In The Middle Of The Storm
The gazebo was quiet in the late afternoon, sunlight filtering through the lattice roof in soft golden patches. Jesse and Emery sat on the wooden floor, backs against the railing, the gentle breeze carrying the faint scent of roses from the garden.
Jesse was playing a casual game on his phone, fingers tapping the screen. Emery rested her head on his shoulder, watching the colorful graphics move, her hand idly resting on her bump.
“You’ve always been bad at this,” she said softly, a small smile in her voice.
Jesse chuckled, not looking away from the screen. “No, I’m getting better.”
A moment passed.
“Yeah, right,” Emery teased, her chuckle warm and light.
Jesse smiled and put the phone away, slipping it into his pocket. None of them spoke for a while. The silence was comfortable, fragile, but real.
“Jesse?” she asked quietly.
“Yeah?”
“What do you think it’s going to be? A boy? Or a girl?”
Jesse sighed, his voice gentle. “I just want him or her to be healthy, that’s all. It doesn’t matter what gender. They’ll be equally loved.”
Emery smiled, her head still on his shoulder. “I want a boy.”
“A boy? Why?”
She shook her head, voice soft and full of quiet wonder.
“I don’t know… I just picture a little boy with your dark curls and your smile.
Someone who’ll grow up kind and protective, the way you are when no one’s watching.
A boy who’ll remind me of the man I fell in love with.
.. a man with the softest heart. It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t love a girl just as fiercely.
I would. I’d love her with everything I have.
But… a boy feels like a piece of you I could hold onto, even if the world never knows he’s yours. ”
Jesse’s breath caught. He pulled her a little closer, his arm wrapping around her shoulders with careful tenderness.
“Then let’s hope your wish comes true,” he whispered.
Emery snuggled closer, her cheek pressing against his chest. “And the name?”
Jesse fell silent. Something passed over his face: a flicker of old dreams and fresh pain.
“You know what I wanted to name our child,” he said quietly.
Emery looked up at him. “Emesse?”
He nodded. “But… I think we can’t name it that. Everyone would know.”
She watched him for a moment.
He then said softly, “Just name it whatever you want.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” he nodded.
Emery nodded at his response.
Jesse turned a little toward her, voice thick with regret. “Emery?”
“Yeah?”
“I… I was a fool to ever ask you for a break,” he said, the words heavy.
“You see how my family treats you? I always feared they’d do that if they knew about you and me.
And it would’ve been worse when I introduced you as my girlfriend, because right now they’re compelled to keep you in this house because of the marriage, the child, and the public image.
If you were just a girlfriend, they’d have gone to any limit to push you away from me.
I… I wanted time to think about what to do.
.. court marriage or something, and that’s why I needed the break.
I swear to God, I was so worried it just slipped out. ”
Emery exhaled softly, her hand resting on his chest. “I understand it now, Jesse. You don’t have to explain.”
Jesse looked into her eyes, thumb gently brushing her cheek. “I’m not asking you to forgive me. I just… wanted to get it off my chest.”
Emery nodded. “I heard you.”
She sighed and settled back against him, the silence returning, softer this time.
“You think I’m wrong to have jumped into bed with your brother days after we argued?” she asked quietly.
Jesse swallowed, his arm tightening around her just a fraction.
“It… it did hurt me. But Emery, you were his wife. What could I have hoped? That you’d never make love for the rest of your lives?
That you’d live in misery just to prove a point to me?
I pushed you away. I left you alone and broken.
You had every right to try and survive in the life you were forced into.
I can’t blame you for that. I can only blame myself for putting you in that position. ”
Emery closed her eyes, tears slipping silently down her cheeks. “It still feels wrong sometimes. Like I betrayed us.”
“You didn’t,” Jesse whispered, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head. “You survived. That’s all you did. And I’m so sorry I made survival feel like betrayal.”
They stayed like that for a long moment: her head on his shoulder, his arm around her, the gentle breeze brushing past them. The air between them felt charged with old love, fresh regret, and the fragile hope of something healing.
Jesse turned his head slightly, his lips hovering near her temple. Emery lifted her face just enough that their breaths mingled, eyes locking in a quiet, aching gaze.
For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to just them... the almost-kiss hanging between them like a promise they both desperately wanted but knew they couldn’t take.
Jesse’s hand cupped her cheek, thumb brushing her lower lip with heartbreaking tenderness.
Emery’s eyes fluttered half-closed, leaning in the smallest fraction.
Then reality crashed back in.
She was still Alexander’s wife.
The baby she carried was growing inside a marriage that wasn’t theirs.
Jesse pulled back first, forehead resting against hers, breathing shaky.
“We can’t,” he whispered, voice rough with pain. “Not while you’re still his wife.”
Emery nodded, eyes shining with unshed tears, but she didn’t move away immediately. She stayed close, letting his warmth anchor her for a few more precious seconds.
“I know,” she whispered back. “But thank you… for being here.”
They remained like that until the sun began to dip lower, painting the sky in soft oranges and pinks.
The almost-kiss lingered in the air between them, a beautiful, painful reminder of what they still couldn’t have.
But for now, it was enough to simply sit together, two broken souls finding a small moment of peace in the middle of the storm.
×××××××
Camilla sat alone in her bedroom at the Bramwell Estate, phone pressed to her ear, pacing slowly. The line rang twice before Harper answered, her voice already laced with irritation.
“What do you want, Camilla?”
Camilla forced a sweet, conspiratorial tone.
“Harper, darling. I’ve been thinking about everything.
Emery is getting too comfortable in that house.
She’s fooling you all, playing the victim, and now she’s carrying a child that might not even be Alexander’s.
We can’t let her win. I have a plan. If we work together, we can expose her and get her out for good. What do you say? Are you in?”
There was a long pause on the other end.
Harper’s laugh was bitter and exhausted. “You know what? No. I’m not in. I’m done.”
Camilla’s smile faltered. “What? Harper, listen...”
“No, you listen,” Harper cut in, voice sharp.
“I have too many problems with my own in-laws right now. Percy is constantly arguing with me because of the shit Jesse keeps feeding him. My mother-in-law is breathing down my neck about how I raise Kitty. I’m exhausted.
I don’t have the energy to play games with you about Emery anymore. ”
Camilla tried again, voice turning pleading. “But Harper, she’s destroying your family from the inside. If we don’t stop her now—”
“I said I’m done,” Harper snapped. “Let her have the house. Let her have the baby. Let her have whatever the hell she wants. I don’t care anymore. I have my own life to fix. Don’t call me again.”
The line went dead.
Camilla stared at her phone, fury flashing across her face. Harper had hung up before she could say another word.
She threw the phone onto the bed, fists clenched at her sides.
“Fine,” she hissed to the empty room. “If Harper won’t help, I’ll do it myself.”
But the rejection stung. Even Harper, who had hated Emery from the beginning, was pulling away.
Camilla’s eyes narrowed with cold determination.
She would find another way.
Emery would not win.
Not if Camilla had anything to say about it.
×××××××
The bedroom was quiet, lit only by the soft glow of Alexander’s laptop screen. He sat propped against the headboard, typing quietly, when the door opened and Emery stepped in.
He looked up and smiled... a small, genuine curve of his lips.
“Hey,” he said warmly. “How was the movie?”
Emery closed the door behind her, still in her comfortable evening clothes. “It was good. We got the front seats. The theater wasn’t too crowded, so it felt nice.”
Alexander’s smile lingered. “There’s so much more you guys have to do before the baby comes.” He closed the laptop and set it aside. “Speaking of, how’s my dearest nephew?”
Emery grinned, one hand resting lightly on her bump. “Or niece.”
Alexander shook his head, a playful glint in his calm eyes. “Nephew. I can feel it.”
Emery chuckled softly. “Fine. It’s alright. It’s growing. I can feel changes in my body every day now.”
“And Jesse is taking care of you, right?”
“He is,” she replied.
“Good.” Alexander nodded, satisfied. “We will figure out how to solve this problem, Emery. Right now, just rest and relax.”
He paused, then added gently, “I’ll sleep on the couch. Or better… send Jesse here and sleep in his room. No one would know.”
Emery shook her head, a small laugh escaping her. “No, it’s okay. What’s Jesse gonna do?”
Alexander looked at her, his voice soft. “You know how tender he can be.”
“I do,” she said quietly. “But… stay. It doesn’t feel right.”
Alexander watched her silently for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. I’ll take the couch.”
He stood and moved to the leather armchair in the corner, arranging a spare blanket over it. Emery climbed into the large bed alone, pulling the gray duvet up to her chest. She lay on her side, one hand resting on her bump, staring at the wall.
The room felt strangely peaceful, yet the distance between them remained: polite, careful, and unspoken.
Alexander turned off the lamp, plunging the room into darkness.
“Good night, Emery.”
“Good night, Alexander,” she whispered back.
Neither of them spoke again.
But for the first time in weeks, the silence between them didn’t feel quite so cold.
×××××××