Married On Paper To The Billionaire
Chapter 11: Guilt and Desire

"Thank you for seeing me," said Lillian with a warm smile.

"Of course," Emilia replied.

"Everything was a huge misunderstanding. Mother would have come with me to see you but she's down with a cold."

"It's ok. I understand. What shall I offer you?"

Lillian chuckled. "You don't have to be so formal with me. Reserve that for Mother."

Emilia laughed. Lillian was her first visitor since she returned to the city. Kane had asked to see her a couple of times but she'd turned down his requests. She wasn't ready to face him again just yet.

"It would be easy to just throw Kendra under the bus and pile all the blame on her, but we too failed you, Emilia. We allowed ourselves to be swayed by a few sensationalized photos. We didn't even give you a chance to prove your innocence." "Well, as my grandmother said, everyone makes mistakes. I'm sure you all thought you were doing the right thing at the time."

"On behalf of my family, I apologize for how we judged you wrongly. Please, forgive us."

"That's ok, Lillian. It's all water under the bridge now. Let's just move on and do better next time."

"You're such a kind person, Emilia. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Did your father tell you that Kane has resumed business with him?"

"Yes. I was told that the construction of the second restaurant has begun again. Daddy also said that he's received some seed funding from Beaumont Bank for the main restaurant." "Good. I'm glad he's carrying you along."

There was an awkward silence that stretched for several minutes after that. Emilia busied herself with straightening the edge of her skirt, while Lillian studied her fingernails.

Finally, she cleared her throat delicately. "So... Emilia, there's another matter that I'd like to discuss with you."

"What is that?"

She sighed. "Kane."

"Lillian, please, don't."

"Emilia... he's sorry. He didn't send me here to speak on his behalf but he's my brother and I can't just stand back and watch him be sad every day."

"That's not my fault, is it?"

"No, but you can make it stop. Emilia, Kane loves you. He's never felt this way about any woman before and I should know because I've watched him live the playboy life since his teenage years."

"To be honest, I'm not sure Kane knows what love means. If he did, he wouldn't have turned his back on me at the first sign of trouble."

"He has learned from his mistakes, I promise."

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"Give him another chance, please."

Emilia didn't want to be talked into reconciling with Kane when she wasn't ready yet. At the same time, she didn't want Lillian to think that she was holding a grudge against him.

"Give me some time to think about, will you?"

"Well, that's a start," Lillian said. She looked relieved.

"Thanks for stopping by. Send my love to Mother."

After Lillian left, Lara came out of the kitchen where she'd been eavesdropping on the women's conversation.

"So, what have you decided?" She asked Emilia.

"Don't start, Mom."

"What?"

"I have already paid my dues. Now is my turn to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life. The future of the restaurants no longer relies on whatever decision I make from now on." "Don't be so sure about that. What if the reason why Kane is resuming business with us is based on his expectation that you'd reconcile with him?"

"Then he's wasting his time and money. I will not be bought like a piece of meat again."

"Oh, please, stop! You make it sound as if you never got anything good out of the marriage while it lasted. You were married a billionaire, for heaven's sake!"

"So, what?"

"So, stop talking as if you were sent to the trenches to suffer. That wasn't what happened. Your father and I gave you an opportunity to have a great future as a member of the upper class. You should be thanking us instead of whining all the time."

"Thanks a lot, Mom. That was a really nice speech!"

She stormed out of the living room and went to her bedroom. She was tired of her mother reminding her of how lucky she was to have married a billionaire.

Her mother was a shameless social climber, but Emilia believed that there should be more to life than social status. Why did that matter so much to some people?

Emilia stayed in her bedroom for the rest of the day until Chloe knocked on her door to inform her that dinner was ready.

When she got downstairs, she was stunned to see Kane standing in the hall with a large bouquet of roses in his hand.

"Hi, Emilia. May I come in?" He asked politely.

"You're already in, aren't you? What are you doing here?"

"Daddy invited him for dinner," Chloe answered excitedly.

As you reach the final pages, remember that 000005s.com is your destination for the complete story. Share the joy of reading with others and spread the word. The next chapter is just a visit away! "Was I talking to you?" Emilia asked her sister frostily.

"Sorry, Ice Princess. My bad."

"Chloe, please come here and help me with the casserole," Lara called from the dining room.

"I'm sorry for dropping in on you like this without prior notice," said Kane. "I just thought that - "

"You thought wrong, Kane Beaumont. Now, please leave my house and take your bouquet with you."

"Come on, Emilia. He's our guest," her dad protested.

"It's ok, Mr Taylor," Kane said with a patient smile. He nodded politely at Emilia and said, "You won't hear from me again. I promise."

Those words pierced her heart like a sword. As she watched him leave with those adorable flowers, chin began to tremble. Had she overdone it? Had she finally ruined her final chance of getting back together with Kane because of her stubborn pride?

She put one foot in front of the other and walked toward the dining room. Everyone had taken their seats at the table and were staring at her with the same expression of disappointment.

"Are you happy now?" Her mother asked in a bored tone.

"Leave the girl alone, Lara," said her father. "Come on, Emilia. Come and eat."

"Oh, don't bother her, Daddy. She's too angry to eat."

Emilia ignored them, turned around and ran to the front door. She didn't even bother to grab a coat as she ran outside to face the cold.

She got to the driveway in time to see the taillights of Kane's car. He was already gone. Disappointment hit her like a fist in the gut. She wanted him back!

"Are you crazy? Do you want to freeze to death?" Her mother screamed at her, running towards her with a coat.

"I want him back," she replied as tears ran down her face.

Her mother sighed. "Why didn't you just say so? What good has your pride done you now?"

"What am I going to do now, Mom? I chased him away!"

"You know what to do, Emilia. Come on, let's go back inside."

"I think I still love him."

"And I'm sure he loves you too."

"But he didn't say that. He never mentioned love the whole time. He only said sorry."

"Was that what you were waiting to hear? Was that what it would have taken you to forgive his mistakes?"

"I - I don't know."

As you reach the final pages, remember that 000005s.com is your destination for the complete story. Share the joy of reading with others and spread the word. The next chapter is just a visit away! Lara chuckled. "Darling, men are better at showing how they feel than saying it. Ever since Kane discovered what that viper of a woman did to you, has he tried his best to make up for it?" "Yes."

"Then what else do you want him to do to prove to you that he loves you?"

"Maybe I just need reassurance."

"Don't be silly, Emilia. We have all appealed to you, including his sister. If we weren't sure that Kane still has feelings for you, we wouldn't encourage you to reconcile with him." "I guess so..."

"Let the hurt go, Emilia. Move on from it and start afresh with him. He loves you."

Emilia nodded in agreement. She still loved Kane and he probably still loved her too. If he didn't, he wouldn't be so apologetic and determined to get back together with her. "I have to see him tonight," she said with determination.

Lara grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that. I'll go and grab the car keys."

"No, Mom. I'm going alone. This is between me and Kane."

"Fine then. I'll bring you the keys."

When she arrived at the gate of the mansion, the security men were pleasantly surprised to see her. They let her in without hesitation.

She got to the front door and knocked on it furiously like a bandit. Harry was speechless when he opened the door and saw her standing there.

"Ms Emilia! What are you doing here?"

"I want to see Kane. Where is he?"

"Uh, I think he's in the study. Shall I - "

"Don't worry, I'll replace him by myself," she cut him off and ran past him into the mansion.

When she reached the front of the study, she took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

"Who is it?" Kane asked from inside.

She opened the door and stepped in. He was standing by the window, holding a glass of wine. When he saw her, his eyes widened with surprise. "It's me, Kane. I'm back."