Chapter 5
Series 1 Chapter 5
The gala had already begun downstairs.
When I stepped out of the elevator, several guests were gathered near the ballroom entrance.
They saw me and lowered their voices at once.
“Isn’t that Emma Reed?”
“I thought she had resigned.”
“Then why is she presenting tonight?”
“I heard Sophie is the one who actually ran this gala.”
I kept walking.
Grant came through the crowd with a practiced smile.
He took my arm and drew me beside him.
“Stand closer,” he murmured. “People need to see that we’re fine.”
I looked at his hand on my arm.
“Don’t worry.”
I pulled free.
“Everyone will see very clearly tonight.”
His smile stiffened for half a second.
Then he turned back to the guests as if nothing had happened.
“Emma always comes back to what she built,” he announced. “She knows where she belongs.”
A few guests laughed warmly.
Someone raised a glass.
“You finally brought her back, Grant.”
“You two really do make a beautiful couple.”
“The Marlowe needs its leading lady.”
I stood among them and listened.
They were not praising me.
They simply liked watching a woman be brought back by her husband.
Sophie stood beside Grant and started clapping.
She wore a carefully chosen dress, with the brass Founder Key pinned to her chest.
She did not look like someone who had taken another woman’s place.
She looked like a fragile woman being pushed into the spotlight by a man who had no choice but to protect her.
“Emma has always been the most important person at The Marlowe,” Sophie said with a smile. “I’m only helping for now.”
Someone immediately called her thoughtful.
“You two work so well together.”
“Grant chose the right person. Sophie is perfect for this role.”
Sophie shook her head quickly.
“Please don’t say that. Emma is the real owner of this place.”
Her words seemed to return the position to me.
Her body was still standing in it.
The applause landed on her.
The lights stayed on her.
Even the key on her dress told everyone who had been chosen.
Grant looked satisfied.
He turned and removed the key from Sophie’s dress.
He did it slowly, almost ceremonially.
The guests began clapping again, convinced he was returning my place to me.
Grant walked toward me with the key in his hand.
“You don’t have to fight anyone for your place here,” he said. “Come back. This has always been your home.”
Every face turned toward me.
They were waiting for me to take the key.
Waiting for me to forgive Grant.
Waiting for me to stand beside him again and become the wife who kept his hotel running while he took the credit.
Sophie smiled gently at my side.
“Emma, Grant just doesn’t want you to stay angry.”
She made it sound as if she were asking him to bring me back.
It also sounded like a reminder to everyone that Grant could call me back whenever he wanted.
I looked at the key in Grant’s hand.
Then I reached into my bag.
The applause began to fade.
I did not take the key.
I placed another document into Grant’s open hand instead.
The smile disappeared from his face.
The first page faced him.
DIVORCE AGREEMENT
GRANT REED — SIGNED THREE MONTHS AGO
The guests who had just been congratulating us fell silent.
Sophie’s smile froze.
Grant was still holding the key out to me.
In his other hand, he held the divorce agreement he had signed three months earlier.
His fingers tightened around the pages.
Then he looked down.