Chapter 02.

IT'S OVER!

Emily's POV.

Of course, I knew that the scent from the underwear was familiar. The underwear was Abby's: my sister. I mean, how's is that even possible? I gripped my head in my hands, and closed my eyes for a moment, trying to process what I saw some minutes back. Before long, I opened my eyes.

"I–I don't understand what's going on, why are you here?" I stuttered, blinking my eyes in shock, while watching her get dressed. "What are you doing here?"

"And what does it look like I came here to do?" she asked, with no ounce of remorse on her face.

"What?" - I crinkled my face at the words.

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes at the words. "Don't play victim here, Emily. It's exactly what you saw. I mean, do I really need to say the words to you?"

She scoffed. "You are old enough to know what's going on, so I don't think I owe you an explanation right now."

"Of course, you do." I said,

"No, I don't." she said, with ice in her voice. "I don't owe you an explanation sister. What you saw is exactly what has been going on. You finally caught us, so I don't think there's anything to hide anymore."

She shrugged.

"How could you?" I asked, in a broken voice. "How could you do this to me? Have you forgotten so soon that I'm your sister? How could you ruin my marriage?"

"Don't even get me started right now." she said, her voice as hard as steel. "Look, you already saw it and I believe that's enough explanation. I don't want to do this with you right now. It's only a waste of time."

"How long?" I sniffled, wiping my face with the back of my hand. "How long has this been going on?"

"Three months? Or perhaps, half a year?" she shrugged, as if it meant nothing.

"Abby!"

"See? This is the very thing about you that gets me irritated." she said, speaking through her teeth. "Can you just stop being so dramatic, huh? You're not a kid, and neither is any of us here. These things happen; you should know that."

"These things happen?" I reiterated, shaking my head in disbelief. "Aren't you ashamed of yourself right now? These things happen? Why didn't you go elsewhere? Why does it have to be my marriage? There are over a million and one men out there,"

I pointed out through the window for emphasis.

"Why does it have to be my husband?" I added, my voice sounding strained all of a sudden.

"You really don't know?" she shifted her body weight to one foot, and folded her arms across her chest. "Do you really need me to tell you?"

"You should be feeling bad for what you did, Abby." I said, in a low, pained voice. "But I doubt if you feel anything right now."

"Am I supposed to feel bad right now?" she arched a brow. "I saw this coming long before now. So I did myself some good: I prepared beforehand because I knew your emotions would mess you up, and I wasn't wrong about it."

"Don't you have anything to say right now?" I turned to Marcus with tears in my eyes. "You are just going to watch her say those hurtful words to me, huh? For goodness' sake Marcus, I'm your wife!"

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Even if you wanted to cheat on me, you could have done so outside there." my voice dropped. "You should have been careful enough so that I wouldn't find out about it. But now, I caught you. And you know what's worse? It's my sister, Marcus. How shameless can you be?"

"You can call me whatever names you want to," he said, looking me straight in the eyes. "But it doesn't mean that I'll change my mind; sign these papers and let's both go our separate ways."

"We have come a long way to go our separate ways now." I said, shaking my head. "Please, don't do this to me. I beg of you."

Even though I didn't want to, and certainly not in front of my sister, but that was my only option. So, with tears in my eyes, I went on my knees before him. It didn't matter to me if she was standing right there, all I wanted to do was to save my marriage.

"If I'd made a mistake in the past, then please let me know." I sobbed softly, burying my face in my hair. "I will do anything to fix our marriage. But please, don't ask me to leave."

"My mind is made up, Emily." he said. "There is nothing you say or do right now that's going to make me change my mind. I want a divorce, and I want it now."

"Marcus, I swear to you that the child is yours." I said, lifting my pain darkened eyes to him. "I wouldn't cheat on you. I have never had such thoughts before."

"Don't you get it?" he asked. "I am done with this marriage. So please, sign the papers and leave. You don't want me to throw you out myself, so while I'm still asking nicely, I need you to leave."

"Marcus, you've to believe me." I said, pressing a hand against my chest as tears welled my eyes. "I have never cheated on you; Nigel has been a friend since childhood. There's nothing going on between us. I can swear it."

"I don't need you to." he lowered himself to a squat, and pushed a tumbling hair back off my brow with a hand. "What I want is quite simple: sign the papers and leave. I'm done with this marriage."

I turned to the side, and glanced at the divorce papers on the bed. I stared at it for a few seconds, and then dropped my head. It just didn't make any sense to me.

It was supposed to be a happy day. I mean, for the past three years, we've been searching for our own child, and now that we finally have one, he wants a divorce?

"You heard him, right?" Abby's voice broke in on my thoughts. "He doesn't want you here anymore. So please, leave."

"Abby..."

"Please, don't look at me with those pitiful eyes." she made a face. "I am not the reason your marriage is about to fall. Or better still, has fallen. You had no idea how to keep your man, and I decided to do you a favor. Now, how's that any of my fault? Besides, I think you should know."

She flung a paper my way. It floated and landed on the floor, right in front of me. I wiped my runny nose with a hand, and picked up the paper. Turns out it wasn't any paper, but a medical report.

I went through it, until my eyes settled on the boxes at the bottom of the report. There was a tick in the box which indicated positive. My heart sank.

"You are pregnant." I said, blinking my eyes in shock. "H–How is that even possible?"

"Of course, I am pregnant." a wry smile twisted her lips as she rubbed her palms against her stomach. "How is that possible? Really?"

She arched a brow.

"We had fun, and he slept with me." she chuckled, and shrugged. "That is how it became possible. It's over Emily. Just leave."

I sniffled, and wiped my face with the back of my hand, then I got on my feet. There was no point crying over spilt milk. It was clear that Marcus was done with me. If he still had any intention to keep me by his side, then he wouldn't have gotten her pregnant.

"The papers, can I have them please." I asked, my voice subdued with tears.

"Here," he picked it up from the bed and handed it over to me.

I received it from him, and then put my signature on it.

"That's all, right?" I asked, returning the papers to him.

"Yes," he received it from me, and glanced at it to confirm if I really did sign it.

"Very well then," I gripped my roller bag, which was by the bedside table.

However, as I took a step, my gaze fell on the dagger lying on the bedside table. I lifted my gaze to know if either of them were watching. Fortunately, neither of them was. I picked it up, wrapped my fingers around it, and pulled my roller bag as I made for the door.

As I got to the door, I paused, and turned back to them.

"Mark my words, you're both going to regret this."

Again, as I turned to leave, I paused, and turned to Marcus.

"Here's my farewell gift to you both." I brought out the dagger, and held it to my neck.

"Emily... don't." he said, shaking his head.

"Goodbye." I said, slitting my neck with the dagger.

The dagger escaped my grip as I fell to the ground, gurgling, and gasping for breath. But then, Abby walked up to me, and lowered her knees to a squat.

"You made the right decision sis." she said, with a cynical smile. "I never thought you'd make things this easy for me. I owe it to you. Take these words with you to the grave, I paid someone to make those photos of you and Nigel."

A tear trickled down the side of my nose.

Chapter 03.

TWICE AS MUCH!

Emily's POV.

Exhaling sharply, I stopped walking and gripped the wall for support as my head kept spinning all over the place.

Walking now seemed like a job I was employed to do; I'd barely taken a few steps, but I'd grown exhausted already.

"You are finally awake?" Nigel's voice broke into my thoughts.

I turned, and found him setting the dining.

"Finally?" I asked, barely breathing the words.

"Yes, believe it or not, you've been unconscious for a month, or perhaps even more." he said, loosening the apron around his waist. "You were only fortunate enough to have survived. If that blade had gone in an inch deeper,"

He pinched his fingers to show.

"I guess we would be standing over your gravestone at the moment." he added.

My heart's shook at the words. I obviously wasn't thinking when I decided to cut my neck with the blade. But the pain was just too much to bear.

If anything, I wanted to get back at Marcus for betraying me. However, I guess I took things too far. I shouldn't have gambled with my own life.

"Here, drink this; it'll help with the dizziness." he said, handing me some pills, and a glass of water.

"Thank you." I said, drinking the pills.

"You are welcome." he said, receiving the glass from me.

He turned around to return to the dining.

"How is Marcus doing?" I asked, in a curious tone.

He paused, and turned back to face me.

"Did I hear you wrong, or did you just ask of him?" he asked, shaking his ear with a finger. "You just regained consciousness after a month, and the first person you ask of is Marcus? Are you kidding?"

"Nigel..."

"You must be joking right now." he said, his voice rose to a scream as he pointed a finger at me. "Can you even listen to yourself?"

He scoffed, and pushed his fingers through his hair.

"If I didn't arrive at Marcus's when I did, then you would be dead." he added, speaking through his teeth with forced restraint. "The same Marcus who you're worried about left you to die on that floor after you cut yourself."

He pointed a finger to the floor for emphasis.

"He didn't even bother to come check up on you while you were at the hospital." he continued, giving a slow disbelieving head shake. "And now the first person you ask of after you regain consciousness is him? Really? What about me who's been taking care of you for the past three weeks?"

His voice was cold as Ice.

"You won't ask how it's been for me, huh?" he blinked back tears. "I had to bring you here because your life wasn't safe anymore at the hospital just so that you would get well. If you'd asked for a meal, then it would have been better, but Marcus? You're wrong."

He squeezed the apron, and tossed it on the floor.

"Nigel." I called, gripping his arm as he was about to walk out on me. "I am sorry, I had no idea that all these happened."

"Of course, you don't." he said, his voice as hard as steel. "Each day, I would prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner, hoping that you would eventually wake up and join me in the dining, but no."

He shook his head, while looking at me with tears in his eyes.

"Just last night, you moved a finger, and I figured that you'd regain consciousness in the morning, and fortunately you did." he added, swallowing hard. "But even after what he did to you, it's hard to believe that you're still this naive. You aren't supposed to feel a thing for him."

"I know that I shouldn't ask about him," I said, trying to quell the sob rising in my throat. "But let's not forget that he's also the father of my child."

"I figured you'd say that." he said, his voice matching the hardness of his gaze. "But don't you get it, Emily? They want you dead, and not alive."

He put his hands on my shoulder, and looked into my eyes.

"Why exactly do you think I brought you here?" he asked, shaking his head slowly. "Your own sister tried to kill you while you were unconscious at the hospital. I couldn't leave you there all by yourself. And that's why I brought you here to stay with me."

"Why would she try to kill me?" I asked, my throat tightened with tears. "I don't see any reason for her to kill me."

"That thing in your stomach is enough reason for her to try to kill you." he said. "I learnt that she's pregnant for Marcus too. As long as you both are pregnant for him, she'll try to do everything in her power to take you and your child out of the picture, so that she can have all his wealth to herself alone."

"Abby wouldn't try to kill me." I said, shaking my head, while blinking back tears. "She is my sister."

"Well, too bad, she tried to." he let out a sigh. "She already stole your husband from you, got pregnant for him, do you think she'll stop now? She's almost accomplished whatever plan she'd in mind when she approached your husband."

He pushed a tumbling hair back off my brow, and flashed a brief smile across my face.

"She isn't your sister, and he's no longer someone you should care for; they are both your enemies now." he said. "They have both hurt you. Right now, you should think about hurting them twice as much as they've hurt you."

He really didn't need to say that, because I'd decided to do so. I'll make them suffer for the betrayal and pain.

"I am hungry." I said, turning my head to the side. "It looks really delicious."

"Of course, it is." he smiled. "Go ahead, I'll just quickly wash my face and join you."

He took his hand away from my shoulder. I walked towards the dining, pulled out a chair that was tucked into the table, and then settled down. Right in front of me were varieties of dishes, but the golden brown color of the toasted bread caught my attention.

I picked up a slice from the plate, closed my eyes, and drew in the scent.

"You can have as much as you want." his voice broke in on my thought.

I opened my eyes and found him in front of me. He pulled out a chair from the other side of the table, settled on it and scuffed it forward.

"Thank you." I said, taking a bite.

"How is it?" he asked, raising a brow.

"It tastes so good." I said, touching the corner of my lips with a finger.

"Here," he handed me a tissue. "Use that instead."

"Thank you." I received it from him and wiped my mouth.

"It is obviously not the best time to bring this up, but I have to." he said, elbows on the table and fingers laced beneath his jaw. "I think it's time for you to accept his offer. You want to get back at Marcus and Abby for what they did to you? Then he's the only one that can help you."

"You don't expect me to get married to him, do you?" I asked, raising a furrowed brow. "I just barely regained consciousness, and you're bringing this up? It doesn't make any sense."

"Yes, I know." he said, in a soft voice. "But if you ask me, then I'd tell you that we can't waste any more time. One month is gone already."

"I was unconscious in that period." I said, speaking through my teeth. "I don't need to remind you of that, do I?"

"No, you don't." he said. "But Ash has been the one sorting your medical bills. He's been the one taking care of you the entire time."

"I didn't ask him to." I said, shaking my head. "Besides, if I'm going to get my revenge on Marcus, and Abby, then I don't need his help to do that. Why can't he just get someone else? Why does it have to be me."

"He wants the same thing that you do." he said, with a meaningful look in his eyes. "Here."

He pulled out a document from a brown envelope, and handed it to me. It was just a few papers held together by a staple.

"What is this?" I dropped the toast bread on the plate, and received the document from him.

"It is your death certificate." he said.

"What?" I crinkled my face in shock.

"Yes. When Abby tried to kill you, we made it seem like she succeeded in doing so." he explained. "However, I asked the doctor to fake your death report. So neither Marcus nor Abby know that you're alive right now."

"This doesn't make any sense." I said, shaking my head as I read through the document. "Time of death, 8:15pm?"

I lifted my head to him and cocked a brow. But he said nothing, so I dropped my head and continued reading through. I turned over to the next page.

"Cause of death, internal bleeding?" I raised my head to him.

"Sounds natural, doesn't it?" he asked.

"I am not doing this." I dropped the document on the table and righted myself from the chair. "I have just lost my appetite, and it's all thanks to you."

Before I could take a step from where I was standing, he got up and gripped my arm.

"I can understand that this is tough for you right now." he said, his voice as soft as the toasted bread. "But I'm only trying to help you. They stole your happiness, and you just want to let them be?"

"I didn't say I will." I sniffled, wiping my face with the back of my hand.

"They need to suffer for what they did to you, Emily." he said. "Trust me, you won't be alone on this; I'll be with you every step of the day."

"Alright then, where can I find Ash?"

Chapter 04.

IT'S TIME!

Emily's POV.

"Took you long enough to decide."

The words came as soon as I walked into the mansion with Nigel. I froze, and turned my head to the side. Sanding at the top of stairs with a staff in his grip was Ash. As we locked gazes, a smile curled up his lips. The kind of smile that said that I'd taken the right decision.

I wasn't sure if accepting his proposal was the right thing to do, but one thing was certain: I wanted to get back at Marcus and Abby. And just as Nigel had said, Ash could help me achieve that.

"But I'm glad you're here." he smiled, descending the staircase.

I watched as he took his time, one foot forward, then the other, with a hand on the railing for support. He continued that way until he finally set both feet on the floor.

"It doesn't actually take this long for me to get down from the stairs," he said, a bubble of laughter rising in his throat as he walked towards the sitting room. "I have just been feeling pains in my knees these past few days. But it's nothing to worry about."

He settled on the couch, and kept his staff on the armrest of the couch.

"Come," Nigel said, and led the way.

I didn't follow immediately. Instead, I stayed back, drew in a deep, calming breath. After doing that, I walk behind him. I swept my eyes all over the place. There was a shelf with books to the side.

In the meantime, I settled on the couch opposite Ash's.

"I heard you took care of me while I was still unconscious." I said, rubbing my hands down my pants legs, and evading his gaze. "Thank you."

"I did nothing, actually." he said, with a brief smile. "If there's anyone who should be grateful here, then it's me. Thank you accepting my offer."

"As long as it would make Marcus and Abby suffer for what they did to me, then I'm fine." I said, but my voice shook, betraying my true feelings.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked, looking me straight in the eyes.

"Honestly, I don't know." I dropped my head, and glanced at my palms as though they'd the answers to the questions running through my mind at that time. "However, if my sister could do that to me without taking into consideration that I'm her sister, and if he could do that to me without thinking that I'm his wife, then I don't think I should take pity on either of them."

"Now that's more like it." he said, and took off his arm.

My heart shook. Wait... what? He was an amputee? One wouldn't even notice that his arm wasn't real. I turned to Nigel, hoping he would provide some explanation to me, but he just smiled as if it was nothing.

"I can see that you're surprised." he said, his voice broke in on my thoughts. "Don't be. This is all Marcus's doing."

"What?" I crinkled my face at the words.

"It is a story for another day." he said. "But right now? We've to act fast. I've got a meeting with Golden Strings Holdings."

"Wait... that's," I paused, and turned to Nigel.

He responded with a nod.

"It is exactly as you've thought. It's Marcus's company. Well, for now." Ash said. "However, he has no idea that I'm the founder of Phoenix Lab; he's always wanted to meet with me and partner with my company. But I'm not ready to meet with him yet. Not today."

"Wait," I closed my eyes, and tried to process his words in my head slowly. "You already accepted to meet with him? I mean, what if I didn't agree to do this? What would you have done?"

"I would have gotten someone else to do it." he smiled. "But I knew that you would eventually agree."

"You can't be so certain." I shook my head.

"Of course, I am." he said. "With all that rage, and pain inside of you? It could be a very good weapon to take down Marcus and make him suffer for what he did to you."

"So what I do?"

"Nigel." he turned to him, and nodded softly.

Nigel got up from the couch, and walked into a room. Before long, he stepped out with a briefcase which he dropped on the center table.

"Do I?" Nigel asked.

"Yea, please go ahead." Ash said.

"Alright." Nigel opened the briefcase, brought out some documents and handed it to me.

I read through for a moment, and lifted my face to him.

"This is a marriage?" I asked, making a face.

"A marriage of convenience, to say it better." he said. "All you have to do is put your signature on it. Not to worry, you get to live your life the way you want to. This document doesn't stop you from living your life. However, you'll be the one to meet with him at the meeting today."

As long as it wouldn't stop me from living my life, then I had no problems with signing the documents.

"Don't we need a lawyer for this?" I asked, picking up the pen on the document.

"You didn't tell her yet?" Ash asked, turning to face Nigel.

He dropped his head.

"Well, Nigel here is a lawyer." Ash said. "I guess he forgot to tell you."

"You hadn't regained consciousness then." Nigel said, with an apologetic look in his eyes. "I am sorry, I should have told you earlier today."

"It is no problem. Where do I sign?" I asked.

"Here," Nigel pointed a finger.

I moved my hand in a zigzag manner on the spot which Nigel showed to me.

"Is that all?" I asked, darting my gaze back and forth as I glanced at them both.

"One more thing," Ash said, and pushed a box across the table to me. "Now that we're legally married, you should put it on."

I opened the box, and found a ring inside of it. I sighed. I didn't think for a moment that I would be wearing a ring given to me by another man, and certainly not Ash. If anything, I thought it was just going to be Marcus's ring on my finger till death do us part, as they say. But it's different now.

Besides, my mind was made up. For all the pain I suffered from Marcus, I was prepared to suffer him twice. I took out the ring from the box, and put it on my middle finger. A smile curled up my lips as I glanced at the diamond sparkling at the center.

"It is all done." Ash said, putting his prosthetic arm back on. "When all this is done, there's a fifty million dollar reward for you. And lastly, going forward, your name is Ruby."

"What?" I crinkled my face.

"Yes. You are supposed to be dead, remember?" he said, arching a brow. "So, your name is now Ruby. Keep that in mind. Nigel would give you the documents later on."

He took hold of his staff, and righted himself from the couch.

"We shouldn't keep Marcus waiting. Nigel, drive her to the venue." he added. "Oh, before I forget, there's a package in that room for you, Emily. Go in there and get changed."

That said, he walked towards the stairs. I turned to Nigel, who cued for me to go in with a subtle nod of my head. I exhaled sharply, and walked to the room. As I got in, my jaw dropped. There were dresses of different designs you could ever imagine.

Without wasting time, I slipped into a white pant trousers, white spaghetti strap top, and a sky-blue knee-length blazer jacket. I put some lip gloss on, and smacked my lips. After that, I dressed my hair into a ponytail, and put on a dark sunshade.

Certain that I looked the exact way I imagined, I walked out of the room.

"Can we go now?" I asked, looking over the rims of my sunshades.

Nigel led the way out, and I followed behind. We got into a sleek, black car and he drove out. Before long, we arrived at the venue.

"Are you alright?" he asked, glancing at me through the rearview mirror.

"Yes, I am." I drew in a deep, calming breath, and got down from the car.

Together, we walked in through the revolving door, and then he led me to the conference room where the meeting would be held. As we arrived in the room, he opened the door for me, and I walked in.

There he was, Marcus, sitting at the side of the U shaped desk. Upon seeing me, he formed his lips into an oval of surprise and righted himself from the chair. But I strode in, flinging my hair back with a toss of my head, and pretending not to see him.

In the meantime, I settled on the chair, and put my bag on the desk, but he was still standing, and looking at me in hard wonder.

I lowered my sunshades, and looked over the rims. "Is there a problem, Mr Marsh?"