Chapter 37 What If I Change?
“What does she want from him?”
“Shimma,” I heard Mr. Mattias call to me. “You're the only one my heart beats for. I know it's weird that I fell in love with my best friend's daughter, but…” He paused, turning to the door as it swung open. The lady with ginger hair walked in, her eyes landing on me.
With her arms folded, she advanced toward me and Mr. Mattias. “Who is she?” she asked, her eyes running from my head to my toes.
“What are you doing here? I thought I asked you to leave?” Mr. Mattias said.
“I'm not going anywhere, Mattias. I believe we have a lot to talk about,” she replied, turning to eye me again. I said nothing, even if I wanted to.
“Emily, leave this office before I call security on you,” Mr. Mattias said, his tone firm. Yet, the so-called Emily didn't even flinch. It was as though she knew he wouldn't do anything.
Just when I was about to feel relieved by Mr. Mattias's assuring words, here she was again, standing so confidently. Shit!
I could feel my lungs tighten; the sight of her here was unbearable for me.
“Emily!” Mr. Mattias yelled.
“What?!” she shot back.
“I said leave!” Mr. Mattias asserted.
“Why?! I already apologized. I admitted that I was wrong; I was stupid. Why can't you just give me another chance?” she grumbled.
“Well, that's because I have someone. I have moved on, just like you did,” Mr. Mattias said. That was when I began to feel my heart beat faster. Why was my heart beating so fast?
She hissed softly, taking one more step forward. “Mattias, it doesn't matter. You can ditch whoever this person is; your heart belongs to me,” she mumbled. Mr. Mattias giggled.
“Emily, you must be sick. Now, I do not want to get pissed. I have endured your stupidity enough. I want you to leave this territory and never think of showing your face here again. You must be insane to think my heart would belong to a gold digger like you,” Mr. Mattias said. I could sense the anger building in him, and I was sure Emily did too.
“So you're just going to chase me away in front of your employee?” she said. I shut my eyes, breathing out a rush of air.
“She’s not my… you know what, just leave,” Mr. Mattias said.
She turned to me, her expression shifting from confidence to shame, then turned to the door. Slowly, she began approaching it. I exhaled another rush of air, this time out of relief.
Finally, she was leaving. And the way Mr. Mattias spoke to her made me more assured that he indeed wasn't interested in her.
Just as she was about to walk out of the door, she turned to Mr. Mattias, her eyes shifting from him to me, a frown settling on her face before returning her gaze to him.
“You were about to say something. You were about to say that she wasn't just your employee. Is she the one you're talking about? The one your heart belongs to?”.....
MR MATTIAS'S POV.
I stood there, tension coiling tight in my chest as Emily’s words echoed in the air. It felt like a punch to the gut. How could she waltz back into my life after everything? I glanced at Shimma, whose expression was a mixture of confusion and concern. I could see her heart racing, mirroring my own.
“Emily, this isn’t the place for this conversation. We’ve both moved on,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, but I could feel the frustration bubbling just beneath the surface.
“Oh, i see,” she giggled, turning to eye Shimma, then she sifted her gaze back to me.
“Like i said, We've both moved on, Now get out!“ I said but this goddamn girl proved too sturbborn, a devious smile escaping her lips.
“Have you?” she shot back, her tone sharp. “You might think you’ve moved on, but I can see it in your eyes. Mattias, You’re not over me. You still care.”
I could feel her words cutting deep, and I fought to maintain my composure. I had spent too long wrestling with my feelings for her, and I thought I had finally found peace with Shimma. But now, standing here, I felt that old confusion creeping back in. Why?
“Shimma,” I said softly, breaking my gaze from Emily. “You need to understand, this is complicated.” My heart ached as I spoke, and I could see the worry in Shimma's eyes. “Emily and I had our time, and it didn’t work out. I’m trying to build something real with you.” I said, trying to assure her.
Emily scoffed. “What does she have that I don’t? You think she can replace me? You think she can just step in and take my place?”
The anger thrummed just beneath my skin. “It’s not about replacement,” I asserted, feeling my frustration rise. “It’s about moving forward. We had our chance, and it didn’t work. You need to accept that,”
Her eyes narrowed, and I could see that flicker of desperation in her gaze. “You think she can give you what I can? You think this is over? I won’t let you go that easily.”
I took a deep breath, trying to ground myself. This was already making me so pissed.
“What do you want from him?” Shimma broke in, her voice surprisingly firm. “Why can’t you just let him be happy?”
SHIMMA'S POV.
“What do you want from him?” I finally found my voice, the question bursting forth before I could hold it back. “Why can’t you just let him be happy?”
Emily turned to me, her expression shifting from anger to something almost pleading. “You think this is about happiness? This is about love, about connection. Mattias and I share something profound. You don’t understand. You can never” she scuffed.
I took a step forward, emboldened by my own emotions. “But you’re toxic for him! You can’t claim to love someone while dragging them back into a past that hurt them. If you truly loved him, you’d want him to be happy, even if it’s not with you.”
The room fell silent again, the air thick with unspoken words. Mr. Mattias looked between us, his expression shifting from frustration to realization.
“Emily,” he said, his voice steady now, “this needs to end. I won’t let you manipulate me into feeling guilty for moving on. I deserve to be happy, and so do you. But that means letting go.”
Emily hesitated. how could someone be this desperate? I was already getting irritated.
“What if I can change?” she whispered, vulnerability creeping into her voice. “What if I can be the person you need?”