Chapter 3

Suddenly, Isaac appeared before me. He held me gently in his arms and asked, his eyes filled with anxiety and concern, "What's wrong?"

It was as if the Isaac who once loved me had returned.

I reached out to touch his face, but his cold voice rang out from above. "Harper, tell Emily to stop using those cheap tricks like pretending to be sick.

"If she still can't learn to behave, I won't hesitate to send her back to learn some discipline."

It felt like a thousand tiny needles stabbing into my heart, each one sharper than the last. It also snapped me back to reality.

"Mr. Stewart, Ms. Lewis isn't lying. She really isn't faking it," Harper tried to explain.

But I raised my hand, stopping her from saying more.

Before Harper could even hang up, the call abruptly ended with a busy signal.

Harper steadied me, worry written all over her face. "Do you want to go to the hospital?"

I forced a smile through the pain. "No need, Harper. It's the usual headache. I'll be fine after some rest."

*****

Isaac only returned after he'd finished breakfast.

I picked up the stuff I'd gotten ready earlier and knocked on his study door.

There was no response from inside.

I stood there for a full ten minutes before Isaac finally opened the door for me.

He was sitting at his computer desk, busy with work.

"I'm giving this back to you." I set a velvet box on the desk.

As I turned to leave, Isaac finally looked up at me. "What's this?"

It was the ring Isaac gave me when we got engaged.

Back when I was overseas, thinking about it was what kept me going.

I went through a lot to hold onto this ring. But I didn't want it anymore.

I said calmly, "Isaac, let's call off the engagement."

I could see clearly who he truly cared about. I didn't want to keep tormenting myself over this anymore.

Isaac's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Do you really think you have the right to break off our engagement? Emily, I don't agree to call it off. This isn't your decision to make."

I clenched my palm tight, stubbornly meeting his eyes. "Isaac, what will it take for you to agree?"

Isaac kept coming at me, leaving me no room to escape. My back hit the bookshelf, the pain making me wince. "Emily, I can call off the engagement, but you have to make my grandma wake up first."

*****

I walked out of the study, feeling completely out of it.

Aria came up to me and took my hands. "Emily, I heard everything you and Isaac said.

"Last night, I didn't mean to hang around Isaac on purpose. I really didn't know you were feeling so bad. Please don't be upset with me, okay?"

Was she rubbing it in? Annoyed, I pulled my hands away from hers.

Aria sneered, then let herself fall to the floor as if she couldn't help it.

She started to cry, wiping her tears. "Emily, please don't blame Isaac. It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, things between you and Isaac wouldn't have turned out like this."

"Emily, what are you doing?" Isaac demanded.

Suddenly, I realized why she was acting this way.

Isaac helped Aria up, and she was crying badly. "Isaac, it's all my fault. Please don't blame Emily. I'll leave the Stewart residence."

My head felt heavy, and the noise around me was a jumble of voices. I couldn't really tell what they were saying.

It wasn't until blood trickled from my clenched palm that the pain snapped me back to reality.

Isaac's face twisted in anger as he pointed to the door. "Get out and stand. When you know you're wrong, you can get up."

I heard him loud and clear. He told me to get out and stand.

Rage and pain surged through me, and before I could stop myself, blood spilled from my lips.

"Emily!" Isaac rushed to my side and held me up, panic in his eyes.

I shook my head, the pain nearly splitting it open, and looked at Isaac as if he were someone I'd never seen before.

Suddenly, I sank my teeth into his hand, glaring at him. "Who are you? I don't know you."

In a split second, a fresh set of bite marks appeared on the back of Isaac's hand.

Aria pushed me aside and stood protectively in front of Isaac. She glared at me, full of anger. "Emily, how could you hurt Isaac?"

But it was only because he was being too rough and hurt me that I bit him.

Isaac gave me a cold, hard stare, as if to say I was totally out of line.

His gaze made me flinch.

I looked at them closely, feeling like I should know them. They seemed familiar, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember who they were.

Still confused, I asked again, "Who are you guys?"

As soon as I said that, the whole place went dead silent.

They all stared at me like I was some kind of alien.

Isaac stiffened for a moment, his face clouded over. "Emily, I never realized you could put on such a convincing act. You're the one who screwed up, and Aria hasn't even blamed you, but here you are already playing dumb."

Aria's eyes welled up with tears, and she started to cry.

She took my hand and said, "Emily, Isaac and I won't blame you. Please, don't act like you don't know us, okay? If you keep pretending, it'll really break our hearts."

For some reason, whenever Aria got close to me, I felt irritated and uneasy. "Who are you? Are we that close?"

Aria kept quiet. Since we were not close, I didn't need to be polite. I shoved her away.

Aria fell down, her eyes all wet, looking so pitiful and helpless.

Isaac helped her up and snapped at me, "Emily, get out and stand."