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The drive back from Amelia’s neighborhood was one of the longest I’d had in a while. The quiet hum of the engine was the only thing competing with the noise in my head. Her face lingered in my mind, that mixture of shock and fear when I pressed too hard about the little girl I’d seen. Scarlett.
I could still hear her voice.
_Mummy, mummy! Aunt Leyla can’t find the special pack.“.
The word mummy cut deeper than it should have. And then there was the birthmark, plain as day on her tiny arm, the same one I’d seen on Edmund’s since we were boys.
It didn’t take a genius to put the pieces together. Scarlett was his. Amelia had a daughter, his daughter.
My fingers tightened on the steering wheel until my knuckles turned pale. I should’ve told him immediately. That was my duty as his best friend and right hand man. Edmund trusted me more than anyone else. But looking at Amelia’s pleading eyes as she begged me not to tell him… God, that did something to me.
_Please don’t tell him. She’d begged.
She was scared. Not of Edmund exactly, but of what his presence in her life might do to the little world she had so carefully built for her child. And I… I understood that. So I swallowed the truth, at least for now.
By the time I pulled into Edmund’s office building, I’d decided I’d keep the secret. Temporarily. But my loyalty was splitting down the middle. One side pulled toward Amelia’s need for secrecy until she was ready to spill the beans, the other toward Edmund’s right to know.
I parked, straightened my tie, and forced a neutral expression onto my face before heading inside.
He was at his desk, scrolling through something on his tablet, but his eyes flicked up the moment he saw me.
“You’re late,” he said with that dry tone of his, though the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
I dropped into the chair across from him. “Traffic.”
“Or,” he leaned back in his chair, “you were somewhere you weren’t supposed to be.”
I smirked, trying to shake off the heaviness sitting in my chest. “You sent me there, remember? Amelia’s place.”
At her name, his eyes sharpened, though he kept his tone casual. “And?”
I stretched my legs out, leaning back in my seat. “She wasn’t exactly thrilled to see me. She told you she had no interest in working with you on the project, but you kept insisting,” I told him, “she said you should find someone else to work with you on the project. She isn’t interested.
He sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. “Yeah. She’s been avoiding me. I figured as much.”
20:38 Wed, Jan 28
Chapter 27
73
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“Why?” I asked, tilting my head at him. “What’s the real story here, Edmund? Because to everyone else, it looks like she wants nothing to do with you. Heck I thought you wanted nothing to do with her as well.”
For a moment, he said nothing. His jaw ticked, and I thought maybe he’d brush it off. But then he exhaled, leaning forward, his elbows braced on the desk.
“Because I made the mistake of letting her slip away once,” he said quietly. “And I won’t make that mistake again.”
I blinked at him. “You’re married. To Vikki.”
He laughed, but it lacked humor. “Married, yes. But in love with her? No. That ended a long time ago, Lewis. Long before Amelia came back into the picture.”
I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable with the raw honesty in his voice. “Then why are you still with her?”
“Appearances. Business. Convenience. Pick any reason, it’ll fit,” he muttered. “But my heart,” he tapped his chest, “it hasn’t belonged to Vikki for years. It belongs to Amelia.”
The intensity in his eyes made me look away. “So this is why she is avoiding you. Because she knows you’re married and doesn’t want to be the other woman.”
“She kissed me,” he said suddenly.
That made my head snap back toward him. “What?”
“The first day she came for my checkup. She kissed me. Or maybe I kissed her. Hell, I don’t even know who started it anymore. But it happened. And since then, she’s been… distant. Professional. Like she’s punishing herself for even letting it happen.”
I ran a hand down my face. This was getting messier by the second. “Edmund, do you hear yourself? You’re chasing a woman who clearly wants boundaries. You’re married. You’re asking her to carry the weight of something she never signed up for.”
His eyes darkened. “I’m not asking her for anything. Not yet. I’m giving her time. But I won’t stop trying until she realizes what I already know.”
“And what’s that?”
“That she loves me too,” he said simply.
I leaned back, shaking my head. “You’re going to destroy her peace, Edmund. Amelia is not Vikki. She won’t play games. If you corner her, she’ll shut you out completely.”
“I know,” he admitted, softer this time. “That’s why I’m trying to be patient. To show her that this… whatever this is between us… it’s real.”
I studied him for a long moment. My loyalty twisted painfully. He looked like a man stripped bare, desperate to hold onto the one thing that gave him hope. And yet, in the back of my mind, Scarlett’s wide innocent eyes haunted me.
20:38 Wed, Jan 28
Chapter 27
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I cleared my throat. “When you were keeping tabs on Amelia, back then… Did you find anything unusual?”
His brows pulled together. “Unusual? What do you mean?”
“Anything,” I pressed. “Something she was hiding, someone she was with, anything at all?”
He shook his head. “No. Nothing. She was alone most of the time. She just worked, studied, and came home. Pretty much a boring quiet life. Why?”
I forced a shrug, masking the storm growing inside me. “Just making sure you didn’t miss anything important.”
His gaze lingered on me, suspicious. “Lewis… is everything alright?”
“Yeah,” I said quickly. “Everything’s fine.”
But inside, everything was far from fine.
We sat in silence for a moment, my mind filled with words I wanted to say, but couldn’t.
Finally, I stood, smoothing down my jacket. “Look, I’ll keep an eye on her. But don’t push too hard, Edmund. If you want her to come back to you, it has to be on her terms, not yours.”
He nodded, though his eyes burned with determination. “I hear you. But I meant what I said. I won’t stop trying until she’s mine again.”
I swallowed. “I’ll be taking my leave now, I have to get something for the girls.” I gave him a curt nod before turning to leave.
if only he knew.
If only he knew that Amelia wasn’t just his past or his present obsession. She was also the mother of the child he didn’t know existed. His child.
Scarlett.
And for now, that secret was mine to keep.
AD
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
