EMILY'S POV.
I trudged on the road like a lifeless being. It had been too much shock for me to handle all at once.
The gentle night breeze blew strands of my hair softly across my face, but I didn't even bother brushing them away. I couldn't feel my heart beating. It felt like it had stopped beating.
What did I want to do? Did I wish to cry? Run? Curse, and scream?
Everything about the night had been traumatizing…
John's Uncle, smashing the heirloom John was so protective of, becoming entrapped by him, and being treated like trash…
At first, he had been so hurtful by telling me cheating was what every man did. He didn't even sound genuine with his apology. He had sounded like I was overreacting.
Then the stranger I had slept with had walked in, and he had turned out to be John's Uncle. How could such a young man be his Uncle? How could I have slept with him?
How could I have slept with a relative of John's!?
I dug my hands through my hair, as I walked on the road. Doomed. That was what I was.
Doom had been etched into my name.
Why had I been so careless? Why had I chosen to rage in front of John close to his precious heirloom? There had been other spots to rage at him, so why hadn't I gone there?
How had I ended up smashing it? Was I really going to be subject to John for three years?
What had happened?
The night had been full of mistakes— mistakes I wished to correct. What was I going to do?
When I got home, and saw Dahlia wiping the shelves, my eyes watered. She turned, and saw me standing there, looking like the sky had fallen.
"Emily." She called, dropping her napkin, and made her way to me briskly. "Darling, what's wrong? What did he do?"
"Dahlia… I'm… I'm…" I found it hard to breathe, and it was so hard to say the word.
"Calm down… slowly…. Say it slowly." She said, and I closed my eyes.
"I'm John's slave." I told her, and burst into tears, falling to the floor.
"I don't understand. At least, make me understand. I don't get you." I said, sitting down in front of me.
"You know… you know John's heirloom I do talk about?"
"The one he polishes daily?"
"Yeah, Dahlia, I smashed it." I said, with my voice breaking.
"What?"
"He wasn't joking when he said it was so important. There's this book with laws and…. And in it, I'm supposed to serve him for three years, unless I can pay the money he wants, and sculpt another replica of the Alpha for them." I explained, and she looked utterly shocked.
"What? How did that happen?" She asked, and I sniffed.
"The thing is… I didn't tell you the full story today."
"What full story?"
"When I saw John in bed with another woman." I said, swallowing hard, and trying to make my words clear.
"Okay?" She urged.
"Last night, I… I slept with a stranger."
"Emily." She called softly in shock.
"It… the… the bartender drugged me, and I was also drunk, so I just… I just…" My voice broke again.
"You didn't know what you were doing. You would never sleep with another man when you're sane. You also know that. So John knows about it?" She asked.
"No. He… he doesn't. The… the man I slept with…" I paused.
"He's blackmailing you?" She asked, with wide eyes.
"He's John's Uncle." I said, and she was stunned into silence. "I saw him tonight, and the shock caused me to break the statue." I explained, and she looked like she didn't know what came next.
"So, have you seen this man? Have you talked to him? He might understand since he's older, and…"
"I see no difference between him and John. I don't know how he's John's Uncle."
"He's young?" She asked, and I nodded. "Then maybe they're not related."
"There's some kind of resemblance in the face. They look completely different, but something about them shows they're related. He also made a reaction when I was about to break the statue. He knew the consequences." I said, and Dahlia gave a deep sigh.
"This is bad. Oh, Emily, this is bad. Of all the men in the world, why his Uncle?" She lamented.
"John wanted me as a maid, but I might get a better position tomorrow. His uncle told him to give me a better position."
"You don't think he wants you two to keep on sleeping together, do you?" She asked, holding my arm, "Does he look like the blackmailing type?"
"I didn't really stare at him. He looks decent, but if he's John's Uncle, he may be no better than John.
"Oh, Emily, what are we going to do?" She asked, placing a hand on her forehead.
"I really don't know."
"Then… you know what? Let's just wait till tomorrow. You'll tell me whatever happens next. If I need to go on my knees for John, I will." She said, trying to raise me up, only for me to burst into tears once more.
Why was she so good to me? I was the one knee-high in the mud, but she made it seem like we both were stuck in it. She made it seem like I wasn't alone, and it made things seem half bearable.
~
The next morning, I hesitated before ringing the doorbell. For some reason, only black appealed to me, so I had picked out a black gown, and a black woolen beret. It made things seem like I was going for a funeral especially since I was with a black bag, but was I really in the shoes to care?
After taking in a deep breath, I rang the doorbell, and after ringing twice, it was answered by a lady.
I recognized her immediately. She was the woman he had been sleeping with. She blinked hard, and swallowed, before stepping back to let me in.
I had expected her to be haughty, but rather, she seemed reserved.
"Come in, please." She said politely, and I walked in. She couldn't meet my eyes, and that was good enough. She was well aware it was shameful to sleep with someone else's fiancée.
John was coming down the stairs when he saw me, and he smiled.
"Have a seat." He said, casually, and I took my seat on the sofa opposite the one he took. "Katie, sit." He said, tapping the space next to him, and she sat.
"So, this is Katie, and she's been my secretary for years. Funny how you've never met her, but thankfully, you're meeting her now." He said, and she gave a little smile.
How dare he introduce me to the woman he had cheated on me with? That was just way too low.
"I'm Katie." She introduced herself personally, but I didn't want to introduce myself to her. I didn't want her thinking I was fine with her.
"You wouldn't introduce yourself?" John asked.
"To the woman who slept with someone who used to be my man, when he was still mine? I should act like it's fine, and that I don't mind?" I asked, and John gave a little smile, but Katie looked uncomfortable.
"Didn't know you had such a nice memory. Well, you'll have to warm up to her sometime later because she'll be in charge of you." He said.
"What?" I asked, and he turned to Katie.
"You'll be up to the task, right?" He asked her, and she nodded. Then, he turned back to me. "You'll be my secretary from today till the end of three years. If you don't want that, you can choose to be a maid."
"A secretary?" I asked.
That was fair. I'd have nothing more than a work relationship with him.
"A live-in secretary." He completed.
"What?"
"You're moving with me to the family house tomorrow." He said, and my anger for him burned hard.
How could he tell me to move in with him? What was he playing at?
Despite how wronged, and angry I felt, I had no choice, but to accept it, and so I simply said,
"Would that be all?"