Taming A Billionaire

The third point of view:

She was happy here, Emily realized. There was nobody to restrict her; nobody to judge her right and left; nobody to rate how good enough she is; but most of all, she was healing. With each passing day, the pain became bearable. Though she missed her son Akim and him - whose name should not be called now - she needed this space; to be alone and heal. 

Judy wasn't here, still, Emily had been careful with the way she handled the lion cubs even though they wouldn't harm her. She had seen his call that day but refused to answer knowing her heart wasn't ready to face him. With how soft-hearted she was, there was no guarantee she wouldn't go running back into his arms after hearing his voice. Yes, he's her weakness and she knows it.

When she had heard his message, her heart gladdened even though he was pissed off with her. But then, his comment about choosing another wife hit her strongly and it took everything in her not to have replied to his voicemail.

Of course, all men were the same. She wasn't even that gone for that long and he was already thinking of getting married? Well, she would just take her son away while he lives a happily ever after with his new wife that would give him lots of princes and princesses! 

Emily knew she was being irrational, but the thought of another woman having him was painful. Well, he was the prince and she was a divorced woman from a well-off family, what was she expecting? That she would make a fine queen? keep on dreaming, this was the best approach; staying away from him.

The queen must be sleeping so comfortably these days. Why wouldn't she? The evil woman who bewitched her son was gone as she wished. 

Emily winced, shutting her eyes as the thought of the child she lost crossed her mind. No, this was the best. Who knew what the queen would do next? It was better she stayed away. Once she was strong enough to return, she'd discuss Akim's keep with him - the both of them was over. 

"Hi Emily," her attention was drawn to the couples making their way over to her and sighed. 

She had come down to the hotel's restaurant to have her breakfast in peace which was impossible now.

"Here you are!" Bianca plopped down on the seat in front of her with her husband, Guy. 

Both were fellow tourists and the first people she had clicked with when she arrived here - probably because they reminded her of she and Judy. The couples were hopelessly in love to the extent they couldn't stay away from one other. 

Sometimes she dreaded staying with them, not because they weren't good company, but because they were so sweet with each other it can get uncomfortable to a nauseating point - not to mention they kept reminding her what she lost. 

"I should have known this is where you would run off to," Bianca remarked, taking the menu Emily had dropped on the table and reading through it even though she knew all the meal by heart now. 

"She ran off without us, honey," Guy pinched her cheeks and she growled at him playfully. 

"Who wants to be with you with the way you both are affectionate with each other. Don't you know your relationship is a stab in the heart to us single ladies?" Emily touched her heart.

"Then go get married then," It slipped out of Bianca's mouth and when she realized what she just said, it was too late.

Guy nudged his wife's side, making her realize how tense the environment suddenly became.

"Oh," the woman tucked her hair behind her ear, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it that way," she apologized.

Though Emily hasn't told them in detail why she was here, from hanging out with her, they were able to ascertain what was wrong. Those longing eyes of hers belonged to a woman whose heart has been broken. Plus the few times they have witnessed her speaking to her son. Hence they surmised she had separated from her lover or divorced her husband. If only they knew it was both options.

"It's okay, I understand," Emily waved it away with a smile on her face, though her chest was hurting and it felt like she couldn't breathe.

So when the meal she had ordered arrived, Emily quickly buried her face in her food signifying the end of the discussion or so she thought because she had hardly taken two spoons into her mouth when the concierge arrived at her table with news. 

"Miss Emily?" 

"That's me," She answered, wondering why she was being summoned. 

"A guest is looking for you?" 

"A guest?" she repeated, her brows furrowing contemplatively. 

"Yeah" 

Who could be looking for her? Aside from the royal family, her own family and friends had no idea what was going on in her life. She had lied to them claiming that she was in Lincolnshire having the best time of her life. Could it be Judy?

Oh my God! She stood up from her seat with lightning speed, feeling angry yet flustered at the same time. He was the only one who could do this, was he still angry about the lions? 

But then, she had told him to give her space yet he broke that promise. How petty of him! Well, it was not like she would be leaving with him - unless he forced her home. Though furious with him, Emily still had a teeny hope he was here to drag her ass home. That way, she would hate his guts yet be with him. God, she was so stupid! The woman facepalmed mentally. 

Emily was suddenly conscious of the way she looked. Not that she hadn't taken her bath in twenty years or something, but she hadn't put much thought into dressing up - and she couldn't tell whether Judy would be impressed by it. Oh please, just shut up! She shunned off her inner mind. 

But still, her heart was giddy and she was contemplating what to say to him as soon as they arrived at the lobby. However, just as she was about to open her mouth and ask him what he was doing here, Emily's face was drained of all blood upon seeing who was in front of her. 

The current antagonist in her life aka the one and only queen dowager of the kingdom of Lincolnshire. What the hell?! She was speechless. 

"What are you doing here?" Emily asked when she finally found her voice. She didn't make the usual courtesy bow since her mind was currently wild at the moment, plus the fact this woman was the most hated person in her life right now and this wasn't her kingdom. In one word, she no longer had respect for her. 

"Can we go to a more private place?" the queen added, "Preferably your room," 

Emily wanted to add that she had no right to make choices here but bite back her words, no matter, this human was a queen - she should show that politeness at the least. 

"Fine, follow me," She said tautly and led the way. 

The journey to her hotel room was a very tense one. Even while they entered the elevator, none of them talked to each other till they reached their destination. 

"What do you want from me? I've left your son as you wanted and you don't have to worry about me interfering in his private life in the future. About Akim, we'd discuss his upbringing when I'm back. So if you're here for this, then I'm more than happy to tell you that you made an unnecessary journey…. " 

The rest of her words faltered when the queen suddenly plop down to her knees. It all happened so quickly that Emily had to use five minutes to process what was going on. The Queen was kneeling?!

"W-what are you doing?" she stammered. This was unbelievable. Never in history has it been written about a queen getting on her knees in front of a commoner. 

"Get back with Judy," The queen said to her astonishment. 

Emily was so astounded her jaw simply flew open - it was too good to be true. The queen was a very proud person and didn't even bow to the enemy when her kingdom had been invaded, instead, she sent the prince away and fought tooth and nail to reclaim the throne. 

But then, this queen was the one who was currently on her knees begging her to return to her son - the son she had warned her to stay clear of. Because of this unnecessary controversy, she had lost a child.

"Why now?" Emily asked, fighting against the tears threatening to spill, "Why accept me now?!" She yelled out of frustration.

"I'm so sorry, Emily," the queen began to cry to her horror. The woman had been so prim all the time she saw her it didn't occur to Emily that she was human too. 

"I was blinded by my belief and our tradition that I didn't see how much I was hurting both my son and you. But don't worry, I've realized my mistakes now -" 

"Yeah, exactly," Emily said with sarcasm, "You realized your mistake at the expense of my child. So please return to wherever you came from - I'm afraid you might poison me this time,"