Betrayal | ✔️

1. Serendipity

Serendipity: The chance occurrence of events in a beneficial way.

- T h i r d  P e r s o n -

Emma shuts the door and walks inside her tiny, cramped apartment. She dumps her bag on the ground and falls onto the couch, getting her phone out. The first person she sees is the first person she calls, Olivia - her best friend. She picks up on the first ring.

"Hey-" Olivia starts.

"I have something to tell you." Emma says, cutting her off, "My dad is dead."

Olivia gasps softly. "Are you okay?" she asks, after a long pause.

Emma sighs.

"No, not really. I mean, he was my idol. He was my hero. He took care of me after my mother left." she bursts into tears.

"Don't worry, Emma. It'll be okay. I'm sure it will," Olivia calmly replies.

Emma sniffs and wipes her nose with a tissue.

"Yeah, you're right. It'll be okay," she repeats, "bye, Olivia."

"Bye."

The door shutting with a sudden bang causes Emma to wake up from her slumber. She groans as Lachlan walks into her apartment. He smiles at her, clearly not realising that she isn't in the mood to talk. The smell wafting from the bag in his hand makes her sit up.

She points to it, "What's that?"

Lachlan follows her finger with his gaze and chuckles.

"Oh", he holds up the bag, "this is just the takeout I ordered."

"Is it Italian?" she asks with a smile.

Lachlan shakes his head, "It's French, your favourite."

Emma's smile slightly falls. "My favourite?" she repeats, eyebrows raising.

"Yeah, your favourite. Why, do you not like it anymore?" He asks.

Emma sighs. "I've never liked French food."

The next day, the car ride to Emma's office doesn't seem as long as it usually is. The security guards greet her like they normally do, and she walks to her part of the building, waving at everyone she knows.

"Good morning, Miss Lopez," one of her guards says, opening the door to her office.

"Good morning, Jared!" she replies cheerily. When she steps inside the room, someone is sitting at her desk, awaiting her arrival.

"Hello, Emma," the man grins, "My name is Noah Clark."

Emma furrows her eyebrows. "I don't remember having a meeting with you?" she questions and checks her watch.

Noah just chuckles and stands up. "You don't."

"So, why are you in here?" she struggles to get her words together.

"Your dad was going to partner our companies together," he starts walking in her direction.

As he towers over her, he tucks a strand of Emma's hair behind her ear. "Sorry, it was bugging me," he replies in a cocky tone.

She rolls her eyes, before lightly slapping his hand away. "That doesn't matter to me. My dad is dead," she mutters.

"Oh, but it will. Just you wait," Noah laughs and leaves the office.

He was gone as quickly as he appeared. Emma saunters over to her desk and plops down into her seat. She groans as she realises how much she has to do today. She looks up when she hears a knock on the door.