Chapter 41

The words rang in her head like alarm bells. In all of those private talks with Conrad, he never hinted at what he was plotting. Emma should have realized that was his plan when he gave her his late wife’s ring. How could I be so stupid? She chastised herself.
“He wants you to marry me?”
“For the love of God, Emma. Drop the fucking act!” Will yelled.
“Don’t yell at me! And there is no act. I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“Do you expect me to believe that all of those times he pulled you away, and you two had private little walks and conversations that it never came up?” Will asked. He was taunting and sarcastic, and Emma was losing what little patience she had left.
“We never even talked about me! We talked about you! And how Grace was the center of your whole fucking life.” Will’s eyes narrowed at her.
“Stop talking about shit you don’t know anything about!”
“You wanted the truth? That’s the truth. He showed me pictures of you and Grace and he told me about how she was the only one that could ever make you smile!”
“Shut up!” Will shouted. “I don’t care if you try to con me. But you tricked my grandfather into believing you cared about him!”
“I do care about him!” Emma cried.
“You’ll do anything for money, won’t you? Why would I believe anything you say?”
“You are such an arrogant jackass. You can’t even recognize when genuine people are around you!”
“And you are a conniving, opportunistic gold digger,” Will sneered.
Emma was stunned into silence. Her blood bubbled in her veins. She was so tired of this back and forth with Will. Things would never be peaceful with him. He wouldn’t allow it. It was as though he thrived off of their fights. The car felt claustrophobic. All Emma could think about was getting out of there and as far away from Will as possible.
“Pull over,” she said through clenched teeth.
Will continued driving, as if she hadn’t spoken.
“You pull this damn car over right now or I will jump out!”
The car came to a stop, Will still didn’t look at her. Emma went to the open the door, but Will grabbed her hand to stop her.
“Let go,” Emma said
“You can’t go anywhere without me.” The tension in his hand on hers spoke of anger and turmoil. But his voice was cold and emotionless.
“I am so tired of you controlling everything I do! I am not some ‘thing’ in your life. I am a person!” Emma pulled her arm out of Will’s grip and opened the door.
“If you leave now, can’t come back,” he warned. Emma hesitated for a moment. She wasn’t in her rational mind. They were in the middle of nowhere. But one look at Will’s smug face threw all sensible judgement out of the window.
“I would rather be murdered out here than spend another second with you,” Emma replied.
“What have I told you about that self-dignity of yours? When you have nothing, you need to listen to those who have power over you.”
“You really don’t feel bad at all for how you treat me, do you?”
“Why would feel bad? You’re just a pet to me. I can treat you however I want,” Will dismissed her.
“I knew it. You are just like that evil man Jane sold me to. I’m just property to you. I can’t believe I deluded myself into thinking anything else,” Emma eyes welled up with angry tears. “You are the most selfish, horrible man I have ever met. Marry you? I hope to never see you again!” Emma stepped out of the car and took one last look at him. “Go fuck yourself, William Stewart!” She slammed the door and stomped away from the car.
All she was to him was a thing he owned. It was all she would ever be to him. She felt so stupid for ever believing he was a good person. Everything he did was only for his own benefit. The car engine purred behind, but she heard the car roar to life after a few minutes. She looked back and saw Will speeding away.
Her heart fell to her feet the further away he went. Regardless of what she felt about him, he was right. She depended on him. If she was going to make it through the next few months, she would have to learn to play along. And she hated it.
Emma wandered the unfamiliar streets. Her anger was gone, and fear set in. She was alone on a dark, strange road. No one was around. The silence was deafening. Dark corners seemed to hide all of her nightmares in their depths. She continued to walk along the desolate roadside waiting for signs of life, or some kind of indicator to help her find where she was. Emma fished her phone out of her bag, hoping the navigation could give her a clue. It rang in her hand. Sabrina’s name flashed across the screen.
“Oh, thank God!” Emma scrambled to answer the phone. “Hi!”
“Hey girl. Whatever you’re doing, stop it now. I need you to come out for a drink with me.”
“Yes! Can you come get me? I’m… um… somewhere. I’m sort of stranded.”
“What? What do you mean stranded?”
“Well…”
“You know what? Never mind. Send me your location. I’ll go get you.”
Emma sent her location to Sabrina, and waited there for her. Yet another reason to hate the situation she was in. She was so wrapped up in Will, she was forgetting about her friends. She’d been lying to them for weeks about everything that had been going on. They weren’t stupid. There was no way that they didn’t suspect that something was up. But they never pressed her. A knot pressed against her throat as she thought of them. They would do anything for her, and she couldn’t return their loyalty with any decency of her own. She didn’t deserve them.

“I don’t know what’s been going on with you lately,” Sabrina questioned when they arrived at the bar. “But right now, I just need you to drink with me.”
“Sabrina, I…”
“Not now, Emma. Just drink.” They had a few drinks, and Emma’s blood felt warm in her veins again. The fear had been more crippling than she realized. Sabrina was right. At that moment, all they both needed was to drink. The alcohol took hold of them, and Emma was feeling angrier than before.
“You know what?” she slurred. “I hate men. They don’t care about anyone except themselves. They trap you with their sexiness and make you depend on them. Then they treat you like shit.”
“Who are you talking about?” Sabrina asked, surprised by Emma’s outburst. “Who did that to you?”
“Oh!” Emma realized she’d said too much. “No one. I mean men in general. They’re just evil and they suck,” she recovered.
“Right,” Sabrina said. She knew Emma was lying, but was too wrapped up in her own sorrows to press her. “You’re right. Men are self-centered assholes. They only focus on their stupid best friends and their drama, and just ignore their girlfriends. Best friend, my ass.”
“What happened? Did Alex do something?”
“No. That’s the problem. He hasn’t done a damn thing.”
“Last I saw him, you two seemed to be really into each other. You were so happy, and he was practically falling all over you.”
“Yeah, it was great. Things were damn near perfect. But I haven’t seen or heard from him for like a week.” Sabrina downed another drink. “He’s been too busy dealing with his friend’s drama. Apparently, some stuff went down with a family member. That I can forgive. But the rest is just childish.”
“What friend?” Emma asked, afraid she knew the answer.
“Who else?” Sabrina rolled her eyes. “It’s that guy from the other day. William Stewart, the biggest crybaby on the planet.”
How could that be? She’d been with him for the last few days… No. I’ve been with his grandfather. Where had Will been during all that time? Emma pondered.
“What happened with him?”
“Girl, it’s the dumbest thing. This guy is like… still in love with his ex or something. And her wedding is coming up soon.”
Emma nearly spit out her drink.