After returning to Conor’s apartment and picking at a perfunctory dinner, Emily excused herself to her temporary bedroom. Once she was alone, she let the tears fall. How could he behave like that? But then again, anyone would think she had taken advantage of the moment to force him to marry her. Of all the conceited, self-centered men she had ever known, he was the worst. Back and forth the argument went in her head. She couldn’t even use her usual method of distraction as she had been forced to leave her work to Carrie.

She got up and paced the room but that didn’t help. A long bath did nothing but shrivel her skin. After a long and sleepless night, finally daylight broke through her curtains so she gave up on sleep and decided to go for a run. She wasn’t staying cooped up in that glass prison one second longer.

She got as far as the nearest store and groaned when the newspaper headlines caught her attention: “Billionaire’s mom almost arrested for disturbance in ER.” If that weren’t bad enough, there was another of her leaving the hospital: “Woman unmasked as fake fiancée is Emily Williams.” One of the nurses must have given the press an interview. The article went on to identify her as CEO of the DC Williams Foundation and founder of the Ugly Truth Blog. Emily turned straight around and ran faster than before back to the safety of Conor’s home. She saw no signs of any paparazzi, but then Conor was clever about keeping this address secret.

When she entered the apartment, her grandmother was glowering at her. “Where have you been? Your cell has been ringing constantly and look at the news. It’s not safe for you to leave, Conor told you that. Steven told you. I told you.”

“Sorry, Nana, I had to get out. I didn’t know anything about all this until I saw the newspaper and headed back. Poor Conor, he must be furious.”

“If I was him, I would sue those reporters for every dollar they have. Can you believe the lies they printed? There’s no way his mom could be responsible for his father’s death, could there?” Gertie looked to Emily for confirmation, but she had no idea what her nana was talking about.

“Conor’s father died when he was ten. That’s all he ever said.”

“Well, according to this report on WWA channel, his father was indicted for involvement in some big scandal back in Ireland in the 1990’s. His body was found shortly afterward. His mother was also a company director. She was vindicated by a hand-written note his father left behind. But it seems she couldn’t cope with her husband’s death and started drinking heavily. Conor was taken away from her. His grandmother was given custody when he was twelve.”

“Oh, my, why didn’t Conor tell me? No wonder he didn’t want his mom at the hospital. Did Steven know all this?” Emily sat down heavily. “Oh, Nana, what have I done?"

“In truth, or according to the gossip on the TV? Because they say you’re a gold digger who went after his wallet and faked an engagement in an attempt to rip him off.”

“But that’s just stupid. I didn’t do any of those things, you know that.”

“Of course I know, darling. I am just suggesting that the same people who are spreading this rubbish about you may have gotten it wrong about his mom. What does Conor say?”

Emily bit her lip.

“Emily?”

Gertie used the tone she had always used when Emily was caught doing something wrong.

“Conor is really mad. He threw a fit yesterday, not just over his mom but about us being fake engaged. He…well, he said more or less the same thing the journalist said.”

“He called you a gold digger?” Gertie’s tone highlighted her shock as much as her facial expression did.

“Well, not exactly but he was so angry about it. He seemed to think it was my idea. So I told him he could…I said it was over.”

Emily went into the kitchen area to get a drink of water. She offered some to her grandmother but she declined. The anger was coming off her nana in waves. Emily was tempted once again to run away.

“Wait till I get my hands on Conor Dunne. He will beg to be put out of his misery. I thought he was more intelligent than that.”

“No, Nana, leave him be. We need to think about what we’re going to do. The police called last night to say they found Conor’s shooter. Apparently, he was a reporter of some sort. So it’s safe for us to go back home.”

“Your home is going to be inundated with reporters and what not.”

Emily cringed at the thought of the pressure they would put on Dan the doorman. She didn’t want to go back to her place. She wanted to go to the hospital, put her arms around Conor, and tell him she was sorry for everything. But she couldn’t do that.

“Let’s pack up, Nana. You can go home and see your friends. I’ll stay in a hotel for a bit and then when it’s all over, I’ll go home. And back to work. By next week, this will all have blown over and everything will go back to normal.”

“If you believe that, you are as pigheaded as your fiancé.”

“Nana!”

But it was pointless, her grandmother wasn’t listening. She had walked back to her own room, commenting on how stubborn young people were.

Sighing, Emily picked up her cell. She scrolled through the calls, half of them from numbers she didn’t recognize. Carrie had called several times. She hit call back as she went to her room to pack.

“Well, girl, you don’t do things halfway, do you? Is it true?”

“Come on. You know me better than that.”

“Oh, I’m not talking about the gold digger bit and all that stuff. We all know that is just to sell the gutter press. But there’s no smoke without fire. Did you get engaged? How did he ask? When’s the wedding? I better be maid of honor and get to bring Steven as my date.”

Despite her situation, Emily burst out laughing. Trust Carrie to make it all about her.

“Good, I got you to laugh. I’m joking. Well, not about the part about me being your maid of honor as that is a God-given right as your best friend. But seriously, girl, what’s the real story? Are you okay? Where are you? You sound like you need a Carrie hug.”

Her eyes stung with tears. “I do, Carrie, I really do. But first I have to pack and find a hotel to check into. I’ll come by the office later.”

“No, don’t come to the office. Those cannibals are hanging around outside. It’s like being famous. Every time I step outside, the lights from their cameras nearly blind me. Meet me in Qualingos about four thirty. That work for you?”

“Sure. Carrie?”

“Yes,”

“Thank you.” Emily hung up. She couldn’t wait to talk to her friend and get her life back into perspective. It didn’t seem like only a month since she had met Conor. How on Earth was she going to get her life back to normal when he still held her heart?