Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
EMMA
“Emma, please. Think about this. If you do this, there’s no going back.” Leo’s voice shook as she pushed the castle doors open.
Fury was coursing through her veins. “I’ve spent my entire life thinking before acting.
And you know where it’s gotten me? Trapped in a hole I can’t dig myself out of.
I’m at the mercy of Maya and our landlord and the freakin’ health insurance companies who are canceling my mom’s coverage of her medication. Which now I won’t be able to afford.”
She stopped next to the fireplace in the foyer and grabbed a fire poker from the basket of tools, then strode back into the hallway to a linen closet by the kitchen. Leo followed in her wake.
“Your mother has all the privilege in the world, and she uses it to make people fear her. Ruby’s afraid to be honest about who she is. She’s made you feel unloved for your entire life.”
She pulled out a stack of tablecloths, then made a detour to the kitchen for a bottle of champagne and a stack of food storage containers. Then she was off again, marching toward the ballroom.
“And to top it all off, she didn’t even pay for the fucking castle. We don’t let customers get away with that in the city. If they don’t pay, they don’t get their product.”
He bit his lip. “Are you—”
“Yes. This is Brooklyn justice.”
She wasn’t going to wait around for Leo to negotiate. His mother was an asshole iceberg, and she wouldn’t be moved by logic or a plea from the child she treated like dirt. There was no chance Emma would ever see the second half of the payment.
She kicked the doors open, allowing light and music to spill into the foyer. She beelined for the dessert table, where a small crowd had gathered. The queen was standing in front of it, pointing at the intricate stained glass windows.
“Oh, is that the pastry chef? Did you do all this?” a fancy-looking lady in an emerald-green ball gown asked when Emma slid behind the table. She bowed when she noticed Leo.
“Yes, I did,” Emma said brightly as she unfurled the tablecloths and laid them under the table.
Leo’s mother looked very startled to see her. Her nostrils flared like a dragon’s.
“It’s magnificent. You’re very talented,” the fancy lady said.
“That’s so kind of you. Thanks so much,” Emma said, ripping the foil and cage off the bottle of champagne. She propped the bottle against her leg and wiggled the cork. “You should try the raspberry tart. Now.”
“Uh—oh. Maybe I will.” The Duchess plucked a tart from the table.
“Anyone else? I suggest grabbing them now because, unfortunately, the crown reneged on payment. So embarrassing, right?” she said as she stared dead into the queen’s eyes. “As such, Crumb and Get It retains ownership of this project, and we’ll be donating these baked goods.”
The cork popped out of the bottle and flew across the room. The people who hadn’t been staring before definitely were now.
Emma took a swig before holding the bottle out in front of her.
A dozen people scrambled to grab desserts, and a few more pulled out their phones and started filming.
“You wouldn’t dare,” the queen said with a voice that would curdle milk.
Emma leaned forward and made steady eye contact. “Watch me.”
She swept the tarts and croissants into the food storage bins in the blink of an eye, then dumped champagne over the macaron courtyard.
“Merry Christmas, Your Majesty. Oh, and I fucked your son.”
With that, she picked up the poker and smashed it into the gingerbread turret. The castle crumpled, chunks of gingerbread and sugar glass flying everywhere.
She brought the poker down again and again until it was nothing but crumbs.
“What the hell are you doing, Emma?” Maya, wearing a glittering black gown with a neckline cut to her navel, pushed through the crowd. “Your Majesty, I’m so sorry,” she simpered to the queen. “Emma’s not quite right mentally. You know it’s her fault that her mom is disabled now.”
Emma froze. A gasp rippled across the room.
“Get out.” That was Leo.
Maya looked at him like he was a cockroach. “I’m sorry, who are you?”
“I’m the prince of the country you’re currently trespassing in. Leave. Now.”
“Hey, man,” John began. Great, now the king-dipshit-to-be was here.
“Enough,” the queen said. “All of you, out. Now. Guards—”
Maya raised a shaking finger and pointed it in Emma’s direction. “You’ve embarrassed me for the last time. You’re fired.”
“Sounds great,” Emma said in a strangled voice. “Good luck running the bakery on your own.”
She marched toward the ballroom door, arms laden with food storage containers, but stopped next to a terrified-looking maid. “Gina, I’m so sorry about the mess. I tried to mitigate it with the tablecloths.”
Gina shot a furtive look at the queen, then leaned forward. “Don’t be. She deserves it.”
Emma shot her a smile, then strode out through the foyer and out to the courtyard with her head held high. Leo jogged to catch up with her.
Panic was setting in. Everything had come crashing down in a matter of minutes.
Her job and her healthcare were gone. She wasn’t going to be able to afford rent, let alone her mother’s medication.
They were worse off than they had been before this horrible trip.
If she had just kept her head down and done the work, avoided Leo, it would have been fine.
But she’d lost control and ruined everything.
“Why did you do that? I told you I would handle it.” His voice sliced like the tip of an arrow.
She whirled around. She didn’t need his judgment. “I did it because your mom’s an asshole, Leo. I’m done being pushed around by assholes. I wish I had never come here.” Her voice broke, and she ran up the gatehouse stairs to the apartment.
Leo didn’t follow her. She would never see him again.