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.

Chapter 06.

IT'S COMPLICATED.

Emily's POV.

"I am sorry, but it seems like you're mistaken." I said, in a soft voice. "I am not Emily. So, please let go of my arm. Like I said, you're hurting me."

"Lies." he said, in cold voice. "You are Emily, and I know it."

"Is this how you treat your clients?" I asked, narrowing my gaze. "How many times do I have to tell you that I have no idea what you're talking about. Emily? Who's Emily?"

He didn't say a word. Instead, he looked at my neck. As I noticed, I lowered my head. I knew exactly what he was trying to do. He wanted to see if there was a scar on my neck. I'd cut myself with that dagger a month back. So, there should have been a scar.

"You are lying to me." he said, tightening his grip around my arm. "Just tell me the truth already."

"Alright then, here." I said, showing him the ring on my finger. "Are you satisfied now? I'm married, and my name is Ruby Clifford. My husband Ash had something urgent to attend to, so he asked me to come here instead."

"I, uh, I'm sorry." he said, letting go of my arm. "Accept my apologies. I must have mistaken your for someone else."

"It seems like I would have to tell my husband that the contract process won't go through." I said, glancing at my arm. "How about that?"

"No, it hasn't gotten to that yet." he said, shaking his head. "These things happen. And I'm sorry for any inconvenience I must have caused you."

"I really don't think that sorry can fix this." I said. "I mean, even if I was the Emily, whoever she is that you are looking for, is this the way you would embarrass her, really?"

"It is quite complicated." he said, forcing a smile through his lips. "However, like I said, I'm sorry. Please, do accept my apologies."

"Alright then." I said, and turned around.

As I walked towards the exit, I looked over my shoulder. He was still standing there, and I could feel his gaze boring into my skin. I sighed, and exited the building through the full glass revolving door. I walked to the parking lot where Nigel was waiting for me.

"What took you so long?" he asked, as I got into the backseat of the car. "Besides, you don't look so good. Did something happen in there? Are you fine?"

"Yes, I am." I said, taking off my sunshades. "Or better still, I'll be fine."

I fanned myself with a hand. He noticed through the rearview mirror.

"So sorry, I had to turn off the air conditioner to conserve the gas." he said, pushing a button. "However, I'll stop by to get once we leave."

"Ok then."

"Was it Marcus?" he asked, even though he knew the answer. "Did he try to start a conversation with you?"

"It would it have been a lot better if he tried to start a conversation with me." I sighed, rubbing a hand on the part of my arm which Marcus held earlier.

I guess he held it too much, to point where it had turned red.

"So, what exactly did he do to you?" he asked, in a curious tone of voice. "Is it something you'll need to tell Ash about?"

"No, no it's fine." I said, forcing a smile through my lips. "I can manage on my own. There's no need to involve Ash. Besides, I saw this coming. Can we just go now?"

He hesitated for a moment, looking at me through the rearview mirror to be sure that I was fine. Well, I was, except for the fact that my skin was mildly irritated by Marcus's touch. Perhaps, he'd realized that he was wrong, and his conscience was pricking him so bad.

However, if I'd opened up to him that I was Emily, what would he have done? Apologized? I doubt it. Not to exaggerate, but from the look in his eyes earlier, it seemed like he was searching for me to end me for good.

"Alright then." Nigel inserted the key into the ignition, and turned it.

The engine came alive with a soft purr. However, as he drove out of the parking lot, I found Marcus standing outside. I rolled up the window, and turned my face away until I couldn't see him again.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice broke in on my thoughts. "You seem a little worried."

"I–I still find it hard to believe that my sister would hurt me the way she did." my voice shook a little. "It just doesn't make any sense. Why would Marcus even have anything to do with her too?"

"I think you've to let go of what happened in the past." he said, in a soft voice. "If you don't, you'll keep hurting yourself."

"You think I don't know that?" I asked, trying to quell the sob rising in my throat. "Or do you think I'm not trying? Of course, I am. But it's not easy."

"You just have to try harder." he said, with a shrug. "That is the only way you can survive now. If you're ever going to pay him back for what he did to you, then you need to set your emotions aside."

"Of course, I have to." I lifted a hand, and wiped off the tears on my face. "I have to make him suffer for what he did to me, but he's still the father of my child. It's just a little complicated."

"Well, he's living the life he's always wanted." he said, looking over his shoulder. "The last thing you want to do is to give him any reason to think that you miss him; you've to forget about him and live your life too."

"It is only a matter of time, I'll forget about him." I said, trying to steady my voice. "However, since we already talking about this, tell me, how have you been living your life since I was unconscious?"

"Well, there's really nothing to talk about." he said. "I didn't have time for myself because I had to look after you."

"You expect me to believe that you spent the whole month looking after me, really?" I arched brow. "Come on, Nigel. There's to be something. Anything at all worth telling me."

"There is actually." he said. "I was beginning to think that you might never open your eyes again. So, one night I decided to get drunk. I drove to a bar down the street. However, I met this lady, and we got talking."

He wore that kind of smile that meant if she was still around him, then things wouldn't have gotten worse.

"So?"

"Well, I got her number after a few shots that night." he continued. "I texted her to know if she'd arrived home, but she didn't respond."

His voice shook slightly.

"A day went by, two days yet I heard nothing from her." he said. "I went back to the bar, and asked about her. At first, no one wanted to tell me what had happened to her."

His voice grew heavy with tears.

"Did you get to know what happened to her?" I asked, my voice laced with concern.

"I did." he said, in a low, pained voice. "It turned out that she had an accident that night, and she'd been in coma since the past three weeks."

"Did you go to check up on her?" I asked. "Did you get to talk to the doctor about her condition to know if there's any hope for her?"

"No, I didn't see the need to do so." he said, shaking his head. "I mean, there was no point. She wouldn't even be able to know that I'm standing right next to her. Besides, I wasn't sure if I was ready to see her in that condition."

"What do you say, do we go see her or not?"