Daniel Taylor's suburban villa was enormous, spacious enough that everyone could have their own room. After the evening's unexpected twists and turns, Emma Johnson felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her. She couldn't suppress a yawn, and Daniel looked at her with tender concern.
"Emma, you should get some rest. I'll call for you when dinner's ready tomorrow morning."
Sleepy, Emma simply nodded, exchanged a brief goodnight with Daniel, and then pushed open the door to her assigned room without another word.
Daniel watched her disappear into the room, a flicker of disappointment crossing his face. He had hoped to chat with her for a while, to bridge the gap between them. After all, it was only ten o'clock. In the city, ten was hardly bedtime.
He turned to glare at Elijah Clark, only to find the man's deep-set eyes studying him with an unreadable expression.
Then, a faint, knowing smile touched Elijah's lips.
"Mr. Taylor, thank you for your timely intervention. I'll head to my room now. See you in the morning."
Daniel wondered if he was being paranoid. Why did he feel like there was a hidden meaning in Elijah's words? What did he mean by 'timely'?
He must be overthinking it. What could Elijah possibly know?
Everyone exchanged their final goodnights. Emma entered her room and was soon fast asleep.
She was in the middle of a deep, dreamless sleep when a soft knock sounded at her door. She blinked her eyes open, disoriented, staring into the darkness. She thought it couldn't be morning yet; Elijah wouldn't be calling her this early. She fumbled for her phone. The screen glowed, showing the time: just past midnight.
So late. Who could it be?
Reluctantly, Emma got up and shuffled to the door.
It was Daniel.
"Emma, do you have a moment? I'd like to talk to you about something."
He stood in the doorway, his gaze fixed on the woman in her pajamas, her hair slightly mussed from sleep. Without makeup, she looked pure and beautiful, radiating a lazy charm.
A flicker of confusion clouded his eyes.
Even though Daniel was being polite, Emma's mood was terrible. She had been sleeping soundly, and the last thing she wanted was to be woken up in the middle of the night by this man.
If he weren't the owner of the villa, the one who had offered them a place to stay, she would have slammed the door in his face without a second thought.
Suppressing a sigh, Emma forced herself to nod. She reminded herself it was just for one night. She could endure it. After all, he had generously offered her and her friends a place to stay tonight.
She went back into her room, grabbed a long fur coat, and slipped it on. Then, wrapping her arms around herself, she followed him downstairs in her slippers. There was a small bar downstairs. Daniel made a cup of coffee for Emma, but she declined. She didn't want to be kept awake all night. She asked for a glass of water instead.
Daniel had wanted her to try his coffee-making skills, but his offer was rejected. He quickly adjusted his mood, however, and turned his attention back to Emma.
"Emma, did you see the news about me a few days ago?"
"Yes."
Emma took a sip of her water. The cold liquid helped clear her head a little. She nodded, not bothering to pretend she hadn't seen it. After all, the scandal had been all over the news. Pretending otherwise would have been too obvious.
But she still didn't understand why Daniel was asking her this.
"What if I told you that news was all lies? Would you believe me?"
Daniel looked at Emma, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. In contrast, Emma looked completely bewildered. She had no idea why this man was asking her this.
Did she believe it? Did it even matter?
"That's your personal business. I'm not an insider, so I can't really answer that."
Emma gave him a neutral response. Although she didn't believe a word Daniel said, she was a guest in his villa, so she had to show some respect to the host.
Daniel was disappointed. He hadn't heard what he wanted to hear.
"The truth is, that woman was pregnant with her ex-boyfriend's child. I was devastated when I found out. I realized she had lied to me just to marry into the Taylor family. Later, my grandfather stepped in and gave her a sum of money to go live abroad. But I never expected she would abort the child just because she couldn't marry into the family. So, Emma, in this case, I'm actually the innocent victim."
Daniel recounted the events of that year. Emma listened, slightly taken aback. Looking at his expression, it didn't seem like he was lying. It seemed even the sons of wealthy families didn't have it easy in love.
"You know, gossip is like the wind. If you ignore it for a while, it will naturally die down. After all, people have their own lives to live. No one wants to dwell on your problems forever."
That was the only comfort Emma could offer Daniel. He looked up, his eyes suddenly bright.
Before Emma could react, his hand shot out and grabbed hers. It startled her.
"So you do believe me, don't you?"
Emma tried to pull her hand free, but his grip was too strong. A flicker of anger rose within her. She had felt a pang of sympathy for Daniel earlier, but now she was beginning to think he wasn't such a good man after all.
"Mr. Taylor, please show some respect."
Emma stopped struggling, but her face hardened. She looked at him coldly.
Daniel immediately released her hand.
"I know you're someone else's wife. I was out of line."
Compared to their previous unpleasant encounters, this was the first time Daniel had so readily admitted his mistake.
"Good. See that you remember it."
Emma didn't forgive him just because he apologized. Her reply was icy.
"Emma, do you know that I've been regretting things a lot lately?"
Daniel's dark, narrow eyes suddenly fixed on her, a look of intense concentration in his gaze.
Emma's eyebrows twitched. She had a bad feeling about this.
"If I hadn't mistaken you for someone else that day, if our blind date had gone smoothly... then now, as your husband, it wouldn't be Liam Williams. It would be me."
Just as she had feared. Emma felt a headache coming on. She wondered how long it had been. She had already moved on. Why couldn't Daniel let it go?
"Mr. Taylor, even if we could go back in time. Even if I had gone on that blind date with you, I don't think I would have chosen you to be my husband. Because between us, it's impossible."