Morning sunlight streamed into the room, but Alex had barely slept. He sat at the edge of his bed, his elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands.
His mind churned with the events of the previous night and everything that had happened since he met Emma.
He thought about his discovery and the fact that Jake would betray him like this, and all for what? The CEO's position?
He thought about what Vanessa had done for probably love and how she would've slept with him if he hadn't done what he did.
He couldn't keep this from Emma. He thought, thinking about how Emma would feel if she were to find out what happened.
Deciding to tell her everything, he stood up to go about his morning routine. Since it was Saturday, he had enough time to talk to her and make plans.
By the time he walked downstairs, it was nearly 8 AM. Emma was in the kitchen, her hair pulled into a loose bun as she placed breakfast on the counter.
She looked up when he entered, her expression softening with a small smile.
"Good morning," she said, her voice gentle.
"Morning," Alex replied, though his tone was heavier. He hesitated in the doorway before stepping closer. "Emma, we need to talk."
Immediately after she heard that, her smile faded, and she began to wonder if it had anything to do with why he had been late the previous night.
She turned off the gas and faced him fully. "What's wrong?" she asked, even though she knew what he was likely going to tell her.
Alex motioned toward the living room. "Can we sit?" he asked, and she shrugged.
"Sure," she said as she followed him to the couch, her heart already racing. Whatever this was, it felt serious, and maybe she might not like whatever it was.
What did he want to discuss? Was he in any way going to call off their arrangement? Perhaps he was tired. She thought and then shook her head to discard those thoughts.
Once they were seated, Alex rubbed his hands together, searching for the right words. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you," he began, his voice steady but low.
"What is it about? Is it about our arrangement?" Emma asked, her fears clouding her mind.
Alex tilted his head in confusion. "Our arrangement? What do you mean?"
"I know it was just an arrangement to help me, and with Vanessa on your neck, I think the arrangement isn't working as planned, so I can understand if you want to end it..."
"What are you talking about, Em? This isn't about our arrangement. I'm not going to end it, okay? Not until you're back on your feet. You might have started gaining your confidence back, but I don't want to stop there," Alex said, and Emma swallowed, not knowing what to do or say now.
She opened her mouth to say something, but it came out as choked sounds, so she cleared her throat and tried again. "I'm sorry. I thought you wanted to end it."
"It's fine. I understand your fears, but I need you to understand that I'll always be here. I'm not ending anything with you, okay?" he said, and she nodded.
"So, what do you want to tell me?" she asked, looking at him. He cleared his throat, knowing this was an even more sensitive topic for Emma.
"It's about Jake... and Vanessa," he said, and Emma stiffened slightly before regaining her composure.
"What about him.... them?" she corrected.
Alex met her gaze. "After your encounter with him at the company yesterday, Jake asked someone to follow you," he said plainly, watching as her eyes widened in shock.
"What?" Emma whispered, her voice trembling.
"I didn't want to scare you, but I thought you should know," Alex continued quickly. "Also, this person in question is on my side. He'd do what I tell him to, but I can't give him orders if you don't approve of them."
Emma swallowed past the thick lump that had lodged in her throat, her mind swirling with different thoughts.
What did Jake still want from her? Hasn't he done enough damage to her? Or was he infuriated because of how she talked to him at the company?
Perhaps this was her chance not to sit back and watch him destroy what Alex was trying to build for her. It was time for her to fight back.
"So, what's your plan?" Emma asked, and he looked at her.
"I'll tell you after I'm done. There's still more," he said, and Emma narrowed her eyes.
"I'm guessing this has to do with last night," she asked, and he nodded.
Emma leaned forward. "What happened last night?"
Alex ran a hand through his hair and then took a deep breath. "Vanessa tried to set me up. In fact, they suggested the date so they could set me up," he admitted.
"Set you up? How?" she asked in confusion and Alex went on to tell her all that happened between him and Vanessa.
Emma's jaw dropped by the time Alex was done. "What? They planned that? Are you certain Jake was in on it?" Emma asked, not wanting to believe she had married someone as despicable as Jake.
"Yes. Here, watch this," Alex said and handed her his phone.
Emma watched as Vanessa tried to act seductively around Alex and how he had followed her to her bedroom. She listened as Vanessa talked to Jake on the phone, frustrated that Alex passed out.
"Was your passing out staged?" Emma asked when she was done listening since the remaining part didn't capture anything other than darkness and the voices around her.
"Yes. I had to so she wouldn't know I had caught on," he explained, and she nodded.
"When did you realize that was their plan?" she asked, and Alex shrugged.
"When I started feeling hot and excessively horny when I didn't find her attractive, and neither did I take alcohol. I thought about it and started suspecting that Vanessa had done something with my drink when Jake called. Everything was confirmed from the events that followed," Alex said, and Emma sighed.
"Thankfully, you caught on before it went too far. Who knows what they wanted to do, pining Vanessa and Jake's child on you?" Emma said, still finding everything difficult to believe.
"She's dangerous, Em. She and Jake are working together, and they're not going to stop until they get what they want," Alex said and then stood up to pace around.
"And what do they want?" Emma asked, and Alex shrugged.
"Quite obvious. Jake wants my position, and he probably wants to kick me out of the family," he said, turning to glance at her.