Typing away in the computer at a break neck speed, she glanced at her wrist watch. One last slam of her fingers and the figures were saved perfectly. Working in the banking world, constantly doing wrestlings with large numbers and also that had to be perfect. There was no scope to do any mistakes. Turning off the office computer she sighed a breath of relief and stood up, glanced at her wrist watch one last time. She could leave now.

She made her hands trying to flatten any wrinkle on her work suit. When she was about to walk down the distance towards her office door, she realised that she was barefooted. Biting tongue lightly she almost leaped back towards her heels and put them on. She preffered boots more because of the ease she got from them but at office like all the others she had to follow the strict work rules.

Right then her intercom buzzed, "You have a guest. If you are ready I'll sent him in.".

By the tone of her secretary she just knew it must be a big client, an important one. She felt like stomping her foot on the carpet she was standing upon but didn't, that would be childish. A lady in such a high post in banking industry who was reknowened for her elegant ways would never had the moral permission to do such things.

So she plastered a smile on her face, brushed away all the traces of tiredness mentally, put on a flawless mask of confidence and sat back down in her leather chair which still felt like a throne to her.

Then she hit on her intercom and said to tyler, "Send him in, Ty."

A knock was heard on the door then, she said in an official yet a welcoming tone, "Come in."

A middle aged man clad in smart suit walked in with a crooked smile of his own, his dress-up screamed wealth and royalty. By her experienced knowledge over people of various classes, their work and personal characters, she sensed that he must be a top rank businessman or something. She straightened up her spine, it still gave her the sensation of going in a war, to woo someone, convince someone to invest in theirs.

She had gone through a lot and worked like a machine day and night to achieve this position. She knew she was a fighter but gradually she discovered the other part of herself who could be definitely a winner and pretty flawless at that.

And when the man after settling himself in the chair across her desk spoke, "Hi, am Seth Stirling and you are ms. Emma Stewart as I have heard about you. Nice to meet you finally." Like always she knew that she had got there right at the beginning, she had succeeded. This gentleman was already in her purse packed and done.

"The pleasure is mine, sir."

She courtsied a pleasant smile while shaking his hand.

While she finally got herself out and hit the chilling streets of New York, she was exhausted but still excited to get to home. As a taxi hailed before her after a few minutes of wait, she slid herself in. With a sigh she leaned her head back and looked at the bustling, lively beginning of the night life out the window.

Time had flown by pretty quickly, it had been six years, six long years. But still everything seemed as if it all had just happened yesterday.

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( **Flashback** )

Blinding morning light against his heavy eyelids made him squint and groan in annoyance. He rolled over and dragged the pillow closer to him and cuddled it in his chest. Sighing happily he tried drifting off to sleep again but the tingly warm breaths of that pillow against his bare skin wouldnt let him.

Now. How could a pillow breath? His hand traveled around on what felt like a girls soft back. He smiled. Again he ended up in bed with someone.

He thought still his eyes closed. Who could it be? Some hot chick for sure that is. He opened his eyes lazily and looked down. It was then when his breath got stuck in his throat and he almost spit on his own saliva in shock.

Emma !!!

Untangling himself from her naked body he sat up on the bed with his mouth hanging open. His head started pounding automatically,hang-over of course. As he stared at Emma wrapped in the white bedsheet till her chest leaving her shoulders bare to his eyes, one by one the flashes of last night came rushing back before him. The hug they shared, that passionate kiss and then them rushing upstairs in a room, how he couldn't take his freaking hands, eyes and lips off of her. His groans, her sweet moans and at the end how he announced that - that he loved her.

And that part at the ending right there scared the living daylight out of him. What the f***?

Last night was the most awesome night ever in his life, unexpected but that was the truth. He knew that but LOVE? Where had that come from? He felt shocked at his own damn words.

The stupid feelings he felt nowadays around Emma, those nonsensical thoughts of his whenever there was any thought in his brain regarding Emma. Was he in L.... he couldn't even say that word now.

No Damn!! Impossible. Freaking Hell!!

And the next thing that came to his mind was - what now? What if Emma now starts forcing him to marry her? What if she goes and tells about this to his parents? His father would be definitely furious and then Brandan would have no choice but to marry her.

Dropping his pounding head in his hands Brandan cursed in anger and annoyance.

By then Emma was waking up too. She opened her tired eyes to set them on Brandan, his back towards her. The thoughts of last night made her heart pound maniacally, she blushed her breathing quickened recalling how Brandan had said that he loved her. This was what she had been waiting for since what seemed like forever.

She noticed Brandan's whole body had stiffened, an unknown fear gripped her. Holding the bed sheet tightly over her chest she sat up beside him. She was still looking down, not being able to look at him.

Brandan felt a movement beside him, she was awake he realized. That perked up his anger even more.

Emma snapped her head up, she saw Brandan looking here and there around the room with an irritated expression till he located his pants. He snatched his pants from the floor near the bed and put them on in lightening speed.

He was going around the bed to collect his shirt when Emma finally found her voice.

"Brandan... Brandan..."

Brandan shrugged on his shirt and was working on his button quickly, he didn't turn to look at her.

"Damn it Emma, don't ever think this means anything." His voice was cold, indifferent.

For Emma, the earth stopped spinning for a second or two. She somewhere knew what was coming next but she hadn't had it in her to accept that. Instead his name escaped her mouth is a state of shock. "Brandan..."

Brandan yelled at her, his defensive voice strong and clear. "I never thought you would be such a gold digging Wh***!"

Emma gasped. "It was you who kissed me first Brandan. Last night..."

Brandan cut her in between, "Last night was just a stupid... drunken mistake."

By then Emma's eyes were moist, "You told me that you love..."

Brandan chuckled cruelly, "Love ??!!"

Emma gulped and wiped away a stray tear, still not believing this was happening.

"Who would in his right mind love YOU? Look at you. Who would in his right mind sleep with such a geek like you? I mean I was drunk and out of my mind. That's it, end of the discussion."

Emma tried gulping down the painful lump in her throat, "STOP IT! Just stop it, Brandan Rozario..."

Brandan yelled back, "It's you who need to stop, Emma Stwert. Stop meddling with my life, stop showing me your face. You are just making a mess... a good for nothing mess. If you are thinking that just because I have slept with you, I am going to marry you, then know that it would never happen."

Emma stared wide eyed at him, her heart breaking with every words leaving his mouth.

"NO. It would never happen. It was just a one night thing and if..." Brandan made his face firm, his chest heaving. He continued after a small pause, "...if I were not drunk, I would have never slept with such a disgusting girl like you. So do me a favour, never show me your face again... please."

With that he was gone, leaving Emma sit there still wrapped in the bed sheet. Her clothes scattered around the room as proves of last night, screaming at her mocking in the earnest. Emma fell down on the bed and the heavy drops of salty liquid in her eyes couldn't be stopped as miseries of his words finally, completely broke her heart.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she finally managed to pick up the broken pieces of her heart and her clothes scattered around. she got dressed robotically and the walk of shame till her home felt like a throbbing daze, a painful journey over a path of sharp thorns.

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It was raining outside, drizzling slowly. The nature seemed to be also crying with her. But it was inevitable, fate was cruel.

Emma stood in front of her mirror and stared at her devastated reflection. She was still in that beautiful gown from last night, it was wrinkled now, ruined just like her soul was. There were several bite marks around her neck and shoulders. Her eyes puffy and red due to excessive crying, their were no more tears left.. just the hiccups. Dark circles surrounded her eyes like eclipse. Emma wanted to cry more but she just couldn't anymore.. and it made her feel sicker.

She looked at herself with pure disgust not because she was played, she was used and discarded like a trash. She didn't knew with what she broke the mirror into pieces, the sound seemed like heaven to her ears.

She felt disgusted at the fact that how she could love such a scumbag like Brandan for so long? She was so stupid, so so stupid.

Her eyes fell on the medicine cabinet and into it on the bottle of sleeping pills. A dangerous thought clicked her mind. She reached out for the bottle and opened its sealed lid, there were so many tiny white pieces of freedom inside it. Death seemed like a really brilliant idea at that time. A way to end the continuous stabbing she was feeling piercing her heart each second. Just when she was about to keep all of the tablets in her mouth, her hand paused in mid air. Her hands trembled, the bottle shook making a few tablets fall down upon the shreds of broken glasses.

Her father's face, his pleasant smile waved before her eyes, it would be really nice to go to him. He must be with her mother up there and Emma would just be fine with them and she felt she was just a step away.

But a grave question crossed her mind, what would they think about her if she ended her life like this, give up like this?

A real loser. She didn't want her parents also to think like that of her.

With a desperate scream she threw the bottle away.

The next second she found herself leaning over the sink and throwing up any food she had in her stomach yesterday. Staggering towards the shower she let the cool water wash away the agony blazing inside her but it didn't work. Tearing away her gown, she threw it away, she could no more look at it without grimacing.

Evan was not at home, if he were she would have obviously heard noises. Not that it would matter to her anyway. He hated her. But good news was that.. the feelings were mutual now. Emma felt nothing but an unearthly amount of hatred towards Evan and the man that ruined her. Brandan. She hated them both now... with a passion. And she felt strong, strangely she did feel like that.

When you are broken, destroyed there are two ways. Either to stay like that or stand up again.

Emma chose the second one.

In fifteen minutes, she was packing her bags. She dumped some clothes, a few toiletries, some foodcans and a few books of hers in them. She took some money in her duffle bag and a few photographs of her family, a picture of her mother when she was heavily pregnant with Emma. All the while she sobbed despite trying to make herself see sense that it was useless to cry over those disgusting people she was leaving behind.

Holding a pen in her shivering hand she stared at the blank sheet with her face pale. Whom would she write, everyone seemed to hate her here. Brandan's father Robert only had a soft corner for her but after all these she didn't know if she was being blind with him too.

From where she was standing now, everything looked so fake, so made up.

So she wrote...

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I realized that I have been nothing but a burden to you all, a nuisance. I am sorry that my presence had annoyed and disturbed you always. If I could change that I would have a long time ago.

Today I realized that if I am no more into your lives that would make no difference. So I am freeing you all from my presence, from seeing my face and bearing me anymore.

I wish you all a very happy life ahead. Don't try to search for me, not that anyone would anyway.

- Emma Stewart.

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With one last look at her bedroom, she left. She left behind those people who had hurt her in the worst possible ways, in their own inventive ways, she left behind all her childhood memories - good and bad ones.

She asked herself was she running away? In a way - yes she was, she was tired of facing the amount of hatred thrown towards her and this was the moment she quit.

( **End of flashback** )

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Emma stood before the waist lengthed little wooden gate of her home.

Home.

She smiled and pushed the gate open and hurried towards her two storied little sweet home.

The journey after she had left her childhood home, her familiar city, her country and that place which engulfed too many haunting bad memories but surely had some good ones too had not been easy. It was difficult to reach where she was now but as she proceeded towards her home and mentally looked back at the journey once again she felt that it was worth it.

This was her beginning, this was where she began.

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