Married On Paper To The Billionaire
Chapter 39: Oh, Well!

"I'm so sorry about the miscarriage, Chloe. You didn't deserve to go through that kind of pain."

"It's ok. I wasn't meant to have that bay any way and don't even pretend that a part of you isn't happy that this happened."

Emilia didn't know how to react because Chloe was right. "Well..."

"It's fine, big sis. I'm sort of glad too. It would've been very difficult to raise a child alone while the father that rejected it is balling with his psycho wife."

"Lillian isn't a psycho, though. She's just a little stuck up, that's all."

Chloe snorted. "But not too stuck up to be a freak. Samuel thought she was cheating on him again."

"Then why is he renewing marriage vows with her?"

"To spite me, of course. Why else? Such a petty bastard. I can't believe I was ever in love with him."

"How did it even begin with you two?"

Chloe sighed. "It started in Malta. He was so funny and charming. When he saw pictures of my couture designs, he praised me lavishly and told me I was good enough to start my own fashion brand." "So, he won you over with flattery?"

"Sounds silly, doesn't it? But when all you face every time is non-stop criticisms no matter how hard you work, you tend to soak up every bit of compliment that you can get."

"Are you kidding? You're very talented, Chloe. Who would criticize your work?"

"I'm sure you don't know, but the fashion house I work for is overflowing with mad talents. You have to be extraordinarily gifted to stand out in that kind of crowd. I was never named among the best in the team." "Then they must be blind," Emilia said dryly and Chloe laughed.

"Well, Samuel sounded rather sincere and then before I knew it, he was telling me about his relationship woes with Lillian and how he was practically paid to marry her."

"Nobody forced him though."

"Yeah and like you, he was just trying to elevate his social status by marrying into such a respectable family."

"Thanks for the friendly reminder, dear sister. I stand corrected."

Chloe laughed. "Sorry. Anyway, I began to develop feelings for him because he was so sweet and romantic. All the guys I ever dated were either too controlling or totally clueless about how to treat a girl right. Samuel seemed like a breath of fresh air."

"I can imagine..."

"I knew it was wrong to get involved with a married guy but I simply couldn't help myself. We started sneaking off to have secret dates and we kissed for the first time at the twins' first birthday." "Speaking of which... I don't know if Matt and I can go on that search to Connecticut anymore."

"Why not?"

"I can't just leave you here, can I?"

"I'm fine. I'm not going to let you miss your opportunity to find Tiara because of my stupidity. You have to go, Emilia. I'll be fine."

"What about Travis? I can't take him along either."

"Oh, shoot!"

"Exactly. The trip simply can't happen anymore. Maybe I should just inform the police instead."

"No. If you feel very strongly about going on that search by yourself, then you should. If it's ok with you, I'll take Travis with me to California. I can't hide in Wyoming forever."

"But you're still in a fragile state."

"Trust me, I'm fine. The doctor said I can go home this afternoon if I feel up to it."

"Well, if you insist..."

"I do. Meanwhile, do you trust Matt?"

"Yes," Emilia replied without hesitation. "He's a great guy and if Granny was here, she'd vouch for him too. They were great buddies, you know."

Chloe gave her big sister a lopsided smile. "He's smitten by you, you know?"

"What!"

"He looks at you as if he wants to sweep you off your feet, whisk you to a tower and make love to you until you faint."

"Chloe!"

Chloe laughed heartily, enjoying her sister's shocked expression. Emilia was so easy to rattle.

"So, what's the deal with you and Kane? Are you going to tell him about your trip?"

"No. I don't owe him any explanation."

"How long will you keep this up?"

"As long as it takes him to come back to his senses and throw that ruffian in jail where she belongs. The only reason I haven't filed for a divorce is that I don't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing that she'd ruined my marriage completely."

Chloe exhaled slowly. "You and Kane are probably better off apart. Keeping this marriage going is taking a heavy toll on you mentally and emotionally. You deserve better."

"You're right. Once I find my daughter, I'm going to make a final decision about my marriage to Kane. He either wants me in his life or he doesn't."

"I agree."

Chloe was discharged from the hospital later that afternoon. When they got back to Granny's place, she went upstairs to rest while Emilia and Matt cleaned up the house. Travis eventually got restless and Emilia took him upstairs for a bath before settling him down for a nap. When she got back downstairs, Matt was in the kitchen making dinner. "You don't have to do that," she told him shyly. "You've been such a great help already."

"I'm not complaining. Besides, you've been all over the place all day, you need to be taken care of too."

"Thanks. I'm sorry I made you miss work today."

"It's ok. I'll sort that out with my boss tomorrow."

Emilia was grateful for his help and company. She couldn't imagine how challenging the day would have been if not for his timely assistance.

"We haven't finalized our plans for the trip," he said while they ate the delicious pasta he made.

"I've already booked our flight," she informed him. "It would have been more discreet to go with one of my husband's private jets but I don't want to involve him in this."

"Sounds understandable. How much did it cost? I could wire my share of the bill to you or write you a cheque."

Emilia chuckled. "Don't be ridiculous. You don't have to pay. You're the one doing me a favor, so I'm paying. Our hotels are booked as well."

"I'm not broke, you know. I may not be as rich as you and your husband but I'm not a pauper."

"I never said you were and I apologize if I made you feel that way. I just thought that it was only right that I bore the cost of this trip since you're simply coming along to help me, not share the financial burden." "Ok, I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. Thanks."

"No, thank you. You've been such a gem."

He smiled and looked deeply into her eyes. She could tell that he wanted to kiss her but he was restraining himself.

"How are things with you and Molly?" She asked to bring him back to his senses. "Things are... good."

"OK."

After dinner, he joined her at the kitchen sink to do the dishes. He left shortly afterwards and Emilia finally called Kane but he didn't respond. She then sent a text to her mother to let her know that Chloe and Travis would be returning to the city without her but she didn't go into much detail.

The weekend came and she headed to the airport with Matt. Chloe and Travis had already left for California earlier. Emilia had to wear a hat and large sunglasses that hid half of her face because she didn't want to be recognized at the airport. She maintained the look even when they got on the aeroplane. The trip was uneventful and when they landed, a car she'd booked ahead was waiting to drive them to their hotel in Norwalk to drop their things off.

"I still think we should inform the police about this," said Matt.

"We will when we get there and need help. I don't want them to take over the search and make us spectators," she replied stubbornly.

"We should probably go with a weapon, just in case."

"Listen, if it was Joyce Banks that sent that message, then we have nothing to worry about. She's an old woman that I can handle alone if need be." "And if it's not her? Or if she's with someone else?"

"You're overthinking this, Matt. Let's even try to locate the place first."

They set out and stopped at the roadside store to ask for directions to the Homer Shed. The lady who ran the place said she's never heard of such a location.

Their next stop was a diner which was filled with lunch break customers at the time of their arrival. They ordered burgers and fries and some milkshakes.

"Aren't you that chick who married some rich guy in the west?" An old lady asked her over a cup of latte. She was sitting alone at a nearby table and watching Emilia with narrowed eyes. Emilia shook her head and pulled her baseball cap lower on her face. "Not me but I get that question a lot."

"You look an awful lot like her," the woman insisted, making Emilia squirm in her seat.

"Ever heard of somewhere called the Homer Shed around here?" Matt asked the woman. "Who's asking?" She replied pertly.

"Me. So?"

"It's on the outskirts of town. It used to be a bed-and-breakfast lodge."

"And now?"

She shrugged. "Who knows? Nobody's been there in ages. Are you looking for a place to stay? My sister's got a nice motel down the road from here."

"No, thanks. Can you tell us how to find the Homer Shed?"

She gladly gave them the description and they got up to leave immediately. As they left, the woman squinted at Emilia and said, "Could've sworn you're the rich man's wife." "Not me," Emilia giggled nervously and hurried away.

"So much for the disguise," Matt laughed when they left the diner. "You're too famous to just melt into the crowd."

"I'm not famous, my husband's family is. Come on, let's go. My daughter is waiting to be rescued."

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They got into their rented car and drove off towards the outskirts of town where their destination was located. As they neared their target, the road became denser as they drove farther into the woods on a dirt trail.

"I hope we're not approaching a dead-end," Matt commented while he drove with a keen eye on the rough road.

His comment reminded Emilia of her experience with Kane in Mexico when that homeless guy had given them a false tip. Was the same thing about to happen now?

"Let's just keep going as long as there's a place for the car to drive on," she said. They'd come too far to turn around now without seeing the end of this quest.

She was somewhat relieved when she sighted an old building in the distance. It didn't look like much but the place looked like a good hideout for a kidnapper. "Let's not get too close," said Matt as he slowed the car when the building came in full view.

"We don't want to catch them unawares either."

"Them? I thought you said it was just one old lady."

"Yes but what if there's someone else with her as you said earlier?"

He sighed. "Let's leave the car here and walk the rest of the way. We need to be careful, Emilia."

"Fine."

He parked the car and they got out. He went to the boot to grab a tyre wrench which he tucked under his sweater. If things got hairy, the wrench would come in handy.

They cautiously approached the old bungalow that was surrounded by overgrown grass and trees with low-hanging branches. The damaged sign in front of the building indicated that it was indeed the Homer Shed that they were looking for. "Should we say something or just kick the door in?" Matt whispered to her.

"I don't know. What do you think we should do?"

"Act civilized, knock on the door and say hello."

"Ok," Emilia replied and followed him. Her heart was hammering loudly in her chest as they climbed the front steps of the colonial-style house. She hoped whoever they were about to face wasn't hostile or armed. Matt knocked twice and said hello but there was no response. He tried again and peeked in through the dusty windows.

"It's dark inside. I don't think there's anyone here," he said.

"Let's go inside," Emilia said eagerly.

"That's risky, Emilia. I think this is the part where we call the police."

"No!" She said and kicked the door in before Matt could stop her. The weak wood split into two and landed on the ground with a crash.

"Tiara!" She screamed once she stepped into the dusty, abandoned building. The furniture was uncovered and buried under what looked like years of accumulated dust and cobwebs.

She ran through the house, screaming her daughter's name but the only response she got was the echo of her voice. She became desperate as she kicked doors open, checking the rooms but finding them empty. "What kind of sick joke is this?" She wailed in frustration. "Who is doing this to me?"

"Emilia, you might want to see this," said Matt in the kitchen.

She went to meet him and found him staring at a piece of paper that looked too clean to be a part of this dirty house.

"What's that?" She asked and he handed the note to her. "You're late. Try again next time!"