CHAPTER 10: THE FIRST CRACK IN CONTROL
916 Words
The moment Sophia walked away, the air around Emily didn’t fully settle again.
It only changed pressure.
Like the room had been holding its breath and didn’t quite know when it was allowed to exhale.
Emily noticed it immediately.
People were still watching.
Still whispering.
But now it wasn’t just about Pierce Jackson.
It was about her.
She could feel it in the way conversations shifted when she passed.
The way eyes followed her longer than necessary.
The way names were being remembered.
Emily Argent.
Not as a background figure.
Not as “Sophia’s sister.”
Not as “one of the Argent daughters.”
But as her.
She didn’t like how much that unsettled her.
Pierce moved slightly beside her, guiding her away from the thicker crowd without actually touching her.
“You’re thinking too loudly,” he said.
Emily glanced at him.
“That’s not a real thing.”
“It is for you.”
She exhaled sharply.
“I don’t like this attention.”
Pierce’s gaze stayed forward.
“You’re handling it better than most people here would.”
“That’s not reassuring coming from you again.”
“It should be a pattern by now.”
Emily shook her head slightly, but there was a faint smile tugging at her lips anyway.
They stopped near a quieter section of the hall where fewer people lingered.
For a moment, it almost felt like breathing room.
Emily folded her arms.
“So,” she said slowly, “you’re just going to casually stand here and pretend everything isn’t spiraling?”
Pierce looked at her.
“Everything isn’t spiraling.”
She gave him a look.
“You were just declared the center of an economic empire, my family is currently plotting something in their heads, and your presence is turning this room into a chessboard.”
Pierce blinked once.
“That sounds stable to me.”
Emily stared at him.
“…You need therapy.”
“I have staff for that.”
“That’s not how therapy works.”
“It is in my world.”
She sighed, shaking her head again.
Despite everything, being near him made the chaos feel slightly less sharp.
Like the noise was still there…
But farther away.
A pause settled between them.
Then Pierce spoke again, quieter.
“You’re being watched.”
Emily didn’t react immediately.
“I know.”
“No,” he said. “Not like that.”
Something in his tone made her look up.
Pierce’s expression had shifted slightly.
Less casual now.
More alert.
“There’s someone here,” he continued, “who didn’t expect you to be with me.”
Emily frowned.
“That could be half the room.”
Pierce’s eyes scanned the crowd subtly.
“This is different.”
Her stomach tightened slightly.
“Different how?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then—
“I don’t recognize their scent.”
Emily stared at him.
“…You what?”
Pierce finally looked at her.
A pause.
Then, carefully—
“Ignore that.”
“That is not something I can ignore!”
Before he could respond, a sudden wave of movement passed through the crowd again.
The atmosphere shifted.
Again.
Emily turned—
And saw it.
Her father.
Richard Argent.
Walking toward them with purpose.
No hesitation this time.
Evelyn followed close behind.
And Sophia… again.
Of course.
Emily straightened instinctively.
Pierce didn’t move.
But something in him did.
Something quieter.
More focused.
Richard stopped in front of them.
This time, he wasn’t performing for guests.
There was no public politeness in his expression anymore.
Only intent.
“Mr. Jackson,” he said carefully.
Pierce nodded once.
“Mr. Argent.”
A beat.
Then Richard’s eyes moved to Emily.
And stayed there.
Longer than before.
As if seeing her properly for the first time tonight.
Not as his daughter.
Not as an obligation.
But as something he hadn’t accounted for.
“Emily,” he said finally.
Her name sounded heavier in his voice than usual.
“Yes, Father.”
A pause.
Then—
“You should step aside for a moment. I need to speak with Mr. Jackson privately.”
Emily frowned slightly.
“I can stay.”
Richard’s eyes hardened just a fraction.
“This is not a request.”
Silence.
The room around them felt it immediately.
Emily’s shoulders stiffened slightly.
Pierce noticed instantly.
And before Richard could say anything else—
Pierce spoke.
“She stays.”
The words weren’t loud.
But they landed like impact.
Richard paused.
Sophia froze.
Even Evelyn’s expression shifted slightly.
Richard narrowed his eyes.
“Mr. Jackson, this concerns business matters between—”
“I don’t care,” Pierce interrupted.
A quiet stillness followed.
Then Pierce turned his head slightly toward Emily.
Not looking at anyone else.
Just her.
“You’re not leaving,” he said calmly.
Emily blinked.
“…Okay.”
That single word shifted something in the air.
Because she didn’t argue.
She didn’t hesitate.
She just accepted it.
Richard saw it too.
And for the first time that night…
Something in his expression changed.
Not anger.
Not confusion.
Calculation.
Slow.
Careful.
Sophia, however, saw something else entirely.
The way Pierce Jackson didn’t even consider negotiating Emily’s presence.
The way Emily didn’t fight for her place.
Because she already had one.
And across the room, hidden in shifting shadows, the golden-eyed observer finally stepped back slightly.
His expression darkened.
“She’s protected,” he murmured.
Then paused.
“…That complicates things.”
- Writer
