Emma

Everything hurts.

My face, from the constant smile I've plastered all night. My body, from physically restraining myself so I wouldn't go running after Asher. And my heart, from knowing I've hurt the man I love.

"Emma?" My brother finds me outside, and I break down the moment he touches my shoulder. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." I shake my head, running a finger under my eyes.

"Why are you crying?" he cups my chin, so I look at him. "Where's Asher?"

"We had a fight." I pull away from his touch and start walking inside. "He saw Milo and Dad talking and..."

"Emma, stop." Aiden grabs my hand, preventing me from walking inside the ballroom. "What the hell are you doing? Why would you allow Dad to–"

"Nothing is going on, Aiden." I hold his gaze. "Can we please go back inside?"

"You know I'm here for you–"

"Aiden." I close my eyes for a second. "Everything is fine. I promise."

"Okay," he says, and the audible sigh that leaves him lets me know he's not happy with me right now.

Grabbing his hand, I ignore the way my heart is pounding and walk back inside. Too much is at stake, and the last thing I need right now is to get him involved in this mess.

"Emma!" My father finds me a moment later. "Where is Asher? I'd like for him to say a few words."

"He's gone," I say with a practiced smile on my face.

"What do you mean?" I hear the accusatory tone in his voice, but I just shake my head and grab a glass of champagne from a passing server.

"You brought Milo Montgomery here." I look at him. "What did you expect?"

He shrugs as if he didn't know what he was doing when he invited the man here today. "Well, it's time The Sullivans move on. We're about to embark on a powerful journey, and Milo has a lot to contribute to us."

I tune him out after that. My head is about to explode, but I force myself to keep my side of the deal. At some point, my father leaves my side, and I feel like I can finally breathe again.

Taking a deep breath, I try to clear my head. My eyes find Max across the room, and the way he holds my gaze makes me shiver.

He's pissed. Obviously. But there's something else behind the indifference mask he's wearing. Disappointment. Without thinking, I walk to him, and he shakes his head, silently motioning for me to follow him to a quiet area.

"I'm sorry, Max," I say, pulling a chair for me to sit so we're at eye level. "I had no idea my father was planning to invite Milo."

He narrows his eyes. "Are you sure about that?"

"What do you mean?" I frown. "Of course, I didn't."

"Well, that's funny..." He searches my eyes. "I just talked to Milo, and he said he's planning to fund your father's campaign."

"I didn't know about that."

He nods. "And what about the check James wrote me this week with the exact amount of money we gave you so you could rebuild the shelter? Did you know about that?"

"What?" I gasp, clutching my chest.

Max tilts his head to the side. "And he also wanted to review your prenup."

"But he can't do that." I look at him in disbelief. "I've already signed everything. Ash and I are getting married tomorrow."

"He knew Asher wouldn't even talk to him, so he approached me, saying he was just trying to look after his daughter."

"I didn't know about that..."

"And now he brings Milo here, of all people, to what was supposed to be an intimate gathering." He runs his index finger over his jaw, studying me. "I wonder what's going on, Emma. What are you not telling us?"

My chest expands with a deep breath. "I didn't know anything about that, Max."

"You do realize how risky it is for us if you marry Asher tomorrow, right?" He shakes his head with a weird look on his face.

"What? Max?"

"We have no idea what James is up to, Emma." He shrugs. "Our business is going under a very delicate moment right now, and if your father is going to cause us any problems..."

"What are you trying to say?" I swallow, forcing myself to keep my eyes locked with his.

"Maybe we should postpone the wedding."

My jaw falls open, and it takes me a second to process his words. "I'll do whatever Asher decides," I say as I stand up.

"Em..." Max whispers before I can walk out.

"Yeah?" I turn to him.

"Whatever happens..." He shakes his head. "You don't have to worry about the shelter and the money we gave you. It's yours."

I nod, my lower lip quivering. "Thank you."

*****

As the elevator door slides open, I half expect to find the penthouse empty. To my surprise, though, Asher is sitting in the living room with half a bottle of whiskey on the coffee table and a full glass in his hand.

His eyes lock onto mine the moment I step inside. My heart starts racing as I take off my shoes, and all I want is to sleep these past few weeks away and wake up with me and Asher okay again.

But knowing denial won't get me too far, I force my legs to keep moving, and soon I'm sitting down on the coffee table in front of him.

"I was afraid you wouldn't be here," I whisper.

"Do you want me to be here?" he says, his words a bit slurred.

"You know I do."

"Max just text me." He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "He thinks we should postpone the wedding."

I look down. "Is that what you want?"

"What I want?" He lets out a humorless chuckle. "What I want is to understand what the hell is going on."

"Ash..."

"Don't Ash me." He drinks the rest of his whiskey.

"Are you and your father planning something behind our back?"

"No." I shake my head. "I had no idea Milo would be there."

"I want to believe you." He cups my jaw, touching his forehead to mine.

I press my hands to his chest. "You know I'm telling the truth."

"But what are you not telling me?" He pulls away to look at me. "When your father approached us at the charity gala a while ago, he mentioned something about an agreement; about you fulfilling your part of a deal. What was he talking about?"

The question hits me like a truck. My chest tightens so painfully it's hard to breathe. "I'm not ready to talk to you about that..." I force the words out.

His eyes widen. "So, you are hiding something from me?"

"There are parts of my life I'm not ready to talk to you about." I swallow hard, feeling my whole body shaking.

Asher bites his lower lip, nodding as if contemplating something. "Only some time ago, you told me you don't trust me, and now you're telling me you're hiding something from me."

"I never said I don't trust. I just asked you to explain what had happened between you and Clare."

He looks away. "And then your father shows up out of the blue rubbing Milo in our faces... Knowing exactly how the world would see it."

"I didn't know he'd invite Milo to our rehearsal dinner," I try, but he just keeps talking as if I hadn't said anything.

"You said you had cut ties with your dad, but then allowed him to parade you and our wedding to the world as if it was a business transaction."

"But we both knew the wedding would be beneficial for both your family and mine," I say desperately, and he finally brings his eyes back to mine.

"Right..." He nods. "And you're telling me you can't be honest with me right now?"

"Ash..."

"Which leads me to believe what we have is, indeed, a business deal."

I gasp. "You know, it started as an agreement, but what we have is real. You told me it yourself."

"Is that so?" He shrugs, his eyes cold and distant.

I stand up, pacing. "You were gone for years, Asher. Years. You left everything behind without a second glance, and now you come back and want us to pretend nothing happened?" I look at him, a mix of anger, fear, and frustration running through my veins. "You want me to blindly trust you? To open up about the ugliest parts of myself as if we were still those same kids from the past? Well, I can't. Okay? I can't."

He doesn't say anything, but his eyes hold mine full of emotion. My shoulders sag as if all the adrenaline of tonight has vanished, and I'm left bare in front of him.

"Maybe we should take a step back," he whispers, and my heart breaks into a million pieces.

"What do you mean?" I ask, tears filling my eyes.

"The world will go crazy tomorrow when the news Milo and your dad are associated with each other hit the papers." He stands up and places his glass on the coffee table. "I need to talk to Max and our team about the wedding and how we're going to proceed."

"What about us?" I ask, unable to keep the tears at bay.

He swallows, looking away. "Maybe we should rethink our relationship, too."

"Ash..." I close my eyes, too tired to fight. "Let me know what you decide once you talk to Max." I walk to the master bedroom, knowing in my heart he won't follow me. 

_____

A/N: What are the chances they still keep the wedding? 

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Celeste