Chapter 23
Jul 18, 2025
Emery’s POV
Just when things were starting to settle, she had to show up. Marian Rinaldi.
The one they all preferred for Landon. The one they whispered about in comparison to me, like I was the trial run and she was the final product.
I didn’t say a word. My hand gripped the doorframe tighter as I stared at her, taking in the flawless waves in her hair, the smug tilt of her chin. She didn’t need to speak for me to hear the condescension already.
Marian tilted her head with that polished smile she always wore like a designer accessory. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
“No.”
She let out a soft laugh and flicked an imaginary speck off her sleeve. “I didn’t come to fight. I just wanted to talk. Woman to woman.”
My eyes narrowed. “You don’t get to walk into my life and pretend this is casual.”
But she didn’t wait for permission. She stepped past me and entered the apartment like she belonged there.
I scoffed under my breath, shutting the door behind her, though I didn’t move from my spot. If she thought I was going to play hostess, she was sorely mistaken.
Marian settled herself on the edge of the couch, legs crossed, her purse placed carefully on the coffee table like it had earned a place in my home.
She took her time, surveying the room with the kind of forced interest that made her real intention painfully obvious.
“Cute place,” she said, her tone overly pleasant. “Cozy. A little modest, but sweet.”
I didn’t bother responding to the bait. Whatever speech she’d rehearsed, I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of reacting.
“I just wanted to see how you’re doing,” she continued, drawing out each word like she was talking to someone fragile. “It’s been a while since you left. You kind of disappeared.”
“I didn’t disappear,” I said flatly. “I left.”
Her smile didn’t falter. “Well, same outcome, isn’t it?”
She let the silence stretch out, like it was something she was used to owning. Her gaze drifted around the apartment again, probably cataloging every corner, every item that didn’t scream wealth or prestige.
I could see the judgment in her eyes, even if she didn’t say it outright.
“Landon and I…” she began, running a hand down her sleeve as if the memory deserved a gesture, “we had such beautiful memories together. Especially back in Milan.”
My hands curled into fists at my sides before I could stop them. She noticed. Of course she did.
“He was so different back then,” she went on, her voice soft and nostalgic. “Confident, wild, protective. Still is, honestly. It’s just… nice to see him like that again. With someone who really understands him.”
I kept my expression neutral. “So you dropped by to take a stroll down memory lane?”
She blinked, as if the question caught her off guard. “No. I just thought you should know where things stand.”
I tilted my head slightly. “And where exactly is that?”
Marian rose from the couch, smoothing out the front of her blazer with practiced ease. “With me.”
I didn’t flinch. I didn’t move. She took a step closer, voice low now, like she was delivering a secret instead of a warning.
“You may be carrying his child, Emery. But I’m the one he always comes back to.”
I let the words hang between us, let her believe they stung. Then I gave her the smallest smile, one that didn’t reach my eyes. “We’ll see.”
Her mouth tightened. She held my gaze for a second longer, clearly weighing whether to push further. But she didn’t. Instead, she reached for her purse and walked toward the door.
“I hope you enjoy your peace while it lasts,” she said without looking back.
I stayed where I was, arms loose at my sides, eyes fixed on the space she’d just occupied. The door clicked shut behind her, but the weight of her visit lingered like smoke.
Let her think she had the upper hand. Let her think she could rattle me.
This wasn’t over. Not even close.
