Façade

Chapter 16

'It's going to be hard to process. I want to warn you' Nolan said, his face hardening as he did so. 'Lay it on us' Daniel replied in a calm, firm voice. Emily, at this point, was outwardly showing worried symptoms. Her middle and index fingers were massaging her temples, and was staring off blankly into the distance, as Daniel and Nolan leaned in closer and closer to the laptop screen, which threw a faint glow over their enthraled faces.

If she replayed, in her mind, the events of the past year, she realized how traumatic it had really been, and wondered how she had managed to keep a somewhat levelheaded demeanor about herself the entire time. It was a total mystery to her. It would seem as though Emily Thorne's persona was beginning to seep into her real personaltity - Amanda Clarke.

She snapped back to the present just as Daniel said 'Aiden. He leaked your name. Oh my God. I'm so sorry, Ems.' Emily's face was ashen. Daniel stood up, with both a clenched jaw and clenched fists, his facial expression turned into a scowl and he huffed 'Ill kill him!' Emily was once again making an effort to calm someone down, even in the face of her own problems. She exhaled 'I know why he did this. A while ago, before we were married, Aiden asked me to run away with him. I refused, and he got angry. I'm guessing this is the backlash.' It was the kind of conclusion she knew she would one day need to draw about Aiden. He was too dangerous, short tempered, and secretive to build a real relationship with. He was unstable.

That evening, after all the press had absconded, and Nolan had returned to his Paris apartment, which lay across the city from theirs, Emily took the opportunity to go for a run. She was on the horns of a furious dilema, and needed some time to think, and formulate a response. She thought, if she just denied everything, and stayed out of the public eye, it would all die down, and she and Daniel could once again emerge, unafraid.

She hugged the street lamps, their dim glow enticing her with a promise of warmth, and safety. Like stars that guided her path. Telling her where to go next, and what to expect when she did so, so that she could be certain of her safe return home. They scattered their glow on the streets, until Emily turned a corner, and there were no more stars to guide her. No more safety. No more certainty.

As she turned the corner, she was stopped in her tracks by a tall man, a bottle of chloroform, and a rag in her face. As she breathed, she felt sleepy, breathed heavier, and she felt the familiar slipping feeling, that had haunted her every waking moment since her accident, it was so familiar. A new, strange kind if safe feeling. She could feel it. She felt as if everything was okay, and there was nothing to fear. She was out like a light.

She awoke in a dingy room with dim light and a headache. 'Seriously, no forewarning before you knock me out with chloroform?!' she was getting pretty mad, she looked up toward the ceiling and stared into the hard eyes of Aiden Mathis. 'Did you miss me?' a cocky, yet amazingly charming Aiden replied.

In his twisted mind, he had thought that the key to his wooing Emily would be the ruining of her plot, so that she was free to run away with him. This materialised itself in the sabotage of her relationship with her husband, Daniel, whom he believed she still did not love. Little did he know, however, that a strong relationship had formed, and nothing was going to stop it, least of all a petty attempt at overexposure to the media's darker face.

'Last chance, Emily. Come away with me. We can live on a tropical island, and buy a shop, and lead a normal, happy life, an have a normal, happy family. We can have it all, and finally, people like us can be truly happy' as Emily opened her mouth to answer, Aiden made an attempt to quieten her. 'Before you anwer, here.' He handed her a plane ticket 'If you're coming, meet me at the airstrip at six o'clock next Thursday evening' his face fell 'if not, well, I'll just go by myself.'

Without even thinking about it, Emily took the ticket, and without even looking at Aiden, left.

© Sarah Egan 2013 - 2014 This story is subject to copyright and may not be copied or reproduced without the express permission of the author.