A Game With The Billionaire

Chapter 6:

Jeremy:

Emma is walking towards me, unsmiling. I have been standing in front of her parents’ house for what seems like eternity but which is only twenty minutes, as she approaches me, I somehow find it harder to bring myself not to stare at her.

“Sorry I am late.” She says when she reaches me; she’s dressed in an ivory blouse with high-waisted pants, tiny golden loop earrings dangling in her ears. “You ready?” she asks, and I nod, even though I am not fully sure.

I outstretch my arm, and she hesitates, shooting daggers at me but when her soft palm lands on mine, I try desperately to ignore the zapping feeling that rushes through my whole body.

“Don’t worry, my whole family loves you.” She mutters under her breath and if I am not so close to her, I won’t have caught it.

When we step into the house, fresh air hits us. The Roberts family are rich but they have always liked to live life simple, unlike I, an Hart. We’re always extravagant in everything we do, I would exchange it all for a simple house and a simple family every day.

We remove our shoes, because that’s her mother’s decision. I used to visit here every time it was the holidays; this was practically my second home. Emma and I would stay in her room all day, drinking soda while grinning at the computer screen; her mother would come in with a plate of cookies and tell us to go play outside.

They made me feel like family.

“Emma! Jeremy! Is that you?” Emma’s mother, Sadie, joins us in the hallway and envelops us into a hug, she smells faintly of cinnamon and vanilla. “You made it just in time, the chicken is ready. Oh look at you, Jeremy. When I read the news that you were back together with Emma, I almost cried.” She begins pulling my arm towards the dining room. “You look so pale, don’t you eat at all?”

Emma mutters under her breath about something that I don’t catch but she follows behind us. The hallway leads to the enormous living room and the other side which is the dining room. I spot Emma’s father who stands and claps me over the back. “Damn it, Jeremy. You look like you’ve been working out every second of your day.”

I bark out a laugh as I take a seat, Emma sits beside me but doesn’t make eye contact with me. Her whole family are all seated, her elder brother, Andrew, who is a doctor, Ethan, Emma’s twin brother and finally Sabrina, their younger sister. But her father is absent, maybe he's out on a business trip.

“Don’t worry, honey. We all know how you don’t like strawberries, so I made sure to exclude it from tonight's meals.” Sadie says and my chest explodes with a familiar type of warmth.

Everyone starts eating. Unlike the Hart family, where no one discusses during eating, the Roberts talk, laugh and make crude jokes.

“Andrew, when are you going to get married?” Sadie asks as she passes the bowl of mashed potatoes to her husband. Sabrina pulls out her tongue and makes a face at him, he nods, as if he’s disappointed but everyone can see the hint of a smile on his face.

“When everyone in the house isn’t single, then I will do something about myself.” He takes a glass and drinks.

“You’re thirty-seven, when are you going to take your life seriously?” Sadie asks, blowing a breath.

“I am a doctor, I believe I am taking my life seriously.” Andrew replies, looking smug as if he just won a prize.

“What about Samantha?” Sadie asks and Andrew groans while muttering ‘Not again, mom’ under his breath but typical Sofia continues to talk. “It’s not a bad idea, the Roberts are extremely close with the Morris, Arya and Emma are best-friends, Sabrina is dating their younger brother, Collins, and Sam is also a doctor. I feel like you two would click so well if you gave each other a chance.”

“Mother, we don’t like each other. We’re enemies. And since when did Sabrina start dating Collins? I thought they were best-friends? Aren’t they like nineteen, they aren’t even done with college!”

“Oh sweet naive Andrew.” Sabrina taps his hand, which earns a round of laughter from everyone in the room. “That leaves only Ethan and Andrew as the single guys in the room.”

“Hey.” Ethan says playfully. “Haven’t found the right one yet.”

Everyone huffs at him because apparently, when we were younger, Emily Hart, my cousin and also one of Emma’s closest friends, has a huge crush on him. Everyone knows this, except him.

“So, tell us the entire gist how you and Emma got back together.” Sabrina looks at me, her eyes twinkling.

“Yes, go on, Jer-Jer. Tell us the gist.” Ethan cranes his head, while drowning a full glass of water in a go.

Emma looks at her food, as if to say, ‘This is all on you.’ I clear my throat and launch into another topic instead, mostly cracking jokes. Everyone laughs along as they eat, except Emma; she picks out her food silently.

After dinner, Sadie packs a ‘self-care’ package, as she likes to call it. It contains snacks, fruits and some of her homemade treats, wrapped in a foil basket.

She hugs us both, but when she hugs me, she says over my shoulder. “I’m so happy you two found your way back to each other, I always knew it wasn’t over between you two.”

She pulls back and looks at me, her eyes bright with hope. “Don’t let her go this time, okay?” she adds with a tiny smile.

I have no intention of doing that. Throughout the whole ride home, Emma is quiet, just looking out the window. I want to say something but she isn’t even looking at me. When we arrive back at the villa, I go upstairs, shower, change into a t-shirt and grey sweatpants. I flop on the bed and stare at the ceiling, unable to sleep while knowing that she is in the other room.

Time passes by so painfully slowly that I am counting the seconds in my head, perhaps a bottle of water will knock me straight to bed. I run a hand through my hair as I stand from the bed and go downstairs.

By the time I reach the bottom of the stairs, the soft glow from the kitchen spills into the hallway, and slowly I make my way to the kitchen. Emma’s sprawled on the counter stool, her hair falling in a messy wave over her flushed face. On the counter are half-empty bottles and scattered cups.

She’s drunk.

“Emma,” I say quietly, approaching her. She looks up at me slowly, her eyes glistening.

“Why....” she slurs, blinking at me. “Why does my family have to like you so much, huh?”

I stop a few feet away, deciding if I should go closer or stay where I am.

“You’re always so damn charming.” She mutters, pointing a shaky finger at me. “Always. Everyone loves you, Jeremy Hart. My parents, my brothers, my younger sister. Everyone keeps saying how amazing you are,” she laughs weakly. “What’s your secret?”

Her laugh dies, her eyes now glistening with tears. My chest hurts just by staring at her like this.

“I am tired of hurting,” she whispers, voice trembling. “Do you even know what this is? You and I are trying to live together, trying to act like a couple. You’re trying to pretend that we are okay. You even want us to create a game together.” Her tone twists into a pain filled one. “You want to win me back but that’s impossible.”

She shakes her head, curls falling over her cheeks. “I hate you, Jeremy Hart.”

Something inside me tears apart.

I can’t stand here anymore, I walk closer until I am now facing her. “Emma...”

She shoves me weakly, looking down. “Don’t you get it? I hate you! I hate you! You stole our game! I freaking hate you!” She screams, her voice breaking as tears spill down her face. She continues hitting at my chest weakly and I don’t stop her.

I let her hit me. It hurts but it’s nothing compared to the pain in her eyes, that’s what hurts the most. She loses her strength and now she is crying, really crying, and it’s impossible for me to breathe. Lowering my head, I let her tears soak into my t-shirt. I deserve it. Every bit of it.

She stumbles off the stool, muttering something I can’t catch and heads towards the living room, because I am worried that she will fall, I stride behind her with my head lowered.

She almost falls. Her foot catches the edge of the rug, and before she hits the floor, I wrap my hand around her wrist but she pulls back with such force that sends both of us stumbling to the couch.

She ends up on top of me.

For a second, every single thing freezes. She leans in and her breath fans across my face, her hair smells faintly of vanilla and whiskey. Her eyes, those soft amber eyes, meet mine.

“Why do you have to be so damn handsome?” She says under her breath.

My heart pounds so furiously as I use one hand to guide her lower back.

She presses her lips to mine, a soft kiss that tastes like tears but still ignites the fire inside me. Before I can react, she lands on my chest.

She’s asleep, just like that.

I stay like that, just trying to soak it all in- the steady rhythm of her heartbeat, the warmth of her skin because I don’t think I’ll ever get a chance to do so again.