Emilia spotted her target, or at least the primary target. She was angry at Christopher Hayden too but she was yet to determine which one of them was truly at fault.
Patrick was the first in line as he was the one that got her the 'job', but also it was a natural sequence as straight behind Patrick's desk was Christopher's office. She could just walk in the straight line.
Emilia walked with a limp, dragging her feet across the floor, each movement requiring the extraordinary amount of conscious effort.
The motivation of 'killing' Patrick was driving her forward.
"Patrick Cosby!" She yelled his name when she was barely a few meters away. Patrick jumped so much that you could almost see his soul leave his body.
"Miss Vincent?" Patrick looked at her in surprise. He didn't expect her there at all. Not with Christopher staying behind to keep an eye on her. Nor in her current state. "What brings you here?"
"YOU'VE LIED TO ME!" Emilia roared as she approached Patrick.
Neither paid enough of attention to realise that Christopher just run out of the elevator. He was going after Emilia since Bernadette told him that she left the manor. He wasn't sure where she might've gone until the driver notified him of her destination. Even then, he didn't know what business she had in being at Crimson Tech. Now that he heard her yell at Cosby, he froze. He wanted to understand the situation more, but he was ready to intervene as needed.
Emilia saw pure red and Patrick was too afraid for his life right now to notice much around them.
"I never lied to you!" Patrick walked behind a desk, keeping a safe distance from her.
"You've said it was a job!"
"Well, it kind of is." He shrugged. He knew what she spoke of straight away which was an affirmation of Emilia's suspicions. The adrenaline rushed through her as she sped up to reach him.
"No, no, no." Emilia shook her head. "You've got me married to a psychopath!"
"I didn't get you married. YOU have signed a contract."
"Which YOU have made sound like an employment contract!"
"Emilia, please, you cannot blame me." He used her first name in hope of distraction but it didn't work.
"I can and I will!" Emilia picked the nearest pile of papers and launched it at Patrick, having it land right in the middle of his face.
"Ouch." Patrick rubbed his nose. "That hurt!"
"Good!!! You're an asshole!"
"Miss Vincent, please calm down."
"Calm down???!!!" Emilia roared. "Cosby, you're dead!" Emilia approached Patrick quickly.
"I DIDN'T LIE! I JUST NEVER TOLD YOU WHAT THE CONTRACT WAS FOR!" Patrick said in his defence. Emilia paused. She didn't expect him to admit to it, not so quickly. Over the past few days, she was sure that she made it up. But he did lie to her and concealed the truth. "You must understand! I was desperate!"
"Understand? I never agreed to be married to him! YOU LIED TO ME FOR MONTHS! And I got to find out from some fucking mobster that tried to kill me?! You can go to hell!"
"Divorce him then."
"Oh I will, but I don't think you understand the magnitude of what you did!" Emilia was distraught with tears now running down her face. Her aching body and fatigue were giving up.
"Come on, it cannot be that bad. You get decent pay and I doubt he will ever bother about you."
"I was nearly killed because of it and I didn't even know! And yes, you're right. He wouldn't care!" She felt defeated as she wiped away the tears. She finally stopped trying to get to Patrick. Patrick paused before he approached her cautiously, after assessing the situation and determining that Emilia was harmless due to her state.
"Dr Emilia Hayden doesn't sound that bad either."
"Oh fuck off." Emilia grabbed the stapler and launched it at him. It bounced off his chest at which Patrick winced.
She dropped to the floor and wrapped her hands around her legs as she brought her knees to her chin. She was feeling faint and she wasn't certain if it was because of emotions or her physical state.
"I'm sorry. I was so desperate to save my neck that I threw you under the bus."
"Patrick." Christopher said his assistant's name coldly as he marched towards them. He hated seeing Emilia so distressed. He still struggled to work out exactly what has occurred that caused Emilia to rush to attack Patrick as soon as she regained consciousness. But whatever it was, it must've been bad.
"Yes, sir." Patrick stood up straight. Emilia wiped her face but she couldn't get herself to look up at her presumed husband.
"Get everyone out of here." Christopher ordered as he saw a few too many onlookers. "And you get out too."
Patrick rushed to get the people out, and it wasn't long before it was just Christopher and Emilia in the large office floor.
Emilia was still sobbing. The realisation that she was indeed married to Christopher started to sink in. She was almost killed because of it. And no one came to her rescue in time to stop the hurt.
Christopher hesitated. He wasn't good with dealing with emotional people. But it was Emilia. She didn't probably had a right to be that way. Her rational mind wouldn't have reacted to anything trivial in that way.
He slowly approached her and squatted in front of her.
"Emilia…" he said her name softly as he reached his hand out and placed it on the back of her hand.
"I'm so sorry, Mr Hayden." Emilia mumbled. "I'll leave and I'm not going to bother you. I'm sorry for the scene I have caused. I-…" she stuttered. Her mind was racing. She slowly looked up and remember that she was looking at her husband.
"Explain to me what has happened and why you're upset." Christopher's voice was softer than ever before.
"I-…" Emilia stuttered. "I'm sorry." The tears continued to flood her face.
"Am I to understand that you didn't marry me willingly?" Christopher asked with a heavy heart, trying to decipher the conflict between her and Patrick. That was what he understood from what he heard but it was a ridiculous thought.
"To be precise, I didn't marry you knowingly." Emilia said in embarrassment.
"Hmm… I see." Christopher nodded, finally all of the pieces started to fall into the place. He let go off Emilia's hands and he rubbed his forehead in thought. "I'll consult the lawyer about this matter. But for now, please return home. You need care and rest."
"I'm so sorry, Mr Hayden. I really didn't know. I was stupid." Emilia's hands started shaking and her teeth chattered. Christopher reached his hand and felt her warm forehead. "I didn't know. Mr Cosby concealed it. He told me that I was to be your assistant for public events. I never gave it a second thought. I never questioned it. It didn't seem right but I just accepted it. And…" Emilia was somehow getting more upset and distraught than before. "And when they told me, I didn't believe them. They… they took me because they thought you'd care. I laughed in their face when they told me. I didn't know… I was so naive and stupid…"
Christopher was speechless as Emilia's words poured out of her mouth and soul.
"I did care." He said at last. But Emilia shook her head at it. She didn't believe him. "Let's get you somewhere where you can rest and recover. We will speak of it when you're better. And we will speak to the lawyer too. I can help you fix it."
"There's no fixing this." Emilia mumbled as she felt the world turn darker. She was going to faint again.
Christopher caught her when her head fell sideways, stopping her from hitting the floor. He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, holding her as close to his chest as possible. He could feel her burning forehead through his shirt.
With a heavy sigh, he carried her down and he took her home. His mind was racing at all the thoughts.
Emilia didn't marry him. She never chose to marry him.