The Billionaire's Replacement

CHAPTER TWO - SECRETS

Emma's POV

Jeremy took another step towards me and my heart raced extremely faster than my control, the room suddenly felt smaller and the air was suffocating.

His cold gray eyes never left mine as his hands slowly reached for the second button of his shirt.

"What... what are you doing?" I asked again, my voice was low, barely above a whisper.

Jeremy didn't answer, Instead, he kept walking until there was barely any space between us.

I hastily took several steps backwards until my back was against the edge of the bed.

I was trapped, there was nowhere else to run.

Jeremy leaned closer and I could feel his hot breath tingling on my bare skin. The smell of his strawberry cologne hit me, It was clean, expensive and distracting.

Wait, was he actually going to…

But I was not ready for that. It was going to be my first time and I didn't want to do it with someone I had no feelings for.

With the pace at which my heart raced, I felt like it would fall out of my chest any moment from now.

It was obvious that Jeremy could tell I was nervous but that didn't stop him. His face moved even closer, close enough for me to feel his breath brush against my right cheek.

I immediately shut my eyes close and squeezed my palm tight.

I waited but nothing happened. A second passed and then another second but nothing still happened.

I slowly opened one eye and to my uttermost surprise, Jeremy had already moved past me.

He reached for the desk behind me, picked up a thick black file and placed it beneath his arm as if I had never existed.

I instantly felt embarrassed. Why would I even think someone like Jeremy would actually want to kiss me?

"You think too much."

His deep voice jolted me out of my thoughts.

Without sparing me a single glance, Jeremy flipped through the file.

"Tomorrow morning, you'll accompany me to a meeting."

My eyes widened in surprise. "A meeting?"

"My business partners are hosting a private luncheon." He finally looked at me, his face was expressionless.

“But we just got married. Aren't we supposed to be having our honeymoon or something?” I asked. It wasn't like I needed the honeymoon, it was just an excuse to gather strength and focus on the real reason why I married Jeremy.

"I expect you to behave like Mrs Bennett." Jeremy said, totally ignoring my complaint.

"I know how to behave." I rolled my eyes.

He raised his brows at me slightly. “Good."

Jeremy buttoned his cufflinks before walking towards the door.

"Oh..." He halted in his steps without bothering to turn around. "One more thing."

Now, what could it possibly be this time?

"If you embarrass me in front of my partners..."

His voice was suddenly as cold as ice. "I won't forgive it."

Jeremy stepped out of the room and slammed the door in my face.

Silence engulfed the room and I had several thoughts spinning in my head. What had I gotten myself into?

I released a heavy sigh of frustration before throwing myself on the soft bed.

"What is wrong with me?" I muttered, pressing a hand against my burning face.

For a man who claimed I meant nothing to him, Jeremy Bennett certainly knew how to make my heart forget that.

Throughout the night, I barely caught a glimpse of sleep. Every creak of the enormous mansion startled me awake.

The mattress was softer than any bed I had ever laid on, yet somehow I had never felt more uncomfortable.

Maybe it was because this room wasn't mine.

Or maybe it was because I could never predict Jeremy's next move.

The next morning, I was woken up by a soft knock on the door.

“Come in.” I yelled accompanied by a loud yawn.

The door flew open wide and a maid entered carrying a tray. "Good morning, Mrs Bennett, Your bath has already been prepared."

I raised a brow at her in confusion. "My... bath?"

She smiled. "Mr. Bennett prefers breakfast at exactly eight."

Before I could even process her words, two more maids stepped into the room. One carried dresses and the other carried jewelry.

The one with dresses politely asked how I would like my hair done.

I sat on the edge of the bed awkwardly. All of this was completely new to me.

"I can dress myself." I eventually responded.

The three women exchanged puzzled glances, as if I had spoken another language but fortunately for me, they didn't press further.

After dressing up, One of the maids led me to the dining room. It was almost the size of my entire apartment and I wasn't even exaggerating.

There was onlly one person seated by the table.

Gabriel Beaumont, Jeremy's godfather.

The elderly man looked up from his newspaper and smiled warmly. "Good morning, Emma."

The maids excused us. I sat beside Gabriel and stared at the already filled table in front of me.

Fresh fruit, Pancakes, Coffee, there was so many varieties of food on the table but my appetite immediately disappeared the moment Gabriel said. "You will get used to this."

"I do not plan to get used to any of this.” I said in a stern voice. This life was indeed beautiful and all but it was not enough to distract me from my real purpose.

Gabriel’s smile never wavered. He seemed to be enjoying all of this. "Really?”

"You know why I am here. You know why I married Jeremy in the first place.” I said.

“To get answers about your father's death.” Gabriel replied, he dropped the newspaper carefully on the table and stared at me. “I am the only one with those answers, Emma.”

“We had a deal. You promised.” I said through gritted teeth. My voice came out quieter than I had intended. "You said if I married Jeremy, you would tell me what really happened to my father."

His smile eventually faded. "Yes Emma, I remember my promise."

"Then tell me."

I knew my father wasn't robbed, He didn't simply die in an accident, I knew there was more and the Bennett family was involved in his death. Gabriel had the answers to all of this and he had proposed the deal to me in the first place.

Gabriel remained silent for several seconds.

Then he leaned closer. "Tell me something first."

"What?" I raised a brow at him.

"Has Jeremy begun trusting you?"

I frowned. "No, we just got married yesterday."

"Has he told you anything about this family?"

"No." I clenched my fist tight, I already knew where he was driving at.

"Then neither can I."

Frustration bubbled inside me. “You promised to tell me something if I married Jeremy and I already did. Incase you didn't know, I gave up everything for this marriage. I deserve the truth."

Gabriel sighed and nodded slowly. "You deserve the truth truly but you haven't met up with our agreements yet Emma. Jeremy needs to tell you about his family, everything about it, I need you to gain his trust. Then I can tell you everything about your father's death."

I knew Gabriel’s plan was to use the Bennett's family secret against them and he was using me as the right tool but I couldn't care less. All I wanted was the truth about my father's death, I didn't care if it would ruin Jeremy or not.

All of a sudden, His eyes suddenly shifted past me. I slowly turned around to trace his gaze and my eyes landed on Jeremy. He stood at the entrance of the dining room, His expression was unreadable.

His gray eyes moved from Gabriel and then to me.

Neither of them spoke.

How long had he been standing there?