Miranda’s heart was so big that it was able to give Emma enough love for both her and Sebastian. It didn’t matter back then that he could be selfish. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t in touch with his emotions. Miranda loved both him and Emma with such intensity that he never even noticed his own limitations with love and the expression of that love.
As Emma kept crying in her room, Sebastian slumped down to the floor, unable to listen to any more, yet unable to move away. He wanted to share in her pain, to feel her sorrow. He deserved to feel wretched for what he had done to her. Sitting on the threadbare carpet of the corridor, Sebastian released silent tears of his own. This wasn’t his life. Every day he woke up and expected his problems to be fixed, for Miranda to have returned, and for his house to once again radiate warmth and love. Instead, each morning he woke up cold and alone, greeted by a home that was crumbling around him, a home that he no longer even owned.
Emma shouldn’t have felt that pain too. Sebastian knew he’d failed her. Wiping at his tears, he struggled back up to his feet. He was tired of feeling wretched. Emma continued to sob loudly within her room, but he ignored her, turning back towards the kitchen, where the liquor cabinet was. He needed to numb his feelings, needed to escape from this horrid reality, at least for a while. Sebastian knew he’d find temporary solace at the bottom of a bottle. Awkwardly he staggered away from his weeping daughter, eager to retreat into an intoxicated stupor.
HER BODY STILL SHAKING with despair, Emma eventually stopped crying, though she continued to dry heave. She called Daniel several more times, but the same electronic voicemail message kept greeting her. She conceded that he wouldn’t talk to her, at least not that night. The next day she’d approach him afresh, and she was certain that they could work things out.
She hadn’t expected him to react so badly to the news about her potential marriage to Nick. His fervent response had made her seriously rethink everything. Like Daniel had said, he could easily pay off the mob and save her father, and he had tons of money. They could even have the Delacourt name if they so desired, as long as her father could live and she could be free, they could name their price. It just wouldn’t be her.
With a new mindset, Emma started to relax. The next day, she’d go to Daniel and tell him that she wouldn’t be marrying Nick after all, that she’d made a grave mistake to even consider it, and could he please forgive her? And of course he would; they loved each other and were meant to be together. Then, together, they would devise a plan to save her father. All was not lost, far from it.
Relaxing, Emma’s dry heaving subsided, and she felt fatigue finally catch up with her. Her eyelids kept fluttering shut as she lay upon her bed, running over in her mind the conversation she’d have with Daniel the following day. He’d understand, and he’d be relieved. They’d make up, and it would be wonderful. Maybe they would even start planning their own wedding, and then Emma wouldn’t even need the Delacourt name, as she’d become a Richmond. Emma Richmond. She liked the sound of it.
Emma fell asleep just as her father fell into a drunken stupor. They were both released from their inner demons, at least momentarily.
THE FOLLOWING DAY EMMA woke up bright and early, feeling renewed and full of purpose. Though her eyes still stung from all the tears they had shed the night before, she was determined to make things right with Daniel. She’d tell him she wouldn’t marry Nick. They’d find another way, and then everything would be good between them once more. She was almost giddy with excitement at the prospect of finally being able to move past the angst and celebrate the success with the investors.
Standing in the shower, she even belted out a few of her favorite songs as the hot water ran over her, washing away the stress of the previous day.
Drying her hair, she played out what she intended to say to Daniel. She hoped that in the light of a new day his anger had thawed, but she was prepared if he was still mad at her. She’d accept that she’d too hastily bartered herself away and should have considered his feelings.
“Daniel, you were right.” She practiced her opening line in the mirror as hot air danced through her dark hair.
She nodded at herself. If she opened with that, Daniel would be more receptive; he loved being told he was right.
The day was still young when Emma bounced out of the house towards her car. She paused briefly in the grand hallway to listen for her father, hoping not to encounter him. She still needed a plan to settle his debt and didn’t want to face him until she had one. First, she needed to sort things with Daniel, and then she could start fixing her father’s situation. Luckily, Sebastian Delacourt was nowhere to be seen. Emma considered searching the house further for him but ultimately decided against it. Daniel was her current priority; she didn’t want to waste another minute being at odds with him.
Stepping out into the early morning sunshine, Emma smiled and let her happiness carry her off to her car and away down the driveway. She was certain that this was going to be a good day.
STIRRING, SEBASTIAN Delacourt managed to sit up and look around his bedroom. In the distance he heard the front door shut, signaling Emma’s departure from the home. He was relieved she was gone; he didn’t want her to see him in the aftermath of yet another drunken night.
He pushed himself off the stained carpeted floor where he had fallen in a drunken stupor and subsequently fallen asleep. The entire room was in disarray, with clothes strewn everywhere alongside empty bottles of liquor. Tightly drawn curtains sealed out any shards of sunlight. Sebastian wanted the space to feel as dark and oppressive as his mood.
Stretching, his body ached, reminding him of the various wounds upon his body. Each screamed out in agony, and he scanned the area around him for either painkillers or alcohol, anything to numb the pain. He found alcohol first. He surveyed the tea-colored liquid collected at the base of the bottle. He was still drunk; additional liquor would no doubt send him back to sleep and back into a stupor.
He winced, not from pain but from regret. He knew he should have consoled Emma the previous night. Her sobs had bounced off the walls of the empty house, finding him even in the seclusion of his own room. Her sobs filtered into his dreams and taunted him. How could he slink off and drink when he was breaking his daughter’s heart?
Sebastian looked at the bottle in his hand. It would be so easy to swig it down and forget how he was currently feeling. He hated himself; he hated what he had become.
He flung the bottle across the room. It hit the far wall and instantly shattered, its precious contents splattering against the wallpaper before dripping down to the floor. The carpet absorbed it. Sebastian regarded the mess with indifference. His life was a mess, why shouldn’t his room reflect that?
But Emma needed him to be a better man, and he owed it to her to try. He struggled to his feet and cautiously maneuvered his way through the debris towards his bathroom. A shower would freshen him up and make him feel better. He couldn’t keep drinking away his misery. If Emma was willing to marry a stranger to save him, the least he could do was sober up.
EMMA PARKED OUTSIDE the building where Daniel worked. She remained giddy with excited energy as she glanced up at the tall building, easily as grand as the building they’d previously visited to meet with the investors. Sometimes she forgot just how successful Daniel was in his own right. Unlike her and Damion, he’d managed to forge an identity for himself away from his family. Though his family name did open doors for him, he never relied on it for his success. Other than an introduction here and there, it was hard work and intelligence that made Daniel his own man.
The morning sun warmed Emma as she headed across the vast parking lot already almost completely full despite the relatively early hour. She quickly scanned for Daniel’s car, but didn’t spot it. But then it was a huge lot, and she didn’t have time to scour every space. She had no doubt that he would be there. He always liked to start his working day early and get a jump on everyone else. She both admired and resented his relentle
ss tenacity, as time in the office usually came at the expense of time spent with her.
A swoosh accompanied the opening of the glass front doors in the lobby. Emma entered the space and headed for the elevator. She didn’t need to ask for directions; she’d visited Daniel’s office numerous times, and her face was well known amongst the employees.
Six other people crammed into the elevator with her. All of them well dressed and prepared for an intense day of work. Emma was the only one amongst them who couldn’t stop smiling as she waited anxiously to reach Daniel’s floor. She quickly exited at the relevant level and started walking down the hallway. Her mind was already ten paces ahead of her, anticipating how they would passionately kiss once they had reconciled. Perhaps Daniel would even shut the blinds in his office so that things could escalate further between them. They’d done it a couple of times before, and it always felt so dangerous and exciting.
Emma entered the open-plan office adjoined to Daniel’s office. A few people nodded at her in recognition but didn’t stop to speak; they were already wrapped up in their jobs for the day. With Daniel’s office in view, Emma was surprised to see that the blinds were already drawn. Had he been expecting her? Probably. Usually after an argument, she was always the first to extend an olive branch. Perhaps he was waiting with flowers or some other romantic gesture to apologize for his outburst. Emma was practically walking on air as she pushed down on the handle to the office.
“Daniel, you were right,” she delivered her opening line as she entered the room, but then stopped, one hand still on the door handle.
The office was just as she remembered it: a grand mahogany desk accompanied by a luxurious leather chair positioned on the left-hand wall. Opposite the door was an impressive vista of the city, on the right-hand wall was an expensive-looking piece of art from some up-and-coming artist Daniel had found in Paris. At least, there was usually a piece of art there. When Emma turned her head, she saw that the wall was now bare. As was the desk. Daniel’s state-of-the-art laptop was gone, so was the collection of books he housed in the bookcase behind his desk, usually positioned between two expensive bookends his father had brought him back from England, which were also gone.
Approaching the desk, Emma noticed that all that remained was a framed photograph of her, Daniel and Damion grinning madly into the camera. They all looked so young in the picture, taken one summer during prep school when they had gone to stay at Daniel’s father’s house in the south of France. For a moment, memories of that summer flooded Emma’s mind, and she couldn’t help but smile. But her smile quickly fell when she started to consider the implications of his empty office.
Surely, he had just relocated offices and not told her? Emma paced back out into the hall and stopped the first person she saw.
“Can you tell me where Daniel Richmond’s office is, please?” She tried to sound polite and courteous though she was verging on desperate and panicked.
“Mr. Richmond has left,” the guy told her before hurrying off to complete whatever errand he was running.
Left? How was that even possible?
Emma wandered back into his office and sat down behind the desk. The leather chair was impossibly comfortable. She glanced back at the picture housed in a frame to match the wood of the desk. Why had he left that behind and nothing else? Where had he gone?
Janet Barker appeared in the doorway and looked in on Emma with a sad expression on her painted face. Emma loathed Janet. She was tall, blonde, slim, and constantly flirting with Daniel. A fierce rivalry had always simmered between the two women.
“He’s gone,” Janet stated, feeling the impact of his sudden departure herself.
“Gone?” Emma shook her head in confusion. “Gone where?”
“Don’t you know?” Janet seemed brightened by Emma’s obliviousness to the situation.
Emma scowled.
“He came in late last night and cleared out his office. Apparently he was offered a prestigious position in London last year, which he’d turned down, but he had a sudden change of heart and took the first flight out this morning.” Emma couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “We were all shocked and sad, to be honest; he will be greatly missed here,” Janet continued, glancing around the empty space as though it were all too familiar to her.
Emma felt a pang of jealousy pierce through her. Had Daniel ever closed the blinds to his office when Janet was in there with him? Then the severity of his departure hit her like a ton of bricks. How was this even possible? How could he have left without as much as a goodbye?
“He left today?” Emma asked weakly.
“Yeah,” Janet clarified. “Seemed really keen to get away.”
Emma held back tears. She refused to give this woman the satisfaction of seeing her cry. But why would Daniel leave his job? Leave the country? Their argument had been bad but not bad enough to send him out of her life? And what about Delacourt Designs? Was he turning his back on that as well as her?
Janet lingered in the doorway as though deliberating whether to say something else. Emma didn’t notice her. Her gaze remained fixed on the photograph on the desk. How could Daniel leave something so meaningful behind? Did he no longer care about her and Damion?
“That’s a nice picture,” Janet commented as Emma’s eyes bored into it. “You should take it with you; it will only get trashed if it stays here.”
With that, Janet strutted away. Alone, Emma dared to release a solitary tear as she collected the picture and pushed it down into her purse. There was no way she would subject such a happy memory to the trash.
Wiping her eyes, she prepared to leave, aware that most people would be looking at her, whispering about what could have happened between her and Daniel. She needed a friend, someone she could talk to who would understand and potentially shed light on what Daniel had done. She needed Damion.
DAMION FLORES DISCREETLY checked his vibrating phone and saw Emma’s name glowing on the screen. Even though he currently sat in an extremely important meeting regarding an impending case, he wasn’t about to let her go to voicemail.
“I need to take this,” he told the other members of the company gathered around the large meeting table, using his most authoritative voice.
A more senior member opened his mouth to say something, but Damion wasted no time in waiting for a response. He was already out of the meeting room, hurrying down the main corridor and lifting his phone to his ear as he accepted the call.
“Damion?” Emma’s voice was weak and rough, as though she’d been crying.
“Hey, Ems, yeah, it’s me. Is everything all right?” Damion continued walking as he spoke, exiting the floor entirely and heading into the maintenance staircase. He didn’t want anyone listening in on his private call.
“No.” Emma’s voice trembled. “No, everything’s not all right. Daniel’s gone.”
“What do you mean, gone?”
“Can you meet me?”
“Yes.” Damion didn’t even take a second to consider his response.
“Now?”
“Of course.” He didn’t care about the company, the meeting on the upcoming case he was supposed to be working on. He cared about Emma, and she needed him. Five minutes after the call had ended, he was in his car and heading over to her house.
Emma was waiting for him at the top of the steps that led to her crumbling home. Her eyes were red and swollen and her cheeks blotchy.
Damion got out of his car and sprinted over to her, wrapping her in his arms. What had Daniel done to her? He’d never seen her look so distraught.
“What happened?” he asked, still holding her as he pulled back and looked down on her with concerned eyes.
“Can we go inside?” Emma asked. “I need to tell you everything.”
Damion always felt sad whenever he visited Emma’s home. It retained so much of its previous elegance, but juxtaposed against the crumbling walls, the cracked tiles, and the gathering dust. She shouldn’t live in such a home.
She deserved to be in a palace, not in the ruins of one.
He sat on a sofa in what had once been the main living room. The sofa, like everything else, was falling apart, with pieces of foam trying to escape through broken stitches. Emma insisted on making him a cup of coffee. He’d told her there was no need, but she refused to listen, ever the hospitable hostess even in the face of a crisis.
“Where’s your dad?” Damion asked as he accepted a fresh cup of coffee from her. It wasn’t the expensive ground stuff he was used to, it was store-bought coffee that came in a jar, but he didn’t mind.
“Sleeping,” Emma stated as she sat down beside him, nursing her own cup of coffee. The acrid smell of the caffeine beverage was comforting.
“So where is Daniel?”
“I need to tell you something about me and Daniel,” she began carefully, “and I’m scared you won’t like it.”
“Is this the part where you tell me that you two have been sneaking around together behind my back?” Damion asked, jaw clenching.
Emma’s cheeks reddened with guilt. “Yes,” she admitted, her voice small. “I wanted to tell you, truly I did, but Daniel kept putting it off, saying it wasn’t the right time.”
Damion took a long drink of his coffee. He wasn’t sure there would ever have been a good time to drop such a bombshell amongst the group.
“I had a feeling something was going on.”
“You did?”
“I grew up with you guys; of course I figured it out.”
“I hope you’re not... upset.”
“Why don’t you just tell me where Daniel is?” Damion didn’t want to discuss their coupling any further. He’d heard enough to sicken his stomach. Those suspicions had been right all along.
Designing Emma (Volume 2) Page 4
