Damsel & The Knight
A few days after the gala, Emery asked Alexander for permission to visit her uncle and aunt. He agreed without much protest, arranging a car for her.
She arrived at the Bramwell estate in the late afternoon, the grand mansion looking exactly as it always had... imposing, elegant, and cold.
Judith greeted her at the door with a warm but cautious hug. “Emery, darling. It’s good to see you.”
Harold was waiting in the formal sitting room. He stood when she entered, his eyes scanning her. She still wasn’t showing, but the exhaustion in her eyes and the slight pallor of her skin told their own story.
“Uncle. Aunt Judith,” Emery said softly, sitting down on the edge of the cream sofa. She looked smaller than usual in the oversized cardigan she wore.
Harold cleared his throat, his expression a complicated mix of pride, guilt, and discomfort. “We heard the news. You’re pregnant.”
Judith reached over and took Emery’s hand, squeezing it gently. “Congratulations, my dear. A baby is always a blessing… even if the circumstances are… complicated.”
Emery gave a small nod, her voice quiet. “Thank you.”
Harold shifted in his seat, looking torn. “We’re happy for you, of course. A child is a wonderful thing. But… we also worry. This marriage was never meant to be permanent in our minds. Now there’s a baby involved. It complicates everything.”
Judith nodded, her tone softer but still cautious. “We just want what’s best for you, Emery. And for the child. Are you… happy?”
Emery stared at her hands for a long moment. “I’m going to be a mother. That part makes me happy. The rest…” She trailed off, not finishing the sentence.
The room fell into an awkward silence.
Emery finally lifted her gaze. “Have you heard anything from Camilla?”
Harold’s face tightened. Judith looked away.
“Nothing,” Harold said heavily. “She has completely vanished. No calls, no messages. We’ve tried everything... private investigators, her old friends. It’s like she disappeared off the face of the earth.”
Emery’s shoulders slumped slightly. She had hoped, foolishly, that her cousin might have reached out by now. “I see.”
Judith squeezed her hand again. “She made her choice, dear. Now you have to make yours. This baby… it ties you to the Prescotts for good. Are you prepared for that?”
Emery didn’t answer right away. She placed a protective hand over her still-flat stomach.
“I don’t have much of a choice anymore,” she whispered.
Harold looked at her with a mix of pity and resignation. “We’re here if you need anything. But remember, Emery… blood is blood. You’re still a our family. Don’t forget that.”
The visit ended on a bittersweet note. As the car drove her back to the Prescott house, Emery stared out the window, one hand resting on her abdomen.
Her family had mixed feelings.
Camilla was gone.
And the baby growing inside her was a permanent chain, one that bound her to a life she never chose, with a man who probably wasn’t the father of her child.
She closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath.
Nothing in her life had ever been simple.
And it seemed nothing ever would be.
×××××××
The black town car had been gliding smoothly along the quiet suburban road when it suddenly lurched, coughed, and rolled to a dead stop on the shoulder. Emery sat in the back seat, startled, as the driver tried the ignition a few times with no success.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Prescott,” the driver said apologetically, checking the dashboard. “Looks like the engine’s overheated or something. I’ll call for roadside assistance, but it might take a while out here.”
Emery nodded, already pulling out her phone. She dialed Alexander’s number.
It rang.
And rang.
Straight to voicemail.
She tried again. Same result. He was probably in a meeting or had his phone on silent. She didn’t leave a message.
Sighing, she stared out the tinted window at the empty stretch of road lined with trees.
The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky in soft oranges and pinks. She tried Alexander one more time. Still nothing.
Just as she was considering calling Ivy instead, headlights appeared in the distance. A sleek black SUV slowed down and pulled up behind the broken-down town car.
The driver’s door opened.
Jesse stepped out.
Tall, lean, still in his work clothes with the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his forearms and his dark hair slightly messy from the drive.
He looked every bit the white knight, except this one came with three years of unresolved heartbreak.
Emery’s stomach dropped.
Of course. Coincidentally. Of all the people in the city, it had to be him.
Jesse approached the town car, his eyes locking onto hers through the window before he spoke to the driver. After a quick exchange, he walked over to her side and opened the back door.
“Car trouble?” he asked, voice low and careful, though his gaze was anything but casual. It lingered on her face a second too long, taking in the pale blue blouse and the way her hair fell in soft waves.
Emery didn’t move. “It’s fine. The driver called for assistance. You don’t have to stay.”
Jesse ignored that completely. “Alexander isn’t picking up?”
She looked away. “No.”
He exhaled through his nose, jaw tightening. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”
“I can wait here.”
“Emery.” His voice softened, but there was an edge of frustration beneath it. “It’s getting dark. The tow truck could be hours. Let me drive you.”
She hesitated, fingers tightening around her phone. The last thing she wanted was to be trapped in a car with him... the man whose baby she was carrying, the man she was supposed to hate, the man she still couldn’t stop loving.
But the alternative was sitting on the side of the road alone as night fell.
With a quiet sigh, she unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out. Jesse offered his hand to help her, but she ignored it, brushing past him toward his SUV.
He didn’t push. He simply opened the passenger door for her, waited until she was settled, then closed it gently.
As he slid behind the wheel and started the engine, the silence inside the car was thick and heavy.
Jesse glanced at her once before pulling onto the road. “You okay?”
Emery kept her eyes fixed on the passing trees, her hand unconsciously resting on her stomach for a brief second before she caught herself and dropped it.
“I’m fine,” she said coldly.
Jesse’s grip tightened on the steering wheel, but he didn’t press.
The white knight had arrived.
And the damsel wanted nothing more than for him to disappear.
×××××××
The SUV hummed quietly along the darkening road. Jesse kept both hands on the wheel, eyes fixed ahead, while Emery sat rigid in the passenger seat, staring out the side window. The silence between them was thick, suffocating, until Jesse couldn’t hold it in any longer.
He spoke first, voice low and careful, but unable to hide the tremor beneath it.
“Emery… about the baby.”
She stiffened instantly, her eyes snapping toward him. The air in the car shifted, growing heavier.
Jesse continued, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “I heard at dinner. You’re... pregnant.”
Emery let out a short, bitter laugh, the sound sharp and cold. “Yes. I’m pregnant. Congratulations to your brother. He’s going to be a father.”
Jesse’s jaw clenched. He glanced at her briefly before looking back at the road. “Are you… okay? With all of it?”
The question was gentle, but it lit the fuse.
Emery turned fully toward him, her voice rising with every word.
“Okay? You’re asking me if I’m okay? After everything you did?
You pushed me away, Jesse. You asked for a stupid break because you were too much of a coward to tell your family about us.
And now I’m married to your brother, living in his house, and carrying a child while everyone treats me like I’m some gold-digging replacement who trapped him. ”
Her breathing grew uneven, eyes glistening with angry tears.
“You have no right to ask me how I feel about the baby. You lost that right the night you let me walk away in the rain.”
Jesse’s knuckles turned white on the wheel. “I know I fucked up. I know I’m the reason you’re in this mess. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care—”
“You care?” Emery’s voice cracked, heat flooding her words. “If you cared, you would have fought for me! Now I have to pretend to be Alexander's wife, and raise this baby and...”
Her chest heaved as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.
Jesse’s control finally snapped the moment he heard her sob.
“Emery…” His voice broke. He pulled the car over to the side of the road with a sharp turn, killing the engine. In one fluid motion, he unbuckled his seatbelt and turned toward her, reaching out instinctively.
“Don’t,” she warned through tears, but her voice was already fracturing.
He didn’t listen. His hand gently cupped the side of her face, thumb brushing away a tear. “Please don’t cry. I can’t… I can’t stand it when you cry.”
Emery tried to pull away, but the sob that tore from her throat betrayed her. “Then stop making me cry! Every time I see you, it hurts. Every time I remember what we had… what you threw away… it kills me. And now there’s a baby, and I have to hurt every single day because of you.”
Jesse’s forehead dropped against hers, his own eyes burning with unshed tears. His voice was raw, broken, completely stripped of control.
“I know. I hate myself for it every single second. I see you every day and it feels like I’m dying inside. You’re carrying a child… and I have to pretend it doesn’t destroy me that it’s someone else's.”
Emery sobbed harder, her hands fisting in his shirt as the dam finally broke between them.
The car sat silent on the side of the road, two broken hearts finally facing each other with nothing left to hide behind.
×××××××