MY EX WIFE LOVER IS MY BEST FRIEND

Chapter3

Emily’s POV

Emily was lying down in the recovery VIP room in the hospital after the emergency procedures. There she lay motionless with her face pale under the soft glow and the hospital smell oozed . Rachel sat down beside the bed where Emily was and stroked her hair as she spoke to her best friend, asking her to come back to her and assured her of her unwavering love towards her.

Rachel kept speaking and reminding her of their happy moments . Just as she reassured Emily continuously, as silent prayers slipped from her lips.

Seconds turned to minutes and minutes felt like hours, but then , a ray of hope finally shone as a faint flutter of Emily’s eyelid caught Rachel’s attention . She leaned in closely as her heart raced. Slowly, Emily’s eyes opened, dazed . A scream of joy erupted from Rachel as tears brimmed in her eyes. She hurriedly threw her arms around Emily, hugging her so tight and kissing her face as she did a little dance .

Rachel released her grips on Emily and subtly apologized for squeezing her as she reached out to the bedside button, and summoned the doctor . When the doctor arrived a few moments later.

As the doctor entered, Rachel and Emily asked in unison , their voices laced with urgency: “What’s wrong doctor, how’s the baby ,doctor?”

When the doctor heard the questions and could sense the unease in their voices he cleared his throat and he knew it was time to open up and reveal the bitter truth as he met Emily’s anxious gaze.

The doctor subtly went forward to address her cautiously. “Mrs. Laurent, may I ask - have you passed through any kind of shock or stress recently?”

Emily was shocked by the question and stuttered as she tried to hide the fact that she’s no longer a part of the Laurent family to the doctor.

“Uhm none that I can think of doctor” Emily lied as she shot Rachel a glance to cooperate with her.

“I must admit I’m puzzled, Mrs Laurent, where’s Mr Laurent ? "I think he should be here to support you emotionally through this phase” the doctor said, still avoiding spilling the main tea.

“ Support me through that phase! "Can you go straight to the point and stop beating about the bush?” Emily screamed at the doctor as hot tears trickled down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry, doctor, for my outburst. Mr Laurent isn’t in town please you can tell me what the issue is” Emily gently addressed the doctor to bring out words from him.

“Mhm mhm” the doctor cleared his throat once again .

Emily, I need you to be calm now , get yourself together, girl Rachel said to Emily with her voice quivering, and their hearts pounded in unison as they braced themselves up to accept whatever the doctor had to say.

“Mrs Laurent , I’m so sorry” he voiced with his voice soft but yet heavy with regret. “I and my team did all we could to save both you and the baby , but unfortunately the damage was already critical by the time you arrived at the hospital. The chances of rescuing the fetus were very ¦.. slim.”

The doctor paused slightly, as his voice trembled in the air. “I’m heartbroken to break to you that ... .we lost the baby.”

Emily’s words crumbled repeatedly in a flash of light as the words settled in . Rachel dumbfounded by the sad news , as pools of tears welled in her eyes as she clung onto Emily confused yet ready to comfort her in the face of chaos.

Emily, drained of the only hope she had, stared blankly at the dull interior of the hospital room .Agony , rage and revenge filled her soul as she braced herself up and asked the doctor when she would be discharged.

The doctor, relieved at the ease of the tension, gave her a kind smile.

“Mrs Laurent, you’ll be free to go tomorrow. "I will examine your vitals today and by tomorrow I believe you’ll be able to go and also note that you need maximum rest to fasten your recovery”. The doctor said and excused himself from the room.

Emily sighed so deeply and squeezed Rachel’s hands as she looked up to her friend in tears.

As the moment that felt like eternity came to an end Emily finally found her voice . “ Rachel you can go to work , go back and freshen up I will order something to eat later. You don’t have to worry so much about me now. You’ve outdone yourself for me these few days”.

Rachel got offended at Emily’s words as she could feel the depth of sadness and pains in her voice. “ Emily, I can lay my life down on your behalf, to hell with work girl, I’m going to be here with you through every step and see you heal”. Rachel assured Emily of her undying love for her and gave her the warmest hug.

“Ok now I’m going to go home , refresh and make us some meals then I’ll grab you some dress for tomorrow and before I leave promise me that you won’t shed tears any longer. I won’t be long. I want you to brace up.

Few hours passed and Rachel returned with packs of food as she opened it and allowed Emily to savor the aroma of the delicious basmati rice and salad she prepared. Emily and Rachel ate the food with grace .

As they silently finished the food and allowed it to digest, the atmosphere felt heavy and silent and all they could hear was the sound of their own breathing.

Emily coughed and finally opened up, with her voice trembling but yet determined. “Rachy , these few days that have passed have been the worst in my life. I've lost everything , my perfect family, my little Angel, the very life I thought I was building, my hope in humanity all gone in a twinkle of an eye. "I want to rebrand my life, and start over. I want to be somewhere far away from this trauma and pain.” Emily paused , taking a deep breath and clearing her throat. “First Rachy, I have to go over to my cosmetics company and dissolve everything, sell off my shares and properties and start over again somewhere else.”

As Emily finished those words , Rachael’s eyes were filled with tears. “ Emily, have you thoroughly thought about this? Starting over leaving everything behind. I will miss you so much. You’ve not only been my friend, but a sister I didn’t have.”

At that moment, Emily and Rachel couldn’t hold their tears as they hugged each other and Emily squeezed Rachel’s hand gently . “ I need to find myself again , I need to heal and all this, I can’t do it here . You’ll always be my sister and I will never forget you.”

Rachel heaved a sigh of relief in her steady voice. “No matter what decisions you make, I will always be here for you.”

The night grew fast and ushered in a new day and Emily was discharged. Rachel helped her pack their things to the car and they set off to go home. The road ahead was filled with uncertainty and fears, but Emily made up her mind to leave no matter what the future will hold for her.

As they got home Rachel prepared to go to work leaving Emily at home to rest. Emily stood by the blinds of the room peeping as Rachel’s car moved down the street. Emily twitched her arms sideways, ignoring the pains in her body. Emily couldn’t sit idle anymore yet Rachel’s words advising her to rest kept playing in her mind .

Emily ran through her luggage swiftly and got dressed in a simple casual dress yet she looked so elegant. As she dressed up she touched her face with a light make up to hide her eye bags and exhaustion. After that she looked at herself in the mirror and sighed before she pulled her hair into a loose bun with her bag clutched in her hands. Emily opened the mini drawer beside the bed to take her bracelet and stumbled her hand onto a cream colored envelope with a frown she picked up and instantly got a flashback as she recalled the humiliation she passed through at the party.

MRS GERALDINE LAURENT. Emily, filled with instant hatred upon remembering the past, hesitated and then went forward to open the envelope. There inside the envelope layed a check of $40,000. The bold description on the check clearly sarcastic and unapologetic: “ SETTLEMENT MONEY”, stared at Emily as she gagged .

Emily let out a bitter chuckle and slipped the envelope into her bag and hurried out afterwards.

Emily boarded an Uber and headed out to her cosmetics company. The drive felt so long and lonely as her mind raced constantly drifting into thoughts of how to start afresh. She heaved a sigh of relief as she started plotting a new means of leaving the company and starting over with the settlement money.

As the Uber pulled up to the glass front building , Emily stepped out with her mind racing on how to give a speech to her staff. To her greatest surprise the environment was busy, with people going in and out of the office as it's clearly open and functional.

“Is my eyes deceiving me or am I clearly hallucinating”? Emily asked herself as she doubled her steps into the main entrance.

With curiosity filled her mind ,she walked faster, her wedge heel clicking so hard on the marble floor.

The reception area was filled with clients who were being tended to, as the staff saw her silence engulfed them, as they didn't know what the problem was and how to tell her the situation on ground .

Emily knew everything wasn't right ,from the cold stares she got from her staff , in trying to fathom what's happening Emily was struck by what she saw. Seated on the reception desk and typing off the computer was no other person than her stepsister, Isabel.

With a smirk on her face she flung her hair back as she made her way out from the inner desk towards Emily .

“Emily,” Isabel said mockingly with her sweet voice. “ What a surprise dear sister, I didn't expect to see you here today.”

Emily clutched her hands into fist trying to hold her anger as thoughts of what she's doing there raced through her mind.

Taking a deep breath with a fake smile, Emily stepped forward. “Isabel , I didn't expect to see you here either, care to explain what's happening and what you're doing here”?