Chapter 4

"What?" Lucas blurted out without thinking.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Do you remember the day my husband and I got married?

"The way you looked at me, all jealous. It was honestly adorable." she teased.

I remembered that day too.

Lucas was live-streaming Andrew's wedding for me while I was cramming for exams overseas, and we were both talking about how amazing our future would be.

I was so touched, I ended up saying yes when he proposed.

So all those tears were actually because of me...

Who would've thought Emily would totally misread the situation because of that?

Lucas looked a bit lost. "Emily, you..."

Emily cut him off, clapping her hands playfully. "I know you've been crushing on me, haven't you?"

Lucas frowned, trying to explain, but Emily kept going, getting even more carried away.

"There's always something different about the way you look at me," she said.

"But don't worry. I love my husband, and you're his best friend, so I'll act like I never noticed," she added.

"It won't mess up your friendship or anything," she said.

Lucas had finally had enough. "Emily, you've got it all wrong. I'm here for Allison Johnson."

When I heard my name, I tried desperately to make a sound.

But with the tape over my mouth, all I could do was make muffled, helpless noises.

Emily paused, looking surprised. "Allison? Why are you looking for that homewrecker?"

Lucas's face darkened. "Homewrecker? She's my fiancée."

Emily froze for a moment, then snorted. "Fiancée? Seriously?"

"Oh, I see what's going on. Andrew must've asked you to play along and put on this little show for me." Emily scoffed.

"Let me guess, he was worried I'd lose it over the phone, so he had you pretend to be that homewrecker's fiancé, huh?" she said, rolling her eyes.

Lucas was totally lost. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Where's Allison?"

His voice was tight with anxiety and anger.

But Emily waved her hand, still caught up in her own fantasy. "Andrew is so sweet to me...

"He knew I'd be upset, so he even got you, his best friend, to help out...

"Lucas, thanks, but don't worry, I'm fine..."

Lucas was starting to panic. He cut Emily off, his voice urgent. "I'm gonna ask you one last time. Where's my fiancée, Allison?"

Emily paused, then with a jealous pout said, "Oh, come on, it's an act. Don't get so worked up.

"That shameless woman wasn't even qualified for the interview at our company. She was thrown out a long time ago," she added.

Lucas's face darkened as he heard that. He immediately pulled out his phone and tried to call Allison.

But Emily had already smashed my phone to pieces.

I struggled desperately, trying to make a sound, and the chair banged loudly against the floor.

Lucas sensed something was wrong. "I'm going to check the office."

Emily, thinking he was about to make a move on her, stopped him with a coy smile. "Oh, why are you so eager all of a sudden?

"I know you're totally into me, but seriously, my heart's all for my husband," she teased.

"You're being way too forward, I don't even know how to handle you right now," she added, pretending to be flustered.

Lucas finally snapped. "Enough. I'm going to look for her outside."

Watching Lucas walk away without even looking back, Emily huffed and stormed back into the office.

When she saw the blood pooling beneath me, she instantly screamed, "Ew. That's disgusting."

She covered her nose and backed away. "Ugh, why are you bleeding everywhere? That's seriously nasty.

"If I'd known you were this gross, I wouldn't have gotten my hands dirty." she snapped.

I was barely hanging on, my eyelids so heavy I could barely keep them open.

Seeing me like that, Emily put on her smug winner face again, pinched my cheek, and smirked, "You're still no match for me.

"But you're so filthy. What if you stink up my husband when he comes in?" she added, wrinkling her nose.

She ripped the tape off my mouth with a loud tear, grinning. "I want you to lick up all that filth on the floor yourself. That's not too much to ask, is it?"

Just then, the office door was suddenly pushed open.

Andrew burst in, panic etched across his face. "Allison! My dear cousin. Please, don't let anything happen to you."