THE WIFE HE WON’T CLAIM

Chapter Six

Emerald’s POV

“Sorry about that, Emerald,” Gerald said, sitting beside me on the cold pavement outside the community hall with a guilty smile. “I just wanted to scare you a little. I didn’t think you’d react like that.”

I pressed a hand to my racing heart, still trying to catch my breath. My whole body was shaking.

“Scare me a little? Gerald, you nearly gave me a heart attack! I thought...” My voice cracked. I couldn’t even finish the sentence. The terror from three nights ago was still too fresh. My throat closed up.

“I swear I didn’t mean to,” he said softly, his smile fading when he actually looked at me. “I saw you walking down the hallway when I came in and decided to surprise you. I missed you.”

I let out a shaky breath and looked at him properly for the first time. Gerald, my best friend since college, the one person after Sophie who had never treated my voice like a flaw. Seeing his familiar face after everything I’d been through made my eyes sting with tears.

It took me a full minute before my hands stopped trembling enough to let him pull me into a hug.

“It’s fine,” I whispered into his shoulder. “When did you get back to New York?”

“Last week. I came back for some personal business,” he said, smiling that boyish smile I remembered so well. “But mostly for you.”

“Dummy.” I pulled back and hit his arm weakly. “I missed you so much.”

We sat in comfortable silence for a few seconds before he studied my face carefully. His eyes dropped to the faint bruise still yellowing on my collarbone.

“You suddenly cut off contact with me,” I said quietly. “I thought I’d lost my best friend for life.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “A lot has happened.”

“Mmm… it’s okay. Just don’t scare me like that again,” I added, trying for a joke.

“I won’t.” He paused, then added with a teasing grin, “Were you even trying to scream earlier? I bet no one would’ve heard you with that tiny voice of yours.”

I glared at him, but this time I actually felt my lips twitch. “I hate you right now.”

Gerald laughed, the sound easy and familiar. “I love you right now, Emerald.”

He turned serious again. “Are you doing okay? Really?”

“Yeah,” I lied automatically. “I’m perfectly fine, as you can see. Why did you come back, really?”

He handed me his phone, avoiding the question with a smile. “Give me your new number. Let’s meet up for lunch often, okay? I’m going to be here for a while.”

I nodded and typed in my number. “It was really great seeing you, but I have to go. I left my colleague waiting.”

“Alright. See you soon, Emerald.”

***

The moment I stepped back into the house, the peace I had felt with Gerald vanished.

The doorbell rang just as I was removing my shoes in the marble foyer. Before I could even react, my mother walked in like she owned the place, her heels clinking sharply against the floor.

“Why didn’t you pick up my calls or return them?” she said sharply. “You never do anything we ask you to do.”

“Hi, Mum.”

She didn’t waste time. She placed a large paper bag on the console table and pushed it toward me. “Start taking these from today. They’ll prepare your body.”

“Prepare my body for what?”

“Pregnancy, of course,” she replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “It’s been over two years since you married Jayden. Your father said it’s time. I even bought you some lingerie.” She pushed a smaller box toward me.

I stared at the items like they were poisonous. Is this woman really my mother?

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” she demanded. “Don’t you understand? You became a substitute for Sophie. You need to play your part until the very end. That includes giving Jayden a child.”

She leaned closer, lowering her voice. “The Raymond family is sponsoring your father’s company. If anything goes wrong with this marriage, everything your father has worked for will collapse. Do you want to be responsible for that?”

I swallowed hard. The old me would have just nodded. The words “Okay, Mum” were already on my tongue, and I hated myself for how easily they came. I never had the courage to talk back like Sophie did.

This time, I didn’t pick up the bag.

“That’s my good girl,” she said, mistaking my silence for obedience. She patted my head like I was a child. “Keep being obedient.”

The moment she left, I left the bag right there on the console table. I carried only myself upstairs to my quiet, spacious bedroom. I sat on the edge of the king-sized bed and stared at my hands.

Was I really Jayden’s weakness like the kidnapper claimed?

A weakness was something you protected fiercely. Something that made you flinch when touched. Something you couldn’t live without.

But Jayden had told a stranger to kill me without hesitation.

I wasn’t his weakness. I was just… convenient. A substitute. A hidden wife he refused to claim.

The thought brought fresh tears to my eyes. I wiped them away angrily.

Just then, my phone dinged.

Jayden: Come to the parking lot.

I stared at the message for a long moment, my heart heavy. Taking a deep breath, I stood up and headed downstairs.

Whatever Jayden wanted now, I had a feeling it wouldn’t make me feel any better.