Chapter 6
+15 BONUS
Emily took out her phone and sent Justin a message. “Stop by Villa One when you have a moment. Let’s settle things between us so you can go back to your precious first love.”
After hitting send, she prepared to leave the hospital.
“Miss Yates, may I speak with you for a moment?” Suddenly, Emma was beside her, having wheeled herself over without Justin in sight.
“We don’t really know each other,” Emily replied, feeling awkward.
“Miss Yates, I’ve just been away from Justin for three years. I wanted to ask you how he’s been and if he’s been eating and sleeping well. He couldn’t find me, so I’m sure he must’ve been terribly sad,” Emma said, her frail voice laced with a hint of smugness, as if she was savoring her importance to him.
“If you want to know, ask Justin directly.”
“He won’t tell me. He’s worried it would make me anxious
Emily saw no point in continuing the conversation and turned to leave.
Suddenly, behind her, Emma’s voice rose in a frantic shout her tears streaming down as she cried out, “No, this can’t be! Justin told me he’s been alone these three years, that no woman has been with him.
“You’re trying to deceive me into leaving him, aren’t you?”
Emily stopped in her tracks, stunned by Emma’s outburst. When had she ever tried to make Emma leave Justin?
“Justin,” Emma cried out, her voice trembling with desperation, “Has my sudden return disrupted your life with Miss Yates? If that’s the case, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. Please don’t be mad at me. I’ll leave, far away, so I won’t intrude on your life anymore.”
Emma’s sobs grew louder, drawing the attention of nearby patients out on their walk.
Just then, Justin appeared, his face contorted with anger as he confronted Emily. “Emily, when did you become so jealous? You know Emma’s not in a good mental state, and you came here just to provoke her?”
Jealous? He was accusing her of being jealous?
“Justin, she came to me first and started this conversation. Don’t make assumptions. Just because she sheds a few tears doesn’t mean I’m to blame,” Emily shot back, feeling the sting of his unwarranted accusation.
Emma’s body trembled as she hid behind Justin, feigning fear,
“Emma’s in the hospital and she doesn’t have your contact information. How could she have sought you out here?”
“I came to the hospital to pick up my health report,” Emily replied.
Justin glanced at her empty hands, clearly doubting her explanation.
“The health report? I just threw it in the trash,” Emily said urgently, trying to explain.
She didn’t want to be dragged into their relationship drama but she also wasn’t about to let him throw baseless. accusations her way.
“Go on, keep making things up. Emily, I never knew you could lie so easily.
“Don’t try any of those manipulative tricks with me. You know how much I despise that,” Justin sneered.
Chapter 6
+15 BONUS
Emma reached up to touch his chest, gently rubbing it as if to calm him down. “Please don’t be angry, Justin. Miss Yates may have just spoken impulsively without meaning anything by it. I’m fine, really! Don’t be upset with her anymore.”
She struggled to hold back her tears, taking shaky breaths, her eyes filled with a carefully crafted look of hurt.
Emily felt utterly drained. He didn’t believe her. He had already decided on his own version of the truth, and no amount of evidence would change his mind.
She could pull records from the hospital or check the garden’s security footage, both of which would clear her
name.
But Justin had no intention of investigating. The moment Emma shed a few tears, he instantly assumed Emily was a jealous, spiteful woman who lashed out in anger.
As Justin pushed the wheelchair away from the garden, Emma glanced back at Emily with a triumphant smirk, hidden from his view.
The onlookers around them whispered and pointed, as if they were watching a show. Despite the bright sun overhead, Emily felt like she was trapped in an icy cavern. A surge of frustration rose within her, but she quickly pushed it down.
After three years together, Justin should have known her better than this. He should have known she wouldn’t say something like that. But he was fiercely protective, and when it came to his precious first love, he would believe anything that cast Emily as the villain.
But she wasn’t going to take the blame for something she hadn’t done. Ignoring the prying eyes, she straightened up and walked back toward the hospital building.
Inside, Zac was exiting a room, jotting notes on a medical chart as he strolled down the hallway beside Justin. His tone was calm and matter–of–fact. “Emma’s alright, but her mental state is still fragile.”
“I heard about what happened by the garden. Emily even went to the security room to check the footage. You can’t blame her. Emma was the one who suddenly lost it.” Zac chuckled, hands in the pockets of his lab coat, far from his usual reserved doctor demeanor, with a rare hint of gossip in his tone.
Justin shot him a sidelong glance. “You seem pretty invested in this.”
Zac adjusted his glasses and replied with a straight face, “She’s not my woman, so why would I care?”
He paused, then added, “It’s just that she looked so hurt, like she was about to break.”
Zac had said it on purpose. When Emily had approached him to access the security footage, she had been like a drawn sword, ready to strike. He had initially thought some staff member must have crossed her. But when he checked, he saw it was Justin and Emma involved.
Drama like that? He wasn’t going to miss out.
Hurt? Broken? Justin scoffed.
The woman who had just faced him down with clenched teeth and icy resolve, looking ready to battle, hurt and broken? He didn’t buy it.
A message alert buzzed in his suit pocket. Justin stepped aside into a quiet corner of the hallway and unlocked his phone.
It was from Emily. She had sent him a video clip of the security footage and a photo of her health report, proving she hadn’t lied or tried to cause trouble. No extra words, just the files, as if even addressing him felt like an insult.
Chapter 6
+15 BONUS
Above them was her last message, telling him to come to Villa One so they could settle things.
Justin closed the screen, his eyes flashing with barely contained anger. He wasn’t sure if he was more furious about her exposing Emma’s ploys or about her insistence on finally addressing their relationship head–on.
Under the pale moonlight, the villa door clicked open, and Justin entered. He was wrapped in a black coat and carrying a yellow file folder, still carrying a trace of the night’s chill.
As he shut the door, Emily emerged from the kitchen, a towel wrapped around her damp hair, holding a smoothie. Their eyes met, but neither said a word. The warmth they once shared had long gone, replaced by a tense silence, like strangers with unfinished business.
Without speaking, they headed into the study, one after the other.
Justin took the main chair, while Emily sat across from him. They both knew this was the moment to settle the terms of their contract.
He slid the yellow file folder across the table to her.
Emily assumed it was a termination agreement. But when she opened it, she let out a laugh of disbelief.
It was a three–year renewal contract. The terms required her to remain his secret lover and stated that she was not to appear wherever Emma was present.
What was he thinking?
Did he expect her to hide whenever Emma was around? Did he really believe he could humiliate her like this, as if she had done something wrong?
What an insult.
