Chapter 5

"Taking you to the doctor, what else do you think I'm doing?" Ethan shot her a sideways glance, a slight sarcastic smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. Emma opened her mouth, but no words came out. Seeing the blank expression on his face that hovered somewhere between a smile and a sneer, she figured there wasn't much point in saying anything. Her silence didn't sit right with Ethan for some reason. He carried her back to the bedroom, put her down gently, and pressed the button on the landline. "Jacob, get the family doctor up here." After hanging up, he turned and found her quietly rubbing her ankle, staring at the floor without saying a word. "How'd this even happen?" His voice had a faint bite to it, and for a second, Emma thought she'd imagined the concern in it. Was... was he actually worried? "I twisted it walking out of the room. Didn't really notice at first," she replied, her tone softer as she slowed her motions. Just then, Jacob arrived at the door with Dr. Ramos. "Mr. Hunt," Dr. Ramos greeted him with a nod, followed by a nurse carrying a medical kit. "Check her ankle." "Of course." Even before Ethan gave the order, Dr. Ramos's eyes had already gone to Emma's swollen red ankle. He squatted down, pressing gently on the tender area. The sharp inhale from Emma was immediate. "Ma'am, could you try rotating your ankle a bit?" Emma did as asked, but the motion only made the pain worse. After watching her struggle with the movement, Dr. Ramos stood upright and faced Ethan with professionalism. "It's a simple sprain. No damage to the bones or ligaments. Use an ice pack wrapped in a towel for the first couple of days, then switch to warm compresses. It should heal on its own in less than a week." Ethan gave a small nod. "Jacob, show them out." Then he left the room as well. As he walked away, Emma let out a breath and gave a half-smile, one filled with helplessness. She should've known. Any kindness he showed her always came with that air of detachment. Just scraps. But the moment she saw the towel and ice in his hands, her thoughts hit pause. "What are you doing? Sit back down," Ethan said firmly when he noticed her trying to get up. Dropping the towel and ice beside him, he gently pushed her shoulders down to stop her. "Lift your leg," he instructed, motioning towards the small padded bench beside the bed. "Huh? Oh, okay..." Emma, totally thrown off by his unexpected care, dazedly followed his instructions and propped her foot on the bench. A chill crept over her skin almost instantly. Looking down, she saw him leaning over, carefully placing the cold towel on her ankle, his expression calm and focused. That one small act—so deliberate, so gentle—it felt like he'd thrown a pebble into the still water of her heart, rippling straight through her. He was actually icing her ankle himself. She couldn't even begin to explain what she was feeling right now. All those thoughts of letting go that she'd worked so hard to build... crumbled completely under this unexpected tenderness. "So, still hurts?" Ethan asked quietly. While gently pressing the ice against her ankle, Ethan casually spoke up like it was habit. But when he looked up, he found Emma staring at him with bright, hopeful eyes. "Ahem." Right then, it hit him—just how intimate what he was doing looked. He quickly dropped the towel from his hand, not even caring that the ice cubes scattered across the floor, and stood up, clearing his throat like it'd cover up the awkwardness. What the hell was wrong with him today? He actually did all that, and it felt kind of natural. Since he could remember, only one person had ever made him act like this—Lily. The longer he looked at Emma's sparkly eyes, the more flustered he felt, a kind of panic creeping up on him that he didn't know how to handle. "Don't overthink it. I just don't want people knowing that the Hunt family's daughter-in-law can't do anything but embarrass herself." Throwing those words behind him, Ethan turned and walked straight out of the bedroom without so much as a glance. The moment his words hit, the sparkle in Emma's eyes slowly faded. She looked down at the towel tossed on the ground and the melting ice scattered around—and that little warmth she'd felt seconds ago went cold, just like that. So yeah... she was mistaken again. ... A week later. 7 p.m. Daisy Design Co. "Emma, don't stay too late, alright?" Stepping out of his office, Manager Lee saw Emma still working intently at her desk. "Got it, Amy." She'd taken three days off because of her foot, which had set her back a bit. So, she'd been squeezing in extra hours to catch up. Now she was finally down to the last piece of her design. "And... done!" Finishing the final line, Emma leaned back with a big stretch, relief written all over her face. She saved her draft to her hard drive, grabbed her bag, and finally left the office. It wasn't until she stepped outside that she realized the sky had already gone dark. "Pretty sure the buses stopped running by now..." she muttered, walking along the roadside, eyes scanning for an empty cab. Then came the blaring of a car horn behind her. A sleek, silver Maybach pulled up right next to where she was standing. Emma paused, frowning slightly as she glanced at the car. When the window slowly rolled down, a face she knew all too well appeared. "Michael? What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised and a little puzzled. She was sure the Owens Group was based on the west side of the city—here was the east side. "Had some errands to run over here. Didn't expect to run into you, though," he said, stepping out of the car with that polished smile of his. "Ah, my office is just over there," Emma replied, chuckling lightly as her guard dropped a bit. "So, done for the day then? Need a ride home? Not easy to find a cab around here at this hour." As he spoke, Michael casually watched her reactions, taking in every subtle change in her expression. After that gala night, Michael had someone look her up. That's when he found out her marriage to Ethan was just business, with barely any love between them. Which was exactly why he showed up now—no need to hold back anymore.