HIS POSSESSION

2.Sobbing in the hallway

"The bride and the groom are going to do their special dance now," The MC announced just as Becca stood up and the guests clapped in unison.

"Becca, please..." Emma begged.

"Why do you always do this?" Becca sighed and sat back down, hands folded.

"I'm sorry," Emma said again but Becca just shook her head.

They watched the bride return to the dancefloor in a different set of clothes for the dance. Two of the groomsmen and bridesmaids joined them on the dancefloor.

Emma looked away from the dancefloor briefly when she felt like someone was watching her. She turned and her eyes met someone else's. She immediately looked away, but when she looked back, he was still watching her. She realised he had been watching her since she walked in, and just like he could tell she just realised, he smirked.

Emma frowned hoping to make him look away. She found it hard to be interested in any other man since Derek left her the way he did. Unfortunately, her frown didn't make him stop looking.

She blinked. He was sitting at one of the corners of the hall alone with no one else at his table. He was dressed casually, but yet, seemed better dressed than half of the men at the event; just a black, sleeved shirt and black trousers, hair combed back neatly with no extra efforts for someone attending a wedding.

Emma smiled inwardly. He was handsome. Why was he sitting alone? The invite said you could bring a plus one, so why didn't he bring anyone?

The claps of the little crowd made her look back at the dancefloor. They were done dancing and Derek was walking towards her. She turned towards Becca to act like she didn't see him coming but Becca had disappeared so she just sat there, fiddling with her fingers nervously.

"I didn't think you'd actually come," Derek took the seat next to her when he joined her. He had the biggest smile on his face.

She didn't know what to say so she just smiled lightly.

"Come, I'll introduce you to my wife," He stood, but Emma shook her head.

"That won't be necessary," She declined.

"I'm not offering, Emma. I want you to see what we could have been if you didn't f**k things up," Derek's fake nice tone dropped. She heard the version of Derek she knew and tears rimmed her eyes. She looked around for Becca but couldn't sight her so she just swallowed.

"Leave me alone, Derek." Was all she could say as she looked down at her hands to avoid him seeing she had tears in her eyes, but her edgy voice betrayed her. It was very obvious she wanted to cry.

"Leave you alone?" Derek scoffed.

"You really think I'm the reason we failed? All I did was ask you to choose between me or her when I found out you were seeing her. What do you mean I f****d things up? God, I hate you." She didn't know when she looked up at him in spite.

"Yeah, exactly. You f****d things up. I'm sure your friends gave you that stupid idea. If you had just ignored it when you found out like the others, she'd have been history and not my wife, and you and I would still be together. But no, your friends mattered more to you in our past relationship."

"f**k you, Derek. I'm not doing this here with you. Do you have no shame?" She got on her feet to leave but he held her back.

"Shame? Really? Says the one who came to her ex's wedding."

"You invited me?" She glared at him.

"Yeah, to spite you. Not for you to actually show up looking like a w***e in that overly efforted dress." He said and let go of her, fixing his suit and walking away.

Emma's blood boiled with anger and sadness at the same time as she wondered how she ever loved him. Lucia was right, she started to think. Maybe she should have considered ruining his wedding like Lucia advised. But it was too late now. The wedding was almost over and all that was left was people gifting the bride and others eating cake.

She looked back at him. He was standing next to his wife with the biggest smile like he didn't just make her cry. She sniffed and picked up her purse, walking away from the hall space through a hallway. She didn't know where the hallway led to so she stopped halfway through and leaned against the wall and tried to breathe normally but it was hard.

Derek was right, she shouldn't have come. She finally got herself to breathe normally without hyperventilating and crouched down by the corner. She looked around. No one was passing the hallway. She buried her face in her arms and started to sob quietly.

Some of her tears dropped on the cover of her heels as she cried and sniffed between intervals. She heard footsteps approaching and immediately dried her tears as much as she could and tried to act casual when the person got closer. When she looked up, she saw that it was a man. Not just any man. It was the man that had been watching her.

Matteo had watched and studied how her little talk with Derek made her feel. So, when she left the space of the event, he followed her, like he had found himself doing lately. He had followed her through the hallway when she thought she was alone. She hadn't heard him the first time as he approached her stealthily because she was crying and he wondered if she'd rebuke him if he tried to comfort her.

So, he went back and re-approached her, making sure she heard him this time. His heart ached when he saw her lashes wet with tears and one of the things crossing his mind at the moment was to make Derek pay for hurting her and making her cry. But first, he had to comfort her.

Matteo had watched from afar for so long, even before the wedding, undecided if to walk into her life; worried walking into her life would ruin her world, but he couldn't hold himself back today when he watched her cry in the corner, all alone.

"You know, most people hide when they're trying to avoid someone. Is that what you're doing?" He asked when he got to her.

Emma blinked. It was such a heavenly view of him from where she sat, crouched on the floor. She let her eyes trail slowly through his sharp jawline, his prominent Adam's apple, and his broad shoulders. She swallowed before speaking.

"I'm not hiding."

"Of course not." Matteo fanned her denial with a soft smile.

"I'm just taking a break." She defended further.

"From who? Or should I say what? The wedding?"