The Marriage Bargain - ENGLOT

Chapter 27: Day 3

Emory's POV:

I wake up to the sound of my alarm blaring next to me. I groan and turn it off before sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. As I get ready for the day, I can't help but think about yesterday and the dinner with Alexa. I feel guilty about it, but I couldn't do anything since Alexa arrived the same time I did. Of course I didn't invite her but I also couldn't turn her down. Although looking back, I wish I did.

I make my way to the kitchen where Cadence is already eating her breakfast. She looks up at me with surprise as I join her at the table.

"Good morning," she says, a smile on her face.

"Morning," I reply, my voice still a bit cold.

Despite my cold demeanor, I can see a small spark of happiness in Cadence's eyes. She's happy that I'm joining her for breakfast, after yesterday morning. In my defense, I really am fasting and as much as I wanted to try out her cooking, I can't just break my fast.

We ate in silence for a few moments before I spoke up.

"Do you need a ride anywhere?" I asked, sue me if I wanted to spend more time with her.

"Oh, no, thank you," she responded. "My car's getting delivered later today."

I nodded, finishing up my breakfast quickly. As much as I wanted to linger and enjoy the small moment of peace we had, I had to leave for work.

"I'll see you later," I said, standing up.

"See you," she replied softly, the smile still on her face.

As I made my way out of the house, I couldn't help but feel a small weight lift off my shoulders. Maybe things weren't going to be as bad as I thought. Maybe, just maybe, we could fix things between us.

...

As I drive towards the office, a sense of guilt gnaws at me, consuming my thoughts. Cadence's face flashes in my mind, her hurt expression when she saw Alexa kiss me after dinner. It was never my intention to hurt her, but now I can't escape the consequences of my actions.

It's no secret that Cadence still has feelings for me, she said so herself, but I don't know if I'm ready to go back down that path. She hurt me in the past, and I'm still skeptical about giving her another chance.

It doesn't help that I don't love Alexa the way I should. Sure, she's beautiful and Nonna approves, but there's just something missing between us. Maybe it's the fact that I still have feelings for Cadence, or maybe it's just not meant to be. Or maybe it's her trashy personality.

As I pull into the office parking lot, I take a deep breath and try to push the guilt and confusion out of my mind. I have work to do, and I can't let my personal life get in the way.

But as I sit at my desk, my mind keeps wandering back to Cadence. I know I need to talk to her and figure things out, but I'm scared of what might happen. What if I open myself up again and get hurt all over again?

My thoughts are interrupted by the ringing of my phone. I checked the caller id and debated hanging up but since I needed the distraction, I went ahead and answered.

"What do you need?"

"Hello to you too Em." Quinn chuckled from the other end of the line. "Wanna have lunch later?"

I signed another document and hummed in response, "why? What for?"

"Nothing! Can't I just have lunch with my best friend?" She replied, I sighed and said, "fine, I'll see you later."

"Great! I'll send you the address."

I hung up and for the next few hours I drowned myself in paperwork and meetings, refusing to think about anything else but work.