Chapter 74

By the next morning, Emma’s decision to leave Will was final. All that was left was to put her plan into motion. She arrived at their mansion, taking it in. Soon this would no longer be her home. Perhaps then the guilt of betraying Conrad would leave. She would no longer be partaking of his generosity. That should assuage her shame.

​ “Good morning, Mrs. Stewart,” one of the housekeepers greeted her. She cringed at the name. “Would you like to have some breakfast prepared?”

​ “Yes please. Would you prepare two portions for me to take with me? I’d like to bring some to my father.”

​ “Of course. I’ll get started on that immediately.”

​ “Is Mr. Stewart home?”

​ “No ma’am.”

​ “Okay. Thank you.”

​ “Of course, ma’am. I shall go prepare your breakfast now.” The housekeeper went towards the kitchen and Emma went into her room.

​ Will wasn’t home. Good. She could do what she needed without him prying into her business. First on the agenda was to secure her own income. Leaving Will would mean losing access to his money. Which was a perk at this point. She would also need to get an apartment big enough for her and her father. Emma thought of the apartment Will had tried to give her so long ago. She’d love to go back to it, but figured he would find her there.

​ “First thing’s first,” Emma said to herself. “I need a job.” She called the one person she knew could help her with that.

​ “Emma! It’s great to hear from you!”

​ “Hi, Spencer. How are you?”

​ “Doing great. You wouldn’t be calling to finally take me up on my offer, would you?”

​ “I am, actually.”

​ “That’s wonderful! When can you start?”

​ “Soon. First, I need to get myself situated. I’m… leaving Will.” Emma hadn’t said the words out loud to anyone else before. The feelings that came along with them were complex. Nothing felt right, but at the same time it did. This was going to be harder than she thought.

​ “Is everything okay?” Spencer sounded concerned. “Do you need any help?”

​ “Everything is okay for now. I’m going to have my father discharged once he recovers from his recent fall. I’ll need to find an apartment for us first.”

​ “I will help you in any possible way I can. I know you don’t like favoritism, but I mean it.”

​ “I appreciate that. So how does this work? How do I become your employee?”

​ “I’m going to send you an email with our offer letter. It will detail everything, including your salary, benefits and the like. Fill everything out and send it back to me. Once your settled, we can take about your start date.”

​ “Thank you, Spencer.”

​ “You’re welcome. I’ve just sent it. Take a look and get back to me.”

​ They hung up and she opened her email. As promised, Spencer’s message was there.

​ *Dear Miss Emma Wells,*

*Congratulations on your employment with Lucas Design Studios, Inc. We are pleased that you have chosen to work with us and look forward to nurturing and growing your design talents. For starting compensation, we would like to offer you a salary of $70,000 annually. Also, a sign on bonus of $14,000 will be awarded to you. A full medical, dental and vision benefits package is also included for you and a family member.*

*Other perks can include, company housing, company vehicles and paid travel. If this is agreeable to you, please respond to this email. Again, we are glad you have chosen to have your talents represented by Lucas Design Studios.*

​ *Respectfully,*

​ *Spencer Lucas, CEO*



​ Emma blinked as she reread the email several times. Her starting salary was more than she could have hoped for, and that sign on bonus would greatly assist her in finding a place for her and her father to live. Spencer was giving her everything she needed. She couldn’t help but think that perhaps he was being overly generous, but she wasn’t in a position where she could say no. And it wasn’t free. She would earn it by working as hard as she could for him. She answered the email letting him know that she accepted his terms.

​ Emma smiled. She had a job. A sense of freedom came over her. Ever since meeting Will, it seemed like he was involved in everything she did. They only part of her life he seemed to have no dominion over was her education. And now, she was putting it to use. She could build a life for herself. A life without William Stewart.

​ The next few days were filled with hospital visits and apartment listings. Will came home at some point during that time, but Emma was too immersed in her plans to pay him any mind. He watched as she flitted around, barely acknowledging him at all. They spent several days like that. Floating around each other, pretending like the other one isn’t there.

​ “Hi,” Will greeted her one morning. She was walking out the door and had a bag packed with some of her clothes. “Going somewhere?”

​ “Oh, hi,” Emma seemed dismissive of him. “I’m going to stay at the hospital with my dad for the next few days.”

​ “You’ve been busy,” he commented. “You haven’t talked to me in days.”

​ “I have nothing to say to you.” Emma was cold, and aloof. Will didn’t like it. “I’ve said everything I can say. And you don’t want to listen to me.”

​ “Emma…”

​ “I have to go,” Emma turned to leave.

​ “You wanted to talk to me, so talk to me!” Will slammed his hands down on the table to stood up.

​ “I have to go,” Emma repeated and left.

​ “Damn it!” Will huffed and threw himself back into his seat. He feared they may very well be broken this time. The only way to fix it was to say he believed her, but he wasn’t sure who he believed at all.

​ Emma was proud of herself for not giving in. Her mind was made up and she was set on leaving Will no matter what. She arrived to the hospital, and found one of the physical therapists working with her father.

​ “How is he doing?” she asked.

​ “Better. He’s pretty stiff, but that’s to be expected with a fall like his.”

​ “I will… get better fast,” Emmett said.

​ “No, you won’t,” Emma kissed his forehead, and sat down. “We’re going to take our time and go nice and slow.”

​ “Listen to your daughter, Emmett,” the therapist laughed. “She looks like she means business.”

​ “She’s good to me,” Emmett smiled. The therapist ended the session and left them alone.

​ “Daddy, I need to talk to you.”

​ “It’s Will, isn’t it?”

​ “Yes,” she sighed. “I know how happy you were that we got married, but things aren’t okay, and I can’t stay with him…”

​ “I don’t need… reasons,” Emmett stopped her. He put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair. “All that matters… is that you are happy.” Emma teared up at her father’s words.

​ “I will be happy. Someday, I will be happy. In about a week, I’m going to have you discharged from here, and you and I are going to live somewhere. Just the two of us.”

​ “How?”

​ “I got a job! It pays really well, so I’ll be able to take care of you! I’ll make sure we find a place close to the studio so I can check in on you during lunch.”

​ “I have one… condition,” Emmett asked.

​ “Name it.”

​ “I want somewhere… close to… a park. I don’t want… to sit in a chair… all day. Like before.”

​ Emma felt as though she’d been punched in the gut. Her father had spent the better part of a decade sitting drunk in a recliner. This was proof that she had him back for good.

​ “Of course, Daddy. It’ll be somewhere nice. And we’ll make sure that you have things to do, and places you can walk. We’ll eat dinner together and watch movies or take walks at night. It’ll be great, I promise.”

​ As she told Will, she spent the next few days at the hospital. She found an apartment for her and her father. It was in a nice building about two miles away from the studio. It was nestled behind a small park with lots of trees and benches. The apartment was modest, with two bedrooms, one bathroom, a small kitchen and spacious living room. It was more than enough for them. It was far cry from Will’s penthouse apartment, or Conrad’s lavish mansion. And that was one of the reasons she loved it.

​ As soon as they were moved in, she would finalize the employment process with Spencer, and be an official architectural designer. There was already a project he wanted her to work on and that excited her. The week was shaping up to be productive, but as the days progressed, she was feeling more and more rundown and exhausted.

​ “Miss Emma, you’ve been here every day. Don’t you think you should go home and rest? You look awfully tired,” Amanda, the nurse had commented. Her father had been taken over for therapy, and Emma took the opportunity to try and rest.

​ “I have been feeling tired, but it’s fine. This is where I’d rather be,” Emma smiled. She went to stand, but swayed on her feet. Before she could right herself, her body gave out from underneath and she crashed to the floor.

​ “Emma!” Amanda called out. The nurse rushed over to her, lifting Emma’s head off the floor. Moments later, Emma’s eyes fluttered open. “Let me call a doctor for you.”

​ “No, no, I’m fine. It’s fine.” Emma struggled to get up, but felt weak. “I’m just tired.”

​ “Ma’am…”

​ “Can you start the discharge process for my father? I’d like to take him home today.”

​ Amanda smiled.

​ “He has been doing well. I think it’ll do both of you a world of good to get out of here. That poor man has been in a hospital for months. Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, helping Emma up.

​ “Absolutely. I’m fine,” she repeated. Amanda dashed out of the room, and Emma called to reserve a cab. She was thankful for the bonus Spencer had given her. It was more than enough to secure the apartment and furnish it. He even helped her get a hospital bed for her father’s room. Everything was working out.

​ “This is for the best,” she said, trying to convince herself. “This is what we need.”

​ In the meantime, Will was on his way to the hospital. Everything about the situation with Emma and Grace felt off, and he wanted to try and get to the bottom of it. On his way, Grace kept calling. He hadn’t been to see her in two days and her calls were becoming incessant.

​ “Yes, Grace?” he answered with thinly veiled frustration.

​ “Where are you?” she cried. “Why haven’t you come to see me? Why haven’t you answered my calls?”

​ “I’ve been busy with work,” he answered.

​ “I called the office. They said you weren’t there. You’re with her, aren’t you? With Emma?”

​ “She is my wife, you know.”

​ “I thought you were going to leave her. I thought you were coming back to me!”

​ “I never said…”

​ “She’ll never love you the way I do!” Grace screamed.

​ “Please calm down,” Will tried to soothe her, but was growing tired of this. He didn’t know this Grace anymore. She hadn’t changed on the outside. She was still gorgeous. The sight of her brought back many memories for him, both happy and painful. But his Grace wasn’t in that shell anymore. She used to be elegant, powerful and confident. One of his favorite things to was to watch her paint. Her movements were soft and ethereal. Like an angel painting heaven. But now, she was snivelly, insecure and overbearing. Had Denis done this to her?

​ “I can’t be calm if you’re not here!”

​ “I’ll be there soon, okay?” he said to try and get her off the phone.

​ “Soon isn’t good enough! You have to get here now! What if Emma tries to come back and hurt me again?”

​ “That won’t happen. I have to go.”

​ “Will…”

​ He hung up. Months ago, he craved Grace’s attention. All he wanted was for her to want him back. But now… he found himself not wanting her attention at all. Grace had been the love of his life. She was his everything. At first, Emma seemed to be a place holder for her. When had Emma taken her place in his heart?