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?"

Chapter 05.

WE MEET AGAIN.

Emily's POV.

"Time is of the essence, so can we proceed, please?" I folded my arms across my chest, and leaned back in my chair.

"Sure." Marcus said with a brief smile.

He looked over his shoulder, and with a subtle nod of his head, he cued for the man standing behind him to proceed. Picking the signal, the man walked to the table, picked up some documents, and began to hand a copy to everyone present in the room.

"Thank you." I said with a smile as he handed a copy to me.

"Ahem," Marcus cleared his throat, and adjusted his tie as he righted himself from his chair. "I want to believe that we all have a copy of the document now."

He turned to the left, and then to the right to be sure. After confirming that everyone had a copy of the document, he picked up his from the table.

"In this document is a break down of how the contract works." he said, turning his head from left to right to be sure he had everyone's attention. "Please, I'd like you to turn to the first page. There's something I'd like to show you."

While we did as he'd asked, he pushed his chair back, and walked out of the space.

"If you go through it, you'll realize that this isn't like any contract you've seen." he said, tucking his chair into the table. "Even a toddler would grasp the concept of this contract."

A smile pushed my lips to the side. I couldn't say if that was the way he'd intended to explain it, or perhaps that was him just trying to impress me. To me, it did seem like the latter because I don't think he would have said that if it were Ash that was present and not me.

"In this contract," he turned on the projector, and turned to face the screen. "You will see that there's an expected return of profit for every amount in percent that would be invested."

He dropped the document on the table.

"Bryan?" he called, his gaze on the screen.

The man who'd shared the document earlier picked up a remote control from the table, and pointed it at the projector. Before long, the image on the screen changed.

"Take for instance," he explained, pointing a finger to the graphical representation appearing on the screen. "If you invest over twenty percent in this, then you're likely you make over fifty percent profits."

"Likely?" I narrowed my gaze at the words.

I didn't mean to interrupt him. But earlier, he mentioned that there was an expected amount of profit to be made. If anything, he sounded certain that the figures could be achieved.

But then, saying that it would most likely be the case seemed like he was contradicting himself. Or perhaps, was I being a distraction to him?

"Yes, likely." he smiled as if expecting that such question would arise. "I said so because the economy is good on this side of the country. Not to worry, there won't be losses. We hardly experience such here. Instead, there will be lots of profits, and that was why I said, likely."

He did the air quotes.

"There is every chance that you could make the profit expected, or perhaps even more." he added with a shrug. "However, there wouldn't be a case when you record less than the profit expected."

"And how are you so sure about that?" I asked, in a curious tone of voice. "You just mentioned that the economy over here is quite good. I have no issue with that. But the economy can crash anytime. How would you deal with that if such situation occurs?"

I didn't want to interrupt, and throw questions at him in the middle of his explanations, but I just had to be sure. However, it seemed like I was the only one who was concerned, or better still had questions for him. The others seemed to understand everything he said. Or perhaps, were pretending to do so.

"We have a proven strategy to help us overcome such situation." he said. "In the last five years, we have only had to experience a decline in the economy just once,"

He emphasized with a finger.

"However, I've got a team that knows how to handle such situation, so you've nothing to worry about." he concluded.

"Very well, then." I took a sip of the coffee in front of me.

"Does anyone else have a question before I wrap up this part, and move on to the next?" he asked, turning to both sides to see if anyone had. "Please, feel free to speak. If there's something you don't understand, then you can ask. I will do my best to provide clarity on it. Anyone?"

He swept his eyes all over the room. Meanwhile, the others who were present turned to each other, murmuring some words to themselves. But that was it, neither of them stood up to ask any question. It seemed like they all understood all he'd been saying so far.

"In the absence of none, we move on to the last part of the contract." he said. "Please, can you turn to page five of the document with you."

He offered a few seconds for us to turn to the page he'd mentioned.

"Bryan?" he snapped his fingers.

Knowing exactly why Marcus had called him, he picked up the remote control, and pushed a button. Again, the images on the screen changed.

"Thank you." he said, and turned to face the screen. "Now, I need you all to pay attention to me at this point."

The words had barely left his mouth when my phone began to vibrate. The screen came alive, and as I glanced at it, I realized that it was a call from Ash. I sighed, and declined it because I didn't want to cause a distraction.

Marcus had mentioned that there was every need to pay attention to him concerning that part, and I didn't want to miss out any word from it either.

However, my phone began to vibrate again.

"I am sorry, but I have to take this." I righted myself from the chair, and exited the room.

Outside, I swiped at my screen, and accepted the call.

"Hello," I said, covering my mouth with a hand.

"How is it going over there?" Ash asked.

"Well, it's been good so far." I said. "However, you just called at the wrong time. He was about to explain the most important part of the contract to us, but you've denied me the chance to listen to it because of your call."

"Oh, don't you worry, we can always make up for that." he said.

I heard the smile in his voice.

"You think?" I asked.

"I know so." he said. "However, I'm sorry for calling at such a time. I figured you must have been done with the meeting already because there's somewhere we have to be."

"That can wait." I said. "However, I have to return inside now. We'll talk later."

That said, I hung up the call and returned in.

"That is it for the contract." Marcus said as I walked in.

I looked around and noticed that those who were present were preparing to leave already.

"Are you done?" I asked, walking up to him. "So soon?"

"Yes, I am." he said, looking me straight in the eyes as if trying to take off my mask of pretence. "I am sorry you missed the last part, but you can read through the document to know about it."

"In that case, I'll take my leave now." I walked back to my seat, picked up my bag, and left the room.

As I walked towards the exit, I heard the sounds of footsteps approaching from behind me. Suddenly, I felt a hand pull me back.

“What in the world is wrong with you?” I yelled, angered by the fact that I could have tripped and fallen.

“You are her, aren't you?” Marcus asked, darting his gaze back and forth as if trying to search my face for some clue. “You can't deceive me.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about right now.” I said, shaking my head. “However, you're hurting me, so let go of my arm.”

“You are, Emily, aren't you?”

My heart shook at the words.