Chapter 5
When Emily woke up again, she found herself back in the familiar hospital room.
As soon as Emily moved her hand, Philip was at her side in an instant.
"Finally, you're awake," he said.
Emily shot him a frosty look.
"Where is Claire?" she asked.
Philip looked uncomfortable.
"Claire was in the wrong this time, but I've already disciplined her and put her in isolation. Since you're fine, let's leave it at that," Philip said.
Emily touched the bandage on her forehead, her smile full of bitterness.
"I was almost violated and nearly died, and you want me to brush it off?" Emily said.
Philip frowned, clearly annoyed.
"I've already grounded Claire, and she's not allowed out of the house. What more do you want from me?" he snapped.
Emily angrily yanked her hand away from Philip.
"Grounding her sounds nice, but let's be real. You're scared I'll go after her, so you're protecting her, aren't you?" Emily snapped.
Philip looked sour.
"Emily, what do you want? If you try to get back at Claire, you know what'll happen to you," he said.
Emily jabbed her finger at the door, yelling at the top of her lungs.
"Get out!" she screamed.
"Philip, I can't believe I loved a jerk like you," Emily said bitterly.
Philip froze for a moment, his face darkening with anger.
"Calm yourself down. I'll come back tomorrow," he said coldly.
That night, Emily lay staring blankly at the ceiling. As she tried to sit up for some water, a pair of hands suddenly clamped down hard over her mouth.
She didn't have time to scream before everything went dark.
When Emily came to, she was perched on the edge of a cliff, the endless sea churning far below.
Her whole body was bound, and beside her was someone she recognized.
It was Claire.
Claire was tied to a different tree.
A man dressed in black was pressing a knife against her stomach.
"Who are you? Why did you tie us up?" Emily demanded.
Claire was so scared that her face went pale. Emily stared at the man and found that this man looked familiar.
Just then, Philip rushed over from not far away. The moment his eyes landed on Claire, they were filled with concern and distress.
"Isn't scheming your specialty, Philip? Well, let's see you choose today, your woman or your niece. You can only save one," the man in black sneered.
"Please, let them go. Whatever you want, I'll pay it," Philip pleaded.
Philip's face was ghostly pale, and all the color had drained from it.
The man in black burst out laughing, the sound echoing wildly.
"Money? I don't give a damn about that. I want to watch you suffer, drown in regret, and die a miserable death," he spat.
With that, he held the knife to Emily's throat, the sharp blade drawing blood as it cut into her skin.
"Pick one. You get to save one, and the other goes into the sea to feed the fish," he sneered.
"Philip, please save me. I don't want to die," Claire pleaded.
"Philip, didn't you promise you'd always protect me? Didn't you say you'd treat me well for the rest of my life?" she choked out between sobs.
Claire was bawling her eyes out, her face streaked with tears like a wilted flower.
Philip's heart nearly broke seeing how scared Claire was.
He turned to Emily, who stayed silent. Her almond-shaped eyes were full of disappointment, regret, and fierce hatred.
Philip wanted to know if Emily hated him.
Philip shook his head to himself.
Emily loved me so much. There was no way she could ever hate me.
If I sweet-talked her a bit, she would be sticking with me again, just like she always did.
"Have you made your choice yet?" the man in black sneered.
As the man in black edged the knife closer to Claire, Philip yelled out, "I choose Claire!"
Emily let out a hollow laugh when she heard Philip's answer.
Guess I thought too highly of myself.
The man in black freed Claire, and she rushed straight into Philip's arms without a second thought.
Then, the man in black yanked Emily right to the edge of the cliff.
"Hope you don't regret your choice, Philip," the man in black spat.
Philip's eyes widened in terror as he looked at Emily.
"No!" he cried out, his voice trembling with fear.
Without a second thought, the man shoved Emily off the cliff.
Her lungs burned as the freezing water closed over her, and she felt herself slipping away, sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness.
Waking up in the hospital, Emily's head throbbed so badly that it felt like it might split open.
"Don't move. You're still hooked up to an IV," the nurse said.
The nurse glanced at her and sighed.
"When you were brought in, you were already in respiratory failure. The doctors fought for more than ten hours to drag you back from the jaws of death," the nurse said.
Emily looked around the hospital room, but there was no sign anyone had visited her.
The nurse seemed to know who Emily was searching for, her tone carrying a hint of sympathy.
"Mr. Goodman's niece got a cut on her ankle, and he was so worried about her getting a scar that he flew her abroad for cosmetic surgery," the nurse explained.
"Seriously, his wife was on the brink of death, but he still had time to take his niece for plastic surgery. Makes you wonder who his real wife is," the nurse added.
Emily lay quietly in bed, not a single tear left. She didn't have the strength to cry anymore.
Just then, her phone buzzed.
It was Philip.
"Heard you're awake. Focus on resting for now. I'll make it up to you for what happened. Weren't you always begging to come with Claire and me to Andorra? Once you're better, I'll let you tag along. Think of it as compensation," he added.
His tone was as if he was tossing scraps into a pet.
Emily let out a cold snort as she read the message on her phone.
So getting to go on a trip with him was supposed to be some reward for me? What a joke!
Emily ripped the IV out of her hand without a second thought, watching as the bright red blood splattered across the white sheets.
That very day, Emily checked herself out of the hospital and headed straight to the embassy to pick up her visa.
When Emily walked back into the place she once called home, a wave of nausea hit her.
She pulled out a gift box, tucked a hairpin with a hidden recorder inside, and headed straight for Philip's private retreat, the one place in the house no one else dared to enter.
Emily carefully lifted the delicate statue from its spot on the altar and set the gift box down in its place.
Next, Emily called her lawyer and had the divorce papers sent over. Without a second thought, she signed her name and left them right there on the cushion.
Once everything was done, Emily grabbed her suitcase and walked out of the house that had once imprisoned the proud and fearless woman she used to be.
*****
At the airport, Philip stepped off the plane and glanced at his phone. There was not a single message all day.
Then he pulled out the complimentary lipstick that came with the perfume he bought for Claire, snapped a photo, and sent it to Emily.
[I picked this up for you while I was abroad,] he texted.
Emily had teased him for lipstick so many times, always whining and leaving little hints.
She used to say that lipstick was a man's way of showing his love.
I bet Emily would be thrilled when she got this.
But the moment he hit send, Philip froze in place.
A red failure notice popped up next to his message.
He'd been blocked.
"Philip, is she mad because you saved me instead of her last time? Maybe you should go back and sweet-talk her," Claire said.
Suddenly, Claire's voice rang out beside him. Philip frowned, his face growing cold.
"Emily's being childish this time. You're the younger one. She did what any elder should and let you live. That's how it works," Philip said.
"If she wants to sulk, let her stew for a while. She'll get over it soon enough and come running back to me, just like always," he added.
Philip led Claire out of the arrivals gate, hand in hand, unaware that a familiar figure was quietly making her way through the boarding gate a short distance away.
On his way home in the car his driver had sent for him, Philip glanced out the window in time to see a plane taking off, soaring away in the opposite direction.