Shadows Of A Forgotten Spring

Chapter 93

Emma turned into her apartment complex parking lot, her nerves unraveling at the sight of the paparazzi and fans still milling about outside the gates. Cameras flashed, and excited voices rose as they spotted her car. Her chest constricted in annoyance. Aren't they ever tired?

She was grateful now that she had told Jaden to go back earlier, though he had been reluctant to do so.

She didn't need the tabloids now to start other stories of her and Jaden. Already, the kiss with Alexander had taken too much. space in her head, and she couldn't afford any more chaos. What she needed was time, time to sort out everything that was happening around her, particularly the surge of emotions she had never expected from that kiss.

With a deep breath, Emma stepped out of her car; her heart began racing while paparazzi swarmed around the fence. yelling her name and snapping pictures. She did not even acknowledge their existence, her head down as she moved toward the building. The nagging questions about jaden, Alexander, Adam Hersel's health, and herself filled her ears like some kind. of cacophony from which there was no escape.

The tension did not even case when she entered the apartment Her mother was with the kids in the sitting room, bur Emma didn't stop to greet any one of them. She threw a quick wave and went right into her bedroom, with the door softly shut behind her. The silence of her room was supposed to bring peace, but it didn't. Her mind was a storm, memories and thoughts colliding in a chaotic whirlpool. She could still feel Alexander's lips on hers, the way his hands had gripped her as if letting her go was. unthinkable. She hated that her body had responded, hated that her heart had skipped a beat, hated that it made her question everything she thought she had buried!

But she did not have the luxury to dwell on that, not with everything else going on.

Her phone buzzed on the bed, that unknown number that had been calling all day flashing across the screen. The constant ringing had been gnawing at her patience since the kiss. With an irritated sigh, she reached for the phone and answered, the, sharpness of her voice more than she meant it to be

"Hello!"

brief pause; then, a soft, feminine voice spoke up. "Hello,

eyes narrowed. "Who

the

clear and incensing. She could still envision the smug face of Jane as she had poured a drink on her clothes, mocking her in front of everybody. That night

the following morning about Jane's father company suffering a massive stock drop. At the time, Emma had felt a grim satisfaction. Jane Manson

breath and tried to steady her voice. "What

was a slight pause on the other

upon her chest like an anvil of desperation Things had reeled out of hand since the fateful night, and now were worse than she could have imagined. Her hitherto peffect life had crumbled, and all that was left

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up her fragile ego were all gone, leaving her

followed by a scoff. Emma's voice was sharp, slicing through Jane's fragile composure like a blade. "What makes you think I

like a lash, and Jane felt her pride shrink before the mass of Emma's contempt. Her lips parted, but her throat closed and she could not utter a word. She was beyond control. With a shaking finger, she fumbled

had to let it out. She let out a savage yell, hurling her phone across the room. It shattered against the wall: the sound of breaking plastic and glass through the

known better. But desperation had clouded her judgment, leaving her grasping for any lifeline, even one as humiliating as reaching