CHAPTER 5: Let's Get Married

Emma's POV

I wrenched myself from Ryan, my palm stinging as I slapped him across the face. The sharp sound cut through the room, but it did nothing to erase the disgust churning in my stomach. "Don't you ever try that again," I hissed, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

Ryan reached up and touched his cheek. His lips curled into that infuriating smirk that I had once found so charming.

"Still feisty, I see," he murmured. Then, with a teasing glint in his eyes, he leaned in a little closer. "Tell me, Emma, does Liam kiss better than I do?

I glared at him, refusing to dignify that with an answer. I stepped back, crossing my arms tightly over my chest. That's when I noticed it, the slight sway in his stance, the way his eyes were a little too glossy. He was drunk. Of course he was.

“Go home, Ryan," I said, exasperation thick in my voice. "You're drunk, and I'm not in the mood to deal with your nonsense."

But Ryan just chuckled, running a hand through his messy hair. "I'm not leaving, Emma. Not until you hear me out."

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my temper in check. "If you don't leave right now, I'll call the police.

Ryan's smirk faltered for a second before he shrugged. "Fine, I'll go. But don't think for a second I'm giving up." He pointed a finger at me, his eyes dark with something I couldn't quite place.

"Not even the police can keep me away from you. Not till you admit you still want me. And definitely not until you leave Liam.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed his arm, pushing him toward the door. "Goodbye, Ryan."

Once he was out, I slammed the door shut and locked it. Once. Twice. Three times, just to make sure. I stood there for a moment, leaning against the door, letting out a deep breath.

God, what a mess.

I hated him, truly I did, but something inside me got a sadistic kick from this. He wanted me still, which meant my revenge was working.

But things weren't going according to plan; they were spiraling out of control, and I wasn't sure how much more I was going to be able to play this before it backfired.

The next morning, I was out in my car. I did not wait for Liam to come to get me. I was too restless, too frustrated to wait around doing nothing, I drove myself to his office for a distraction. Well, he'd tell me we were going to see today.

But the moment I stepped into the lobby, I could feel it. The eyes. The whispers.

"Look. It's the lady in the video."

"Mr. Ryan's ex?"

"I heard she was with him for years."

"Liam's fiancée? Yeah, right."

I swallowed hard, keeping my head high, as I walked toward the elevator, pretending I didn't hear a thing. But inside, my stomach twisted with embarrassment. How did they even find out?

The news headline was only supposed to be about me being Liam's girlfriend. How come Ryan was included in the topic? That bastard was up to something.

Then, when the elevator doors slid open and I stepped out, I saw him. Ryan. Walking to where the elevator was, but then, seeing me, he came to a halt. He was standing in the middle of my path, an infuriating smirk on his face. Smug, way too smug.

I approached him, striding up, hands at my sides in fists. "You just couldn't help yourself, could you?" I demanded.

Ryan did an overdone acting of innocence as he tilted his head. "What do you mean, sweetheart?"

I narrowed my eyes. "The rumors, Ryan. People aren't shutting up about me being your ex instead of Liam's fiancée. Was this your doing?"

He shrugged, clearly enjoying every second of this. "People talk, Emma. It's not my fault they have a fascination with our past.

Fascination about our past?" I scoffed. "Tell me how your colleagues got to know about us in the first place?" I asked, but he ignored me, staring at me with a sly smile.

I huffed in frustration, jabbing a finger at his chest. "Listen to me, Ryan. I don't care what you do, but you will not ruin this for me.

He leaned closer to me, his voice dropping to a whisper: "Emma, sweetheart…Unless there's a very good reason why Liam's family should say no to you as a daughter-in-law-to-be, I think you'll be fine.”

His words sent a shiver down my spine, but before I could respond, he turned and then disappeared, blowing a kiss at me as he left me standing here, bemused and ill at ease. What had he meant by that?

I didn't have time for reflection. I hurried to Liam's office, barely tapping on the door before bursting in.

Liam stood behind his desk, his back to me; his phone had dropped from his ear then into his pocket.

He turned to me, his face unreadable. "Your pictures with Ryan are all over the internet."

My heart dropped. "What?"

He pulled his phone out, sliding his phone across the desk. I picked it up with trembling hands and stared at the screen.

There they were, pictures of Ryan and me kissing, laughing, standing too close. Old pictures, ones I thought would be buried since I was done with him. But now they were everywhere, plastered across gossip sites headlining my supposed questionably loyal ways to Liam.

"I-I didn't do this," I stammered, placing the phone down gingerly.

Liam let out a sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. "I know. It's obvious who did.”

"Ryan," I said, anger tight in my voice. "He's trying to ruin things for us."

Liam leaned back in his chair, watching me with an unreadable expression. "And what are you going to do about it?"

I swallowed, my fists clenched. "I'm going to make sure he doesn't win. I'm not letting him ruin my life again."

But Liam wasn't just taking Emma’s word,

He stood up and walked towards her, “ you are being too soft with him, and I really don’t care at this rate he would ruin everything for me and I don’t want that, so the best thing to do is to make him pay dearly.”

“How?” Emma questioned in curiosity making Liam smile at her, pulling her close to him by her waist he muttered close to her ear in such a desirable way making her tense up immediately unable to believe he had such effect on her.

“Let’s get married.”