My face forms into an honest look of dread but instead of dwelling, Alexander pulls me to my feet and the two of us get up. He steps out to Leah’s room for his overnight bag and some clean clothes. When we are both dressed, we make our way downstairs and, thankfully, Leah and Adam are here so we all flow easily into a conversation about last night’s wedding.
Mom invited Alexander to stay for Christmas but he said he couldn’t, that he had a deal that was closing on Christmas Eve. I hate the idea of him being alone for the holiday so I announce to the table I’ll be heading home in a few days to spend Christmas with Alexander. My mom looks disappointed and my dad seems like he’s going to cry but I just squeeze Alexander’s hand under the table and smile at him.
The time for Alexander to head back to New York comes in the blink of an eye. Dad is insisting on bringing him to the airport, and Alexander surprises me by liking the idea, so the two of us say good-bye in the foyer of my parents’ house. I am going to stay for a few more days and then I’ll take a flight home on the twenty-third, just in time for us to celebrate Christmas together.
When he is out the door, I walk to the kitchen and Leah takes her wedding veil from the garment bag she brought over and places it on my head.
“What are you doing?” I ask, feeling the comb of the veil dig into the back of my head.
“Trying it on. Looks like you’re gonna be wearing one pretty soon,” Leah says, and my mom starts nodding and smiling.
I take the veil off and throw it at Leah, who is now laughing. I give her an eye roll and walk back to my room and think about what it would be like to be Mrs. Alexander Asher.
I am beyond excited to see Alexander. The last forty-eight hours without him have been torture. I guess that’s a product of being in love.
Stepping off the plane, I am greeted by Devon, standing by the black SUV holding the front passenger door open. A part of me was hoping Alexander would be here to greet me but I’m sure he is waiting for me at home.
The giant greets me with a smile. “Good evening, Emma. How was your flight?”
“Next time I’m booking my own flight to ensure I fly commercial. Where’s Asher?” I climb into the car and Devon shuts the door behind me.
When he gets into his side of the car he answers, “He has a meeting and asked me to bring you to his office.”
“Sounds good.” I buckle my seat belt and lean my head back as Devon drives us back into Manhattan.
I came to this city four months ago hoping for an escape. Instead I found myself face-to-face with the thing I was running from. Myself.
I was afraid of who I was without the ability to play music. I found a new place for myself in a world of teaching others to play.
I was afraid of letting someone into my heart for fear of it being broken. I learned I am strong enough to withstand any loss. And when I finally allowed my heart to be opened up, I found a love that shines so bright, I want to burn in it.
Devon drives us inside the garage to Asher Industries and parks alongside an elevator. We get out at the same time and meet at the elevator. When it arrives, Devon puts his building pass into the panel. He’s about to hit the button for Alexander’s office floor but I put my hand on top of his.
“I’d like to go to his apartment.” I have a far better idea for how my night is going to go and it doesn’t start off inside an office of Asher Industries. I’m thinking naked Thai.
When the code is punched in, Devon excuses himself from the elevator car and leaves me alone. It’s a long way to the top but the elevator is pretty fast. A concerto doesn’t do it. Instead, I play a dance tune on my fingers. My head bobs to the beat that plays in my head.
The elevator doors open and I am inside the vestibule of Alexander’s apartment. It dawns on me I don’t know the code to get in. I take out my phone and type him a message.
Wanted to surprise you.
Epic fail.
I need the code to your apartment.
That is a nice surprise
1-2-3-6-9
I need ten minutes and I’m all yours : )
I look at the code on the screen. I know the one and twenty-three are for his birthday. But he is definitely not born in the year nineteen-sixty-nine.
I roll my eyes. Boys.
I punch in the code and open the door. The lights inside are on and before I can even think about how it’s a waste of electricity leaving them on when no one is home, I realize, someone is home.
What the . . .
“What are you doing here?”
Malory Dean is standing in the middle of the great room with her arms crossed, a black folder in her hands and a very serious expression on her face.
“I should be asking you the same thing. How did you get up here?” I ask.
She scowls at me as if I should know the answer to that. I don’t, so I scowl back.
“Why won’t you leave him alone?” My question is slow stated, each word emphasized.
This causes Malory to half-laugh and lift her chin in pride. “Before whatever escapade the two of you have been on, I am the one who kept his bed warm at night. For three years I was the one who kept his fucking head on straight.”
I know better than to let an old flame ruin what Alexander and I have. “You’re a bitter ex-girlfriend. Why should I listen to a thing you say?”
Malory’s cheeks flush. She is not happy with my defiance. “Because in eight days he is about to make the biggest mistake of his life and it’ll be all your fault.” Her words hit me like a brick. I have no idea what she is talking about and it is killing me. “He didn’t tell you, did he? Asher and his fucking games. He thinks he has something to prove to this goddamn world.”
She releases her arms from around her chest and then leans on her hip. Her stance is open as if she is trying to explain something to me yet sighs as if explaining it to me is beneath her. “Did he tell you his real name?”
I nod.
“According to Edward Asher’s will, Alexander Gutierrez will no longer exist. In order to inherit Asher Industries he has to legally drop his surname. The old man would have made him change his first name, if he could.”
My head sways from left to right. That is not something Alexander would ever do. He loves his parents. Even though he could never speak of them, they were held so tightly within his heart, he could never let them go. And he won’t now. “I don’t get it. His grandfather died over a year ago. Why would Alexander change his name now?”
Malory tisks at me. “Because then he loses it all. Don’t you get it? Edward Asher wrote in his will that Alexander had eighteen months to change his name or else he inherits nothing. You see this?” She motions dramatically to the space around us. “If he doesn’t sign those papers in five days, he loses everything. I don’t understand what the big fucking deal is. It’s just a name. It doesn’t change who you are.”
A name might not mean anything to Malory but to Alexander, it means the world. He has to choose between being his father’s son and his grandfather’s heir. From everything I’ve heard about the old man, it’s proof he is as cold as I thought he was. He took in a ten year-old boy and didn’t let him speak of his parents. He wouldn’t even refer to him as Alexander, but rather by his middle name, Asher. Of course that made Edward happy. He was being called Asher all this time. Being brainwashed into being what the old man wanted him to be.
Makes you wonder why Edward Asher didn’t just change Alexander’s name all those years ago when he had the chance. No, this way is far more powerful. He is making Alexander choose on his own, as an adult, what is more important to him. Wealth or family.
It is quite possibly the most evil thing I have ever heard.
And I want nothing to do with it.
“What does it matter what I say? This is his decision. Not mine.”
Malory rubs her lips together and takes her time before she utters these words. “I think it’s time you dropped the charade. You and I both know you’re only in it for o
ne thing. One billion things.”
My teeth clench at the insinuation. “I don’t want his money. I’d love him if he had nothing.”
“Well, then, you’re an idiot. Asher is not capable of love. And he is certainly not capable of existing without this lifestyle. If you let him do this he will wake up one day and regret it. I promise you he will hate you for the rest of his life. Is that what you want? A man who can’t stand the sight of you?”
“Then he doesn’t have to give it up. If this is what he wants—”
“So you don’t want him to give up the empire?”
“I never said that.”
“You just did.”
“I . . . stop putting words in my mouth! Whether he keeps it or doesn’t makes no difference to me.” I’m irate and in a rage.
Malory on the other hand is satisfyingly cool. “Oh, Emma. Don’t you see? It could never work between the two of you. If he gives up the empire, he’ll resent you. If he keeps it, he’ll always wonder if you are with him for the right reasons.”
“Why do you care what he chooses? It’s not your money?”
“Before you came along he was going to share it with me! I am the only one who understands him. There is no such thing as love in this world. All we have is respect. Alexander Asher is going to rule the world and I will be the one by his side.
“Now he’s thinking about giving it all up. And for what? To prove to himself you really love him for who he is and not what he has? It won’t work. You will leave him or he will leave you. When your relationship falls apart, and it will, I will be the one to pick up the pieces. I am always the one to pick up the pieces. But if you leave him, and he has nothing, well, then I’ll have no reason to help him back up will I?”
Taking one panther-like step toward me, Malory’s words are harsh. “I am giving you one chance to walk out that door right now or I will make your life a living hell.”
I am just about to tell Malory off when a loud bang echoes through the room. Alexander walks in and stops when he sees me standing in the living room with Malory.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
His eyes meet mine and he realizes Malory told me about the terrible decision he has to make.
I swallow back and turn to Malory, letting her know that she should leave. Malory sees the angered look in my eyes but doesn’t move. It turns out she’s just getting started.
Malory lifts the black file folder and hands it to Alexander. “I wasn’t planning on doing this in front of the little harlot but I suppose it serves her right to watch as you find out who she really is.”
My head swivels over to Alexander and watches as he opens the folder and looks through its contents. The hard, masculine structure of his face morphs from anger and determination to hurt and betrayal.
“Emma, tell me this isn’t true,” he says, his voice begging but his eyes frightened of the answer I may give.
I stare back at him, dumfounded at what could possibly be inside the folder. What could he possibly think I’ve done for him to look at me the way he is right now?
Malory saunters over to Alexander’s side and explains. “I did my own investigation in Italy. Turns out Emma, here, hired a boat captain by the name of Raphael and paid him to stage the boat escapade. She fell in front of Devon on purpose, knowing he’d rescue her. It was all an opportunity to get to you and it worked.”
My mouth falls open at the ludicrous fabrication.
“You tricked me?” Alexander asks me. I am shocked he would even believe this nonsense.
“No!” I shout. How in the world could he possible think I was capable of this? I want to run to his side and beg him to believe me but this is Alexander. My Alexander. The man who closed his heart off for fear of being used. His worst nightmare is coming true. It all feels like a bad dream “You can’t believe this—”
“Believe it,” Malory says. “Don’t you think it was all too convenient? The sister gets sick, not once but twice? I bet Emma’s hand isn’t really injured. Probably just a ploy to get to your wounded soul.”
I turn to Malory. She is stunning in her vindictiveness. What Alexander has is worth far more to her than I ever imagined. She went through a lot of trouble putting this affidavit together. “How do you even know how we met?” I ask in any attempt to find an explanation for what is happening. Realization suddenly strikes. A memory of a woman in fancy shoes, dark sunglasses and wide brimmed hat. “I saw you. At the hotel, I saw you.”
My mind is reeling, placing intricate pieces of the puzzle together. Malory left the magazine under the doorway.
“You were going to frame me back then. You wanted Asher to catch me with the magazine as if I knew who he was the entire time. You were going to fake this affidavit back then but you didn’t have to. Adam pinged the boat and sent Alexander into his own frenzy. You thought I was gone forever.”
She was so concerned about her investment and supposed future with Alexander Asher, she wanted to keep us apart before we even started.
And she succeeded.
“Who hurt you so badly you want to destroy other people’s lives?”
Her mouth clenches tight and her nostrils flare as she breathes in hard. “You know nothing about me! Asher, you cannot let her fool you any longer. You have to see—”
“Get out!” Alex shouts. To whom I’m nervous to find out. “Malory. Get out!”
Malory cowers a little and I almost feel sorry for her. “Asher, no. She is using you! She’s like the rest of them. She faked that drowning scene. Why do you think she’s here? This has all been a ploy to get to you!”
“I said—Get. The Fuck. Out!” Alexander roars like a lion. Malory’s chest is panting as the shock of his words resonates. From a sharp pant to mild gasps and then slow and steady breaths, she goes from wounded to proud over a few short moments.
Her chin rises in indignation. “You’re making the biggest mistake of your life.”
Malory walks past me and then Alexander, her eyes straight ahead. That confidence she carries is held high. She has no shame for what she has done here tonight.
When the door is closed and Malory is gone, I turn to Alexander who is still furious. “Please tell me you don’t believe her.”
“I don’t know what to believe.”
I take a deep breath and try not to cry at the knife he just rammed into my heart. “She told me about your grandfather’s will.” No sooner are the words out of my mouth than he is spitting foul words out of his.
Alexander walks over to the mantel, lifts a heavy glass figure and smashes it onto the floor. His back is heaving as he takes exasperated breaths to try to control himself. It’s not working.
“Your grandfather hated your father. He wants you to drop your father’s name. If you sign those papers you will no longer be Alexander Gutierrez. You’ll just be an Asher. Is that what you want?”
My words cause him to turn around and face me. He swallows, hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing and his jaw clenching. “If I don’t sign I lose everything.”
“You’ll lose even more if you do sign.”
Asher looks at me, finally looks at me for the first time since he walked into the apartment. The black folder of heinous accusation is still in his hand. He looks down at it and his mouth coils back as if his heart is sinking. “Emma, I . . . I don’t know how to trust.”
“There’s only one way to find out.”
He walks toward me and then stops as if in fear or what he wants to do. His hands rise up in that way they do before his fingers find their most perfect spot on the sides of my head and slide into my hair. But they don’t do that. They just stop midair and then fall to the sides.
I look up into his mesmerizing honey-wheat eyes and watch the brown flecks disappear as despair settles over his face.
“Is that what you want, Emma? If you want me to give it up, I will. If you want me to keep my father’s name, I will. But if you want this world, I’ll sign. I can show you magnificent thing
s. Together we can change the world. Imagine what we can do with all that money. Tell me what you want.”
Just tell him what I want.
What do I want?
It’s a lose-lose situation.
“I can’t answer that.” My hands tremble slightly at the position he is putting me in and the idea of what it means to our future. I hate Malory Dean but there is no denying she was right about one thing. “If I tell you to keep it, than you’ll always wonder if I love you for who you are or for the world I’ll inherit being with you. You’ll always wonder if Malory was telling the truth about me. And if I tell you to get rid of it, you’ll resent me for the life you’ll have to live in return.”
“I won’t resent you—”
“Yes, you will. You will because you want to keep it. You’ve had eighteen months to make this decision. If you wanted to honor your parents you would have done so a long time ago. The truth is you want to keep it and you’re looking for an excuse to do so. Whatever you choose, I can’t be your reason.”
What I want to tell him is to burn those papers. If he signs, he won’t be Alexander anymore. He’ll be Edward. The empire will be more important than anything in his life. This is what he was brought up to do. Slowly, the lessons he learned from his grandfather will take the forefront and my sweet Alexander will be gone.
And my love for him . . . he’ll always question it. Every time I enjoy a luxury of his lifestyle or spend a dollar, that little voice inside his head will always wonder if I am with him for the right reasons.
My suitcase is sitting by the door. I walk over to it and undo the zipper, pulling out a package I wrapped back in Cedar Ridge.
“Merry Christmas.” I say, handing him the gift.
“Its not Christmas yet.”
“I know, but I’m going back to Ohio.”
“Baby, no—”
I place my thumb on his lips, feeling the scruff on his jaw and halt his words from coming out. “You have to make a decision soon and I can’t be with you when you make it.”
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