Chapter 173

Their days were filled with appointments. Every time they turned around, there was somewhere to be. Will had been discharged and had the company to take care of. With the building finally underway, Stewart Industries was thriving again. It was a rare moment that he got time to himself. And even when he did, everyone else was busy with their own hectic lives. Will floated around his giant, empty home. He went to work, came home, did his physical therapy exercises, and went to sleep. Alone. He found, in recent days, that alone was not a good place for him to be. Nightmares plagued his sleep, and he jumped at the slightest noises. Monsters had moved from under the bed and in the shadows to inside his mind.
He hated it.
Emma hadn’t been able to make good on her promise to move back. Things were hectic, and no one had time for anyone anymore. It had been almost two weeks before he saw anyone. They all called and messaged each other, but it wasn’t enough. And on top of everything else, he had court appearances, appointments with Sam, and press conferences that Sabrina scheduled for him. It was madness. But he did manage to find some peace in the pandemonium. There was a semblance of the old Will in it. The parts of him he missed. Nights were the only part that was bad. The house was cold. He was lonely.
“You have one more appearance this week, and that should be it for a while,” Sabrina said on their daily call. He sank into his office chair, giving in to a moment of pain. “I heard that inhale. Are you hurting?”
“A little. I may have overdone it on the workout last night.”
“We talked about this…” Sabrina warned. “The doctors said you could cause permanent damage if you keep doing that.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Will said, rubbing his face. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. “I’ll ice it in a little while. What’s this appearance?”
“Well…” she gushed. “I got you a spot on a celebrity talk show. The company’s image is all pristine and shiny. Now we have to work on getting the public to love you again.”
“I thought they already loved me,” he smirked.
“They do… but no one is talking about you. You know? You used to be in the tabloids and society pages.”
“For all the wrong reasons.”
“Right. And now we’re going to put you in for all the right reasons. You’ll see. I already had Jason curate an outfit for you. It’ll be messengered over the day of the show. Hair and makeup will be done there.”
“They’re going to ask me personal questions, then?”
“Yes. Not too personal. I have an injunction set up for… certain questions.”
“Thanks. How’s Alex?”
“He’s all right. All that time messing with the other side of his life got him to focus back on his art. He and Emma have been working on someone actually.”
“What was that?” he asked.
“What was what?” her voice perked up with feigned innocence.
“That! You’ve all been hiding something from me!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He could hear her smiling through the phone. Over the last few days, he could feel a secret hanging in the air. Sabrina seemed the most eager to give it up, dropping hints here and there and pushing more personal appearances. He was certain that had something to do with what they were plotting behind his back.
They talked a little longer about their children and work, but all too soon the call is over, and he was alone again.
He decided he’d had enough. He was tired of being alone. Emma and Lizzie belonged with him. They’d spent enough time apart. He dialed her number and waited for her to answer.
“Hey,” she answered. “I was just about to call you.”
“I want you here this weekend,” he said.
“Oh my God,” Emma sighed. “I want to see you too…”
“No, you don’t understand. I want you here. Like living here. You said you would, but you’re still in Lyncrest. I’ll send someone to pack up the apartment, but you and Lizzie need to move back here.”
“Will…”
“No, Emma. You said you would come home. I’m tired of being alone. There is no reason for you to be over there. Your major projects are here… I’m here. This is where you belong.”
“Will… I… You’re right. I did say that I would go back. I meant it. I really did. I just… I got caught up in things here. But I do want to be with you.”
“So why aren’t you?”
“I’m scared,” she whispered. “What if we mess up again?”
“We won’t. Our relationship before… that was before. Before I knew that I loved you and before I knew what I wanted for my life. Before you and I made the most beautiful baby girl in the world. Now we have those things. We won’t mess up. Will there be times we disagree or fight? Sure. But then we’ll work things out and have amazing makeup sex.”
Emma laughed.
“You’re right. I hate being away from you too. And Lizzie asks for you every night.”
“Then come home, Emma. Come home.”
***
The day of Will’s talk show appearance had arrived. The suit Jason selected was amazing as always. The light gray suit was fitted to his body, outlining him the way an ornate frame holds a painting. Royal blue accents brought an unexpected but pleasing pop of color, which gave him a professional look with an air of approachability. But he looked damned hot in it as well. Sabrina was very pleased. It was her exact vision. His hair was casually tousled.
“You’re not at a board meeting,” she explained back stage. “Be relaxed. Slouch a bit.” She continued to fuss over him, nitpicking at the last little details.
“Got it. What questions are they not allowed to ask?”
“Um,” Sabrina let out a long breath. “They... can’t ask you anything about Grace. Or how you knew Ghost. I figured you wouldn’t want to talk about that.”
“You figured right. I don’t pay you enough,” he smiled.
“You pay me just fine. Whatever else you think you owe me, give it to me by making my best friend happy.”
“For the rest of my life.”
“Answer questions about her, and Lizzie if you’d like. You can reveal their names, that’s your choice.”
“Mr. Stewart?” an attendant piped up. “We’re ready for you.”
“You got this!” Sabrina encouraged. Will walked out to the set and greeted the host. He was met with thunderous applause from the studio audience.
“Great to have you on the show, Mr. Stewart!” The show host, Tim Stanton, shook his hand.
“Great to be here. And please call me Will.” Will took a seat, remembering Sabrina’s cues, and did his best to look relaxed. The movement caused a slight pull in his chest, and he winced.
“All right there, Will?”
“Yes, fine. I’m still in recovery.”
“Indeed. We all saw that harrowing footage of you jumping in front of that gun. So, I suppose I’ll just start with the big question first. The one on everyone’s lips. Why did you take that bullet?”
“That’s easy. Ghost had aimed it at my girlfriend.” He caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Sabrina was giving him a thumbs up and doing her best to contain her squealing. The audience gasped.
“Girlfriend?” Tim asked. “Well… the public needs to know. Who is this mystery woman?”
“She’s no mystery. Emma and I were married briefly. It was arranged by my grandfather, so things didn’t work out at first. But after our split, we realized that we wanted to be together. What neither of us knew at the time is that when we parted ways, she took a piece of me with her.”
Again, the audience gasped.
“Are you saying that William Stewart, billionaire bachelor extraordinaire is a now a father?”
“I am,” he beamed. “We have a baby girl, and she is the center of my universe.”
***
“It was perfect!” Sabrina hugged him as he walked off set. “Absolutely perfect! By this time tomorrow, your face will be everywhere! And maybe… there will be a surprise for you when you get home…” she trailed off.
“You’re the worst,” he smirked.
“And don’t you forget it! See you soon.” She skipped off, elated at how the show went. Will shook his head in amusement. It was great to see her. It was great to see anyone… even if it was in a business setting.
“Time to go home, I guess. Home. Alone.”
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