Remember Me?

Emma walked calmly out of the hotel, her heels clicking across the marble floor. She called Mina and told her of the situation that had just occurred with Steven Ward, telling her to come by the house later that evening to discuss next steps. Just as she was about to get in a cab, the door was shut in front of her and a person grabbed her elbow. Thinking it was one of the bodyguards trying to get revenge, Emma turned to elbow the man in the face. Her elbow was immediately stopped by a palm and she heard something frantically say, "Stop! Stop! Emma, it's me!"

Emma turned to face the other person completely and saw ayoung man in his late 20s putting his hands up, as if he was surrendering. He had a lean figure with a mop of silver hair, a suit with the top button undone and lively black eyes. He had a delicate face with high cheekbones and expressive eyes, which were now looking at her with excitement.

"Do I know you?" Emma asked coldly. As if not sensing her frigid tone, the man put his hand over his heart as if he had been shot and lamented loudly,

"Oh what tragic fate is this? How could you forget who I am? Oh, this is a travesty! I am such a memorable person and you have forgotten this honorable prince?!" As Emma listens to his wails, a memory floated up from her school years.

"...Jace?" she asked tentatively. Hearing this, the man looked at her with tears in his eyes and gripped get hands between his.

"Oh, my lovely lovely Emma. I knew you would never forget me!" He started to jump up and down in excitement and Emma tried to separate their hands.

"What happened to your hair?" She was slightly shocked by his different appearance. He had always been a little flamboyant in their school days, but this was too sudden! It had been more than 10 years at least since she had last seen him after all.

"What? Don't you like it? It's the newest trend for fashionable men and of all things, you know that I am always fashionable. I was actually thinking of getting earrings and a tattoo as well, you know to show off my wonderful personality. In fact..." he tried to go on, but Emma covered his mouth with his hands. She felt a headache coming on. She had forgotten his annoying ability to never stop talking.

"Jace, what are you doing here?" she asked with gritted teeth. "The short version."

"Well, my wonderful Emma Wemma, I wad actually here for a meeting with a client when I overheard your melodious voice. If course, I recognized it on the spot. Anyways I heard you tell that Ward boy to take a hike and when he refused I was ready to pounce in and help you but you threw him at a table! That was so amazing! How did you even learn that? Can you teach me? Which dojo do you train at? It was so cool, so of course I had to tell my brother..." he rambled.

Emma put her hands up and stopped him again. "Your brother?" she asked. Her eyes showed a little fear and panic. "You told your brother? Is he here?"

"Oh Emma, you're so silly. Of course I told my brother."

"I have to go." Emma tried to hail a cab and flee the scene, but Jace dragged her back into the hotel. He sat her down in a chair and immediately asked for a glass of water.

"Emma, what happened between you and my brother?" This was the first time Emma had ever seen him so serious.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Emma reached for a glass of water, but Jace grabbed it instead and gulped it all down before handing it right back to the waiter.

"Emma, there were rumors that you and him were dating! You can't tell me that nothing happened between you two. where there's smoke, there's a fire." Thinking back in high school, the was a moment when he had walked in on the two of them in the school library, silent and peaceful. They were studying, but he could sense the air of familiarity around them as they sat closely next to each other. He walked out and later, when he asked his brother about it, Sean said nothing but asked a small smile before patting Jace on the head. A couple of weeks later, he saw his brother in his room, throwing things around the room and crying like a wounded animal. None of the servants were gone so no one had heard him, but Jace never forgot that moment. He had never seen Sean lose control so completely, and after that incident, he never saw Sean lose control again. Sean was now the youngest partner at his uncle's firm and chairman at his father's company. But he was cold and stone-like, never going on dates and only working. In fact, he never again said the name "Emma" again.