Tumours and Assumptions
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Rumours and Assumptions
Emerson chuckled as he pulled me back towards him on the bed. “We are not at war. There is no war going on,” he said, his voice teasing.
1 frowned. “It feels like there is.”
“There is no war, okay? This is all in your head,” he said gently, tapping his finger slowly on my forehead. “You see? No one is at war with you…”
“They are! Have you seen the news?”
“I’ve seen it,” he replied with a shrug. “But you’re the only one on this path for revenge. Whoever wrote this nonsense probably knows nothing about what’s actually going on. I don’t think they did this to start a war with you, it just happens to be a juicy headline.”
I shook my head. “But the rumours, the speculations… Saying that you’re sharing women with Eric? It’s ridiculous!”
“Nonsense,” he agreed, a smile on his lips.
“I know, right? I mean, there’s no way they could think that, right? And then all the stuff about us going behind Eric’s back, it’s… it’s absurd!”
“It is absurd,” Emerson said, still smiling. “People will say what they want. But none of that matters. You and I know the truth, and that’s all that counts.” Emerson said, trying his best to sound reassuring.
“Eric knows the truth, and Rita knows the truth. Everybody involved knows what’s real and what’s made up. They know you’re not any of those things, and it shouldn’t bother you.”
I sighed, still not happy with all this “I just don’t want people to think of me as the devil, the villain. People are going to start hating me….
Emerson looked at me, his expression softening. “Listen, Mina, not everybody in life. is going to love you. Some people are going to hate you, even if you have never done anything to them, and you’ll just have to live with that. And now that you’ve decided to marry me, you know that you’ll have even more enemies.”
“I know,” I murmured, wondering if I had made a great move marrying my ex–father -in–law.
“I thought my enemies were just going to be Eric and Rita, but now it feels like the
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whole world is against me.
Emerson’s face changed and I could feel that what he was about to say was serious.
“That night, when you asked me to marry you, you seemed so determined, so strong. Knowing the kind of woman you are, I never thought something this small would affect you like this.‘
I looked at him sheepishly. “You think I’m strong?”
“I think you’re very strong,” he said confidently. “You’re talented, you never give up and you are a fighter. Loyal to a fault, and this….this is just noise. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s going to die down.”
“Are you sure? I mean, there have been a lot of rumours…”
“You know how these things go. People will move on to something else soon. Just focus on what matters, and don’t give them the attention they want,” he reassured
- me.
“Okay,” I said, nodding slowly. “You’re probably right.”
“You know I am,” he said with a smile.
“Yes, you are,” I agreed, and our eyes met.
I didn’t realize how close we had gotten towards each other, our thighs touching, his arm still wrapped around me. His warmth seeped into me, comforting in a way I hadn’t expected. It made me feel all giddy.
As I looked at him, my eyes landed on his lips, and I wondered what it would feel like to kiss him again. He was a great kisser… very attentive, giving as much as he received. I tilted my head slightly towards him, the thought crossing my mind.
But then his phone rang, breaking the moment the moment between us as I pulled back.
He glanced at his phone.
“It’s PR. I have to take this.”
I took a deep breath, trying to shake off the moment that never happened.
“Should I come with you? Maybe I….”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll handle it,” he said, standing up. “I just want you to relax and forget about this altogether.”
Rumours and Assumptions
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“Thank you, Emerson. For everything.”
He smiled, brushing it off as if it were nothing. “It’s fine,” he said before he walked. out the door.
I was thinking about work the next day since it was my first day back. I hadn’t. stepped foot in the office ever since I got divorced from Eric. Taking two weeks of leave was something I had never done before. But I needed it. I needed to focus on myself, to relax and reinvent who I was.
Most importantly, I also didn’t want to see Eric’s smug face, that irritating smirk he always wore when he thought he was winning. I needed time to get over him and clear my head.
There was a knock on the door. Emerson stepped in, looking fresh–faced like he had just gotten out of the shower. His hair was still slightly damp, and he looked effortlessly handsome. It was almost unfair how good he looked with no effort into it.
“Hey, where are you going looking all sexy? I teased with a smile, throwing the compliment his way.
He smiled, that easy, grin that always made my heart skip a beat. I seemed to see him in a new light. Something inside me had shifted. I had programmed my mind to see him as nothing more than a father figure for so long and those walls were breaking to break little by little.
“I was actually hoping I could take you to dinner.” He said easily, a bit sheepishly. He was so cute at this moment, he looked a bit nervous.
“Dinner?” I raised an eyebrow, he had managed to catch me off guard again. I had to blink twice to understand what he had just said.
“Yeah,” he continued, stepping closer. “We’re newly engaged. We just moved in together. And, well, we’ve never been on a real date before. I thought maybe tonight. we could change that.”
I paused for a second. A dinner date or any kind of date had never crossed my mind before now. We barely went to dinner or anywhere together we didn’t have to for most of my marriage to Eric. The thought of going out for dinner with Emerson, of sharing that first moment together, hadn’t even crossed my mind with everything that had been happening.
As much as I wanted to say yes, to be on that stage with him, I couldn’t. I shook my head, knowing that now just wasn’t the time.
Rumours and Assumption
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“No, I can’t.”
Emerson blinked, clearly not expecting me to refuse.
“What? Are you saying no to a date, our first date?”
I sighed. “I don’t want to. I mean…I don’t want to say no. I ‘do‘ want to go. I do want to come with you, but…” I trailed off, searching for the right words. “I don’t think I’m in the right headspace right now to be going out to dinner.”
“Why?” He asked, his eyes on me. Then, I saw the realization dawn on him.
“Because of the scandal. The rumours on the internet.”
I shook my head, though we both knew he was right.
“Look, I told you….no. I mean, yes, it has to do with that, but it’s more than just the rumours. They’re still fresh, and with everything spreading so fast this afternoon…. If we go out to dinner now, with people seeing us together, it’s just a little too early. for me. I’m not ready for all of that yet”
“I don’t mind being seen with you…” he tried saying slowly.
“That’s not the only reason.
He studied me quietly, waiting for me to explain further.
“And I don’t have time,” I added, almost in a rush. “I’m going back to work tomorrow. It’s already been two weeks, and I want to show up prepared, with a new plan and everything. You know that Eric is still the head of my department. He’s your number two. So I know he’s going to be plotting something, and I have to be ready for it.”
Emerson nodded, I saw understanding dawning in his eyes as I spoke.”
“You’re worried about going back and facing him tomorrow.”
“Yes,” I admitted, “I need to be ready for whatever he’s planning. And right now, at public dinner date isn’t going to help me with that. I need to focus.”
