Signed Into His World

The Decision

CHAPTER THREE

Emma

Emma didn’t sleep.

She lay awake, staring at the ceiling as one sentence repeated in her mind.

We lose the house.

She pictured the worn kitchen cabinets and the marks beside the hallway door where her grandmother had measured her height every birthday. That house held memories of her mother and every version of herself.

Now her father’s mistakes threatened to take it all away.

By six, she gave up trying to sleep and went downstairs.

Her grandmother was already at the kitchen table, a cup of tea between her hands.

“You didn’t sleep,” she said.

“Neither did you.”

“I’m old. I need less of it.”

“That sounds suspiciously convenient.”

Her grandmother smiled. Emma couldn’t return it.

“You don’t have to do anything today,” her grandmother said, reaching for her hand.

“Dad says we don’t have much time.”

“Your father’s problems are not your responsibility.”

“They become mine if they take your house.”

Her grandmother squeezed her fingers. “You cannot fix everything, Emma.”

“I know.”

“Then don’t marry a man because of me.”

Emma looked down. “I wouldn’t be doing it only because of you.”

“Why would you do it, then?”

She had no answer.

“You’ve just graduated. You have a career ahead of you and plans of your own. Don’t build your future around fear.”

Emma swallowed.

“If you agree to meet him, do it to understand the situation. Nothing more.”

“A meeting,” Emma repeated.

“Nothing more unless you decide otherwise.”

Her phone buzzed. Zara’s name appeared on the screen.

“Your friend?” her grandmother asked.

Emma nodded.

“Tell her everything.”

⸻

Zara arrived less than an hour later with two coffees and sunglasses she had no business wearing so early.

“You look ridiculous,” Emma said.

“I came prepared for an emergency. You called me at six-thirty.”

Emma accepted the coffee. “Thank you.”

Zara dropped her bag onto a chair. “You look terrible.”

“Good morning.”

“Emotionally, I mean. Now, tell me.”

Emma explained everything: the gambling, the debt, the house being used as collateral, and the proposed marriage.

“Marriage?” Zara repeated.

“Benjamin Collins.”

Zara lowered her coffee. “Benjamin Collins? The Collins Energy man?”

Emma nodded.

“The one who never gives interviews? The one whose family practically owns half the city?”

“I know who he is, Zara.”

“Then you know this isn’t some romantic arrangement.”

“I haven’t called it that.”

“Good. Have you agreed?”

“No. I haven’t even met him.”

“Better. What do you want?”

Emma stared into her coffee. “I don’t know.”

Zara’s expression softened. “You’ve always known what you wanted.”

“I know what I want for my life. I don’t want this.” Emma paused. “But I can’t watch Grandma lose her home because of Dad’s choices.”

“I understand. But don’t let your father make this decision for you.”

“What if meeting Benjamin is the only way to find out whether there’s another option?”

“Then meet him. Ask questions. Find out what he expects and what you’d be agreeing to. If you don’t like the answers, walk away.”

“You make it sound easy.”

“I said it’s your decision. Not that it’s easy.”

Emma considered her words. She had been treating the marriage as though it had already been decided. It hadn’t.

“I’ll meet him,” she finally said.

Zara raised an eyebrow. “That’s all?”

“One conversation. I’m not promising anyone a marriage.”

“Good. Remember that.”

⸻

After Zara left, Emma went upstairs and opened her laptop.

If she was going to meet Benjamin Collins, she wanted to know something about him first.

She typed his name into the search bar.

BENJAMIN COLLINS — CEO OF COLLINS ENERGY & PETROLEUM.

Photographs from conferences, charity events, and corporate announcements filled the screen. In every picture, he wore a dark suit and the same controlled expression.

He looked like a man who had never been late in his life.

Emma read about acquisitions, international energy markets, and the Collins family’s business interests. Then she found an older article accompanied by a photograph of Benjamin standing beside a young woman.

His wife.

The article explained that they had been high-school sweethearts and married after college. They spent three years together before a serious car accident left his wife with a severe brain injury.

She remained in a coma for five years. Eventually, after doctors concluded that recovery was no longer possible, life support was withdrawn.

She died.

Emma sat back, her fingers resting on the keyboard.

She had expected gossip or scandal. Instead, she had found grief.

In the photograph, Benjamin looked younger and less guarded. She studied it before closing the page.

“Great,” she muttered. “Now I feel sorry for him.”

Her phone buzzed with an email notification.

An architecture firm had replied to one of her applications. They wanted to schedule an interview.

Emma read the message twice, then smiled.

It wasn’t a job offer, but it was an opportunity. Something that belonged entirely to her.

Her future hadn’t disappeared overnight. She still had plans, even if a very large problem now stood in front of them.

⸻

That afternoon, Emma went to see her father.

Prince was in his study and looked surprised when she entered.

“I need answers.”

“About Benjamin?”

“About everything. Does he know about the house? Does he know I’m being asked to marry him because of your debt?”

“He knows about the debt and that an arrangement has been discussed.”

“An arrangement,” Emma repeated. “Have you even spoken to him?”

“No. Vanessa spoke to someone connected to the Collins family. That’s how the conversation started.”

“So Vanessa approached them. Why would she suggest me?”

“She thought it could solve the problem.”

“For whom?”

Prince fell silent.

“Does Benjamin even want to get married? Has he agreed to anything?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then why are you behaving as if this is already decided?”

Her father lowered his eyes. “Because I don’t know what else to do.”

Emma saw the fear beneath his shame. It didn’t excuse what he had done.

“I know you’re desperate, but you don’t get to make decisions about my life without me.”

“I won’t.”

“You already did.”

He looked down.

“I’ll meet him and hear what he has to say. But I am not agreeing to marry him.”

“I understand.”

“And I want the full details of the debt, the collateral, and any proposal they intend to make. All of it.”

“I’ll get them.”

She turned to leave.

“Emma,” he called. “I never wanted this for you.”

She looked back. “Then you should have thought about that before you gambled away the money.”

His face fell. She wished the words didn’t hurt him. She wished even more that they weren’t true.

She left.

⸻

Vanessa called that evening.

“Emma. I heard you spoke to your father. You’re considering meeting Benjamin?”

“I’m considering a conversation.”

“Of course. I think you should understand that this could protect everyone. Your grandmother keeps her home, your father avoids financial ruin, and you gain access to a secure future.”

“I don’t need a man to give me a secure future.”

“I didn’t say you did. I’m being practical.”

“You always are.”

Vanessa sighed. “You’ve always misunderstood me.”

“Maybe. But I don’t trust you.”

“Then trust yourself. You’re intelligent enough to understand the opportunity in front of you.”

Emma went quiet. She disliked hearing it from Vanessa, but she did need options.

“I’ll meet him,” she said. “That’s all I’ve agreed to.”

“Then meet him with an open mind.”

“I’ll meet him with my eyes open.”

Vanessa gave a brief, humorless laugh. “Fair enough.”

When the call ended, Emma set her phone aside.

She would meet Benjamin because she needed to understand the proposal, not because her father or Vanessa expected her to accept it.

⸻

The following morning, Emma sat at the dining table working on her portfolio.

She had spent hours refining her final university project: a boutique hotel concept built around natural light and open communal spaces.

Her grandmother glanced over from the kitchen.

“You’ve been staring at that screen for hours. Have you eaten?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

Emma paused. “Eventually.”

“You’ll forget to eat once you start working.”

“That’s why I’m hiring an assistant.”

“You don’t have a job yet.”

“Details.”

Her grandmother smiled. For a few minutes, the house felt normal.

Then Emma’s phone rang. The number was unfamiliar.

“Hello?”

“May I speak with Emma?”

“This is Emma.”

“This is Richard Collins.”

Emma sat straighter. Her grandmother looked over.

“I understand you’ve agreed to meet my son,” Richard said.

“I’ve agreed to a meeting.”

A brief pause followed.

“Yes. That’s what I was told.”

Emma appreciated that he didn’t turn her answer into something it wasn’t.

“I wanted to arrange a suitable time. Our families have discussed the possibility of an arrangement, but nothing has been decided. I believe you and Benjamin should have the opportunity to speak for yourselves.”

“Where would we meet?”

“Benjamin suggested the Collins offices. It’s a neutral setting, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask any questions you wish. Would tomorrow at four suit you?”

Emma glanced at her portfolio.

“Yes. Four is fine.”

“Excellent. I’ll let him know.”

The call ended.

Her grandmother reached across the table. “So?”

“Tomorrow. Four o’clock. The Collins offices.”

“Whatever happens, remember who you are.”

Emma nodded and looked at the sketches on her laptop screen.

This was the life she had worked toward. She wasn’t ready to let it go.

Tomorrow, she would meet Benjamin Collins, the man whose name had entered her life because of her father’s mistake.

She was afraid and angry, and knew almost nothing about him beyond what she had read online.

But she knew she wouldn’t walk into that room as someone’s daughter, someone’s debt, or someone’s sacrifice.

She would walk in as herself.

If Benjamin Collins wanted an arrangement with her, he would have to meet Emma first.