Could It Be You? |✓

(34) Guest List

As much as how she wants to leave office on the dot at six-thirty, she cannot since she has several deadlines breathing down her neck and much work to clear. She is, after all, leaving for her secondment in just two weeks and she has to hand over all her projects to her colleagues and tie up loose ends. To be frank, even though she wasn't around for the past four days, she worked hard at home all the same. She took a few painkillers, put on her glasses, and worked. She isn't the irresponsible sort anyway. She knows she shouldn't let her personal matter affect her colleagues and her clients who are waiting for her deliverables.

She twists her neck from side to side until she feels a liberating crack. Suddenly feeling a pair of eyes on her, she glances back to find a broody Matt leaning against the wall. A sense of unease rises up her throat because she knows, she knows, he is waiting to speak with her, as he has attempted to in the afternoon, but she had lied about being willing to speak with him. She doesn't want to.

She needs to cook up an escape plan, pronto.

"I'm still working," she says without looking back, hoping he'll give up waiting for her.

"I know," he replies with an odd streak of weariness and sadness in his tone. "I'll wait."

That's what he used to do too, when everything was fine and normal, waiting for her as she works overtime, or working with her since he is equally busy as her.

She used to be appreciative of that, but in this case, it is a liability.

When she catches Matt going to the toilet at about ten, she decides it's the perfect opportunity to slip away. She throws her documents into her laptop case and quietly sneaks off. When she hears no sign of a commotion or a response, she heaves a sigh of relief. She has succeeded.

She scurries out of the building and goes down the stairs which lead into an underpass. She catches only a glimpse of the canopy of stars hanging in the sky but it disappears as quickly as it appears, obscured from view by the shelter.

"Em! Wait!" She freezes for a moment when she hears Matt's voice calling from behind. How is he so fast? She tries to go a little faster, hoping to escape his chase but she realises that she couldn't. She's in heels. The sound of his footsteps inches nearer, and she has nowhere to hide.

"Em, hey." He pulls on her arm gently and turns her around to face him. She notices the look of distress on his face but that is not enough to make her waver.

"What?" she says curtly. "Are you here to apologise?"

"Look, Em..." He takes a deep breath and rolls his lips. "I made a mistake."

Emma jerks her hand out of his clutch and rubs the part where he touched.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please just listen to me," he pleads. "I have no romantic feelings for Mae Lin whatsoever. I admit, I succumbed to temptation. I was so stressed up over that period I didn't know what I was thinking. I made a huge mistake."

Emma hardens her gaze. He has just regurgitated the whole of Google's answer back at her. "Save your excuses," she says icily, "some mistakes are not meant to be forgiven."

"Emma," he brings a hand onto his forehead, "the thing is, Emma, Iisten... I regret it so much."

"You never thought you'd get found out."

"No, that's not it."

"Why are you doing this? You can just get any girl you want. You have Mae Lin," she asks in puzzlement, tucking her hands into her pocket.

"It's a mistake, I didn't mean it," he insists. "I was wrong. I was so, so wrong and I know I'm in no position to say anything now but please, give me one more chance."

She has never seen him with such an expression - desperate and vulnerable. His eyes are dull and guilt-ridden, so much so that she almost believed him and almost felt herself soften when he spoke.

She inhales deeply. "I'm afraid I can't, Matt. The thing is, you've destroyed trust."

The white light of the underground gives his blonde hair a slight sheen, as Emma is reminded of the days when she played her hands through those soft hairs and when she clad herself in his embrace, when she locked her fingers with his - when she trusted him. It was all for nought; none of these exist, none of these matter anymore.

"Don't follow me," she orders. She turns her back against him and walks away, ignoring the busker's sympathetic gaze.

* * *

Emma slides down the bathtub, immersing the rest of her body into the puffy foam and keeping only her head above. She relives the events of the day in her head which gives her a wave of weariness that saps her dry.

She smiles when she recalls Renly's proposal to Tess, but it promptly drops when she realises how her own marriage is probably never going to happen. She is back to square one.

She grabs hold of the metal bar and pushes herself upright. She stands up and the water and foam cascade down her body, scrambling to fall back into the tub with loud sounds of splashing. She rinses herself clean then runs a towel over her hair and body.

Walking back into her bedroom, she is alerted by her desktop notification that an email has arrived in her inbox.

She plops down before her desk, head tilted and still ruffling her hair with a towel. She moves her cursor to open the Gmail tab.

"Wedding Guest List," the title says.

Emma furrows her brows as she opens the email, unsure of why Alice has sent her this.

Hey Sis, I vaguely remember that you asked for this some time ago. I'm not sure why you need it, but I've attached it here anyway since I found it today.

X Alice.

Emma can't recall when she asked for this document until she recalls her latest meeting with the golden - haired boy, Collin - whom she isn't even sure is real anymore. He once told her she had met her husband on her sister's wedding day, did he? Letting her curiosity get the better of her, she opens the attachment and glances through the long list, not quite sure what she is looking for. She glosses over the group of people that were Alice's school mates, another group of names she's never heard of, and enters the 'M' region. She sees Matt's name and her heart clenches.

Emma diverts her attention away, and her eyes widen at an unexpected guest. She never saw him at the wedding, so what's going on? Her mind races like never before as she leans forward to take a closer look.

It is no mistake. It clearly spells, "Matthias Clark".

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Dedicated to @shahir28, thank you so, so much for reading and voting on this! (': Hope you enjoy the last bits of this story!

Shorter chapter... Am I writing nonsense lol?

Any theories at all? We are nearing the end! Will it be Joshua - the underdog, Ethan - the friend who has always been there, Matt - who is most likely axed or ... Matthias Clark - the mysterious guy?