The Second Marriage Chance

Sarah

Jakob grinned broadly, prompting me to fight the urge to smack my fist into his annoying face.

"Sarah, I first met you when you married President Cornell years ago. I watched as your life fell apart, seeing you return to Grandpa Mitchell with eyes void of life and then going back to President Cornell again. You told me you couldn't even summon anger toward him. You loved him deeply. Moreover, despite everything, he loved you too."

Part of me wanted to believe that Philip loved me sincerely. But another part stayed cautious, afraid to risk that level of pain and betrayal again if I turned out to be wrong about his feelings.

"He wouldn't have let his mother face public scrutiny like that, revealing her crimes and manipulation after all these years, if he didn't still have strong feelings for you deep down," Jakob continued.

Silence hung between us as we ate pastries. The thought of marriage to Philip again gave me a headache.

Changing the subject, I asked Jakob, "So, what was the secret you uncovered about Emily?"

"Emily has a child," he stated matter-of-factly.

I gasped, my eyes widening in shock. "What?"

He nodded. "I was surprised too when I found out during my investigation into Emily. I'm not well-versed in female cycles, and how pregnancy happens, but from what I could piece together, there is a high likelihood that Bronn is the father, given their history."

"So, my suspicions were correct. Emily distanced herself from Bronn because of her feelings for your brother," I murmured.

Jakob shrugged his shoulders.

Reflecting on my situation, I once asked Philip about divorce because I wanted to protect our unborn child from growing up in a marriage without love. But in the end, I couldn't shield our baby from the harsh truth of our circumstances. "Find Madam Cornell for me, Jakob. Use the facial recognition app or whatever means necessary," I instructed.

Philip had taken the first step, but Madam Cornell had escaped. I'll make sure I'm the one to track the woman down finally.

"I wanted to use the LoveLogic app to locate Madam Cornell, but we have no chance if she won't use it. Besides, the app isn't suitable for someone her age," Jakob explained.

That was when another thought struck me. "That's right!"

Jakob looked at me with a puzzled expression. "What is it?"

"I just remembered hearing she might have been involved with one of the executives at Aspire Financial Group," I clarified. "I saw her at their building once, and the president mentioned Madam Cornell often visited a specific executive's office. So, there's a good chance we might see her with this man."

"Are you going to tell your husband about this?" Jakob asked.

I shook my head decisively. "No, I'd rather not involve Philip."

We fell silent again, nibbling on our pastries while Jakob went on discussing possible uses for the LoveLogic app data.

After a while, my guard approached us.

"Miss, there's a new visitor for you," he announced.

In surprise, I saw Emily awkwardly standing in the doorway, peering into the room. I quickly stood up.

"Oh, Emily! Please, come in! What a terrible boss I'm being! I'm so sorry if I forgot to message you. I just woke up. Have you eaten? Would you like to join the meal?" I asked quickly.

"It's alright. I've set up the executive room we rented and coordinated with Mr. Martin's assistant since this morning for the presentation. I also heard about the incident last night, so I have an idea of what happened to you. I came here to see if you're alright... I'm really sorry about last night."

"It's fine," I assured her; I had no right to be angry at her either.

To my surprise, Jakob decided to cut right to the chase, his blunt question catching me completely off guard. "Is Bronn the father of your child?"

I choked on the water I was about to drink. This rascal! He asked Emily as casually as if he were asking if she'd had lunch! Without thinking, I reached over and smacked him on the head.

"You're such an idiot! That's probably why you're perpetually single- you're completely incapable of reading situations and understanding women at all!"

Jakob looked utterly pitiful, rubbing his now sore head. "Ow! I'm so mistreated in our little team here. I do all the work and put in all the effort, and I'm still the one who ends up physically assaulted. It's so unfair!" He shook his head mournfully. Looking at Emily, horror was written across her pale face, her eyes widening in sheer panic. She didn't know whether to be angry or terrified at what she had just heard.

"You... you found out?" she stammered.

"Emily, please, calm down," I urged, trying to steady her.

"Shit..." She couldn't sit still. "What am I supposed to do? Does Bronn know about this? Please... please don't tell him!" Tears streamed down her pale cheeks, overwhelmed by anxiety.

It was almost ironic that I, the one urging her to calm down and offering her a seat, was the one suffering panic attacks. Handing her a glass of water, I tried to soothe her, but the fear that we knew her secret continued to haunt her. Jakob, the insensitive idiot, unintentionally made things worse. "So, Bronn really is your daughter's father! That's fantastic!"

I smacked Jakob's head again in frustration. "Damn it, Jakob! You're not helping! Please, leave my suite for now!"

I felt like an enraged dragon protecting its lair. The clueless fool was utterly stunned by his thoughtless words and my anger.

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"Amanda, bring my gun!" I called Amanda, who was in the adjacent room preparing my things for the afternoon.

"Geez! Okay, okay, I'm going!" Jakob didn't leave empty-handed, though, grabbing a plate of pastries and a pitcher of orange juice as his parting consolation prize.

Once Jakob had left, I turned back to Emily.

"Sarah, please... don't tell Bronn. What if he tries to take my daughter away? I-I can't lose her."

"Emily, calm down," I said gently, doing my best to reassure her. "You don't need to worry about me. The information didn't come from me, and I'll make sure Jakob doesn't say anything to Bronn either..." Emily sobbed quietly.

"But you need to tell him about your daughter," I insisted. I didn't know if Bronn would accept the truth, but I knew keeping it hidden wasn't the answer.

"Wh-when I found out you were Miss Benner, I was terrified. There's a slim chance I can keep my daughter a secret if I work closely with Bronn. That's the real reason why I decided to resign at first..." She paused to wipe her tears.

"But when you offered me those incentives and opportunities for high-paying projects under you, I decided to stay. My family isn't wealthy, Sarah. I have a nanny caring for my little girl, and I desperately need the extra money to provide for her. That's also why you persuaded me so hard not to leave..."

I felt a pang of envy towards Emily. Her situation reminded me sharply of the sacrifices I couldn't make for my own baby.

"I won't tell anyone your secret, Emily. Don't worry. But now I was hoping you could help me. I want to know which executive Madam Cornell visits and keeps appointments at Aspire..."

I'll make sure to find Madam Cornell.