.“Oh? I thought I was here to d
As promised, Emma was out of the house by the next sunrise, leaving behind two puzzled members and three relieved family members. Her disappearance puzzled Mr. Watson, whereas Spade was unsure as to how to interpret her words from last night and her disappearance this morning. On the other hand, Shayne and Stella were rejoicing on the inside to be finally rid of Emma’s annoying presence in their lives. Madam Watson was also on cloud nine to have freed her son from the good-for-nothing woman, who brought no advantages to Shayne, unlike Stella who was already a well-established actress. ******************** Emma rolled her suitcase into the elevator of the apartment complex she bought the other day. Readjusting her sling bag, she pressed her floor and leaned back to wait for the elevator to close. Just as the doors were about to close, a muscular arm interrupted, prompting the door to slide open again. The unexpected interruption
Stanley’s no-nonsense tone, made Emma tremble, but she caught herself in time.She expected it, she anticipated the hate but when it was thrown at her face, in reality, it hurt like someone pulled out her heart.Catherine, with tears running down her bubbly cheeks, pulled at her husband’s sleeve, shaking her head, asking him to not hurt their daughter with such harsh words.She might not be their blood, but she was still the daughter they cherished with their all, at times even more than their own flesh.“It is alright, Mom. I deserve this but I won’t give up this time. I will make up for all my shortcomings and right my wrongs since last 5 years.”Emma smiled softly at her parents before, heading into the stairwell, unable to wait there any longer for the elevator.Descending the stairs, she was once again lost in the past.Time was unforgiving, 5 years seemed to have sped past in a blin
Looking at the smirking Christopher and a slightly bewildered Richard, Emma almost groaned out loud in annoyance but held it in at the last moment.“What can I help you with, Sir?”“Sir?”Christopher bit out in laughter but his eyes held a different story altogether.“It hasn’t been a fortnight since your divorce and this is your condition? What kind of man did you choose over me?”“Chris, drop it. I apologize, Miss. Wright, my friend here is a little tipsy…”“I’m very much sober, Richie. Emma, VVIP room 3, I stored a bottle of whiskey a few months back, bring it along with a couple of shots.”Saying this Christopher left the place without looking back, his tone biting cold as if the very thought of breathing the same air as her was intolerable to him.Richard who wa
“Don’t scare the poor girl, Ry.”Another foreign voice though light and playful, held a slight edge to it, immediately ringing alarm bells in Emma’s mind, despite which she held her composure and maintained her head low.“Mr. Lee, we asked for a bartender not… entertainment.”“N-No, Miss Stark. Emma here is the bartender who completed your previous orders, and since you were very satisfied with her, I assigned her here for the night.”Saying this the manager quickly nudged Emma, who was surprised by his statement and looked at the manager in questioning.Satisfied?Then the manager lied to her because he was afraid she would refuse to become their private bartender.Understanding his thoughts, Emma calmly looked at the manager before taking a glance around the room. “What? Are you not willing to be our bartender here?”The playful voice from before spoke again but this time it had lost its playfulness and was instead full of disdain.Mr. Lee whose forehead was once again covered in
“Have you lost your common sense completely?”“What?”“Remove your contacts.”Christopher gruffly said as he quickly released her as if she was on fire.He sat back down in his place, casually ignoring the surprised looks everyone else was giving him.He picked up his glass and brought it near his lips to sip to find it empty, making Richard clear his throat in amusement and he picked up the bottle to help him fill it up.“Here let me help.”Richard said as calmly as possible, but the slight smirk on his lips earned him a hard glare from Christopher, making him mock salute the latter.“You’re wearing contacts?”Royce asked in surprise as Emma nodded slightly, before placing the torch down reluctantly.Emma has always been insecure about her eye colour, it was mainly because of her getting bullied for it in the orphanage, she started wearing contacts when given a choice by her parents to make her feel comfortable.Since high school she regularly wore contacts throughout university till
“Mr. Monroe, I might be just a bartender but such balant disrespect of boundaries won’t be tolerated by me.”Emma stated sharply, her voice same as before, but the coldness in her purple orbs which seemed like a flowing butterfly moments ago now looked like a jade as old as time.Mysterious and cold.“Ry…”Alfred looked at Ryan with a frown, clearly disapproving his actions, but he understood the latter’s anxiousness as well, so he could only turn to the other person.“Miss. Wright, I apologise to you on behalf of my friend. He isn’t himself, please forgive him, he meant no disrespect.”“Mr. Grayson, your apology isn’t required here…”Emma stated calmly, as she glanced at Ryan coldly, who was looking at her like a predator looking at its prey, while still holding onto the strand of h
After asking the car to follow them, Ryan followed Emma to the café she mentioned, all the while shielding her from the snow, even if it meant he was getting snowed and his right shoulder forming a wet patch due to snow falling continuously on it.Slowly guiding her wherever he felt the snow was deeper, making sure she did not slip on the slippery snow-laden ground.All these actions did soften Emma’s heart but there was a nagging feeling in her heart about all of this simply being an act to achieve something greater but what it was a question her subconscious couldn’t answer.Entering the café, they heard a grumble before a voice greeted them.“We’re closed for the… Emma?”Steven Sloan, Brittany’s son was the owner of this cozy café, when she visited Brittany a few days back near the old school, the old woman had suggested she work here rather than somewhere else.Though Emma already declined the kind offer, she still remembered the place and decided to come here since it was the clo