Waiting For Love (Wild Creek Ranch Book 2)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Ember walked towards the main door when the doorbell rang. She knew that it was her neighbor Mrs. Grant who sometimes left her apartment keys with her when she went out. Her husband, Billy Grant returned later and since he usually forgot his keys everytime he took them along, it was wise to leave the keys with her. Ember helped them since they were an old couple living alone, next door.

She opened the door and Mrs. Grant handed her the keys. "Tell Billy that I'm going out to lunch with my friends. His lunch is kept in the kitchen. He needs to warm it before eating," instructed Mrs Grant.

"Yes Mrs Grant. Don't worry, I'll tell him," she said, taking the keys from her hands. She closed the door and went back to her bed to curl up and lie down.  She didn't have any energy to make any lunch for herself.

The doorbell rang again and she got up with the keys in her hands thinking that Mr Grant had come for his keys. Opening the door, she was about to hand over the keys when she froze seeing Rex standing at her doorstep. Time stood still as both stared at one another. Rex couldn't believe that he was finally here to get his answers and convince her to get rid of her boyfriend and be his. He stared at her shocked face, taking in her disheveled state. He wanted to know what happened to her. She looked like she needed to be taken care of. He wanted to be the one to take care of her.

Ember blinked with disbelief. Was she hallucinating? Ember pinched herself to check but winced immediately in pain. So he was real.

"You? What are you doing here?" She asked, trying to close her door so that he didn't get to see her apartment.

"I came to see you Ember," said Rex, placing his hand upon  her door to prevent her from closing her door completely.

"You saw me? I'm fine. Bye Rex," she said, going inside and trying to close the door but his strength was more than hers and he pushed the door open and entered her apartment. He was about to close it when Mr Grant arrived to take his keys. Ember smiled at the old man and handed him his keys. When he had gone, she turned around to face Rex.

"I don't want anything to do with you, Rex. Please leave.  Go back to your pregnant fiancée," she said, her eyes flashing with anger. He had no business disrupting her peace of mind this way when she was struggling to regain her health. Why didn't he go back to his pregnant fiancée and stayed happy with them?

"Pregnant fiancée? Who? I'm only engaged to you and we didn't have s*x yet, so you can't be pregnant," he smirked, as he walked towards her.

"Very funny indeed. What about that woman who came to threaten me? The same woman who was clinging to you that night at Andrea's party? Why don't you go back to her?" She said, furious that he was denying the truth. She wasn't a fool to believe him again. She backed away as he approached her.

"Charmaine threatened you? How come I don't know anything about this? Believe me Ember. I hate that woman. She's aunt Charlotte's niece and was an unwelcome guest at Wildcreek Ranch. I left home when she started pursuing me like a mad woman. Granny sent her away and I returned just today. Then I found out about your health and came here to see you," he told her, coming closer and picking up her hand to inspect the ring on her finger.

Ember tried to extract her hand but his grip was firm. His fingers felt her ring while he inspected it minutely. "Isn't it the ring that I gave you, Ember?" He asked, knowing the answer fully well.

"So what if it is. I like it, so I wear it," she told him, snatching her hand away. He stretched and locked the main  door.

Ember's eyes widened at his actions. Wasn't he leaving or what? "Look, you saw that I'm alive. So now please leave me alone. Go away Rex, " she yelled hysterically, pushing him and running to her bedroom to shut her door but Rex was faster. He wedged his foot into her bedroom preventing her from closing her door. He pushed open her door and went inside. What he saw made him numb with grief. His eyes misted and his voice was choked with emotions and unshed tears as he looked around. The whole room was filled with pictures of him.

"Go away Rex. This is my world. I don't want anyone coming here to make fun of me. You threw me out of your life. You have no business disrupting my life, my privacy just because you're physically stronger," she yelled, getting hysterical, throwing her pillows at him, her notebook, pen, her comb anything that she got her hands upon.

Rex gaped at her with shock as he caught the things that she threw at him. "I threw you out of my life? You were the one who chose the father of your unborn child over me. Remember now?" Rex gritted out.

Ember sat down on her bed, all fight going out of her body as she looked at Rex helplessly. "Which woman would chose the one who r*ped her in her state of unconsciousness, Rex? You tell me? Have I ever told you that I love Jamie and wanted to choose him over you? Tell me, have I?" She said brokenly as tears fell continuously from her eyes. She looked away and sobbed into her pillow.

Rex was transfixed to the spot with horror. He couldn't believe his own ears. Ember had been r*ped. The child was a result of her misfortune? He strode around the bed and walked up to her. Sitting beside her, he pulled her up and into his arms, cradling her weak body against his strong ones.

"I'm so sorry, Ember. I didn't know. The night before Adelaide's wedding, I came over to see you and saw you hugging a man and telling him about your baby. He was wanting to take care of you. My entire world crashed that day. I didn't know your past so I felt that I was a rebound for you," said Rex quietly, stroking her hair.

"You saw me, you heard me, then why didn't you hear my answer to him?" Asked Ember, her voice muffled in his chest.

"I was too scared to wait and hear it, Ember. I had to escape from there, my mind was in a turmoil and didn't know what I was doing," said Rex.

"If only you would have waited for me to tell you everything, Rex. You told me that my past didn't make any difference to you but see it did make a difference," said Ember, releasing him and wiping her eyes.

Rex gaped at her. "Don't get me wrong Ember. Your past really doesn't make any difference to me. I only stayed away thinking that you had reunited with the father of your child. I thought he'd make you happy. I thought if you had more of his children, you would be happy," said Rex, pulling her back into his arms.

"He knew that I could never love him. He knew that I was in love with someone since I was fourteen. You cannot fall out of love so easily," she started but Rex touched her cheek, stroking it with the back of his hand.

"Forgive me, Ember, " he asked, his face inches from hers.

"No, Rex. I can't forgive you," she said as a few tears escaped her eyes. Rex caught them on her fingertips.

"Give me one last chance, Ember. I'll treasure you. I'll make you forget all your complaints with my love. Come back into my life, Ember. Come back to Fordsville, " begged Rex. Ember extracted herself from his embrace and scooted far away from him.

"No, Rex. I'm happy here. In a relationship, you need to talk to one another. You cannot torture the other based on assumptions. I'm already dead, mentally, physically. I have nothing to give you. It's best that you chose someone like your Charmaine. I'm sorry, I'm not ready for any relationship with anyone. All my life I've had men mistreating me and discarding me like shit. First Jamie, he took advantage of me when I wasn't even conscious. Then my baby happened and I thought that I'd be happy for once but Jamie refused to take responsibility and I tried to end my life. But life's so strange, I survived but my baby died. It took me four years to finally stand on my two feet when all of a sudden my childhood crush, my first love, declared his undying feelings for me and proposed a happily ever after to me. It was the happiest day of my life. Then one day, he found out about my past and discarded me like shit. After a year, when I'm trying to pick up the pieces of my heart and joining them together, he returns and suddenly wants me," said Ember, brokenly.

"No Rex, I don't want anyone. I don't want any man. Don't worry, I forgive you," she said, with conviction.