Who Does He Think He Is?

As Alex drove home, he couldn't help feeling angry as he thought about what had happened back at Claire's place.

So that was Vanessa, who had been the very reason Emma was so shamefully discarded and disgraced?

How could she ever think of marrying him? A girl with such an ugly heart? Thinking about the smile that had been on Vanessa's face when Claire introduced them, his stomach churned in disgust.

He hated her, and he would never bring himself to feel comfortable in the presence of such a two-faced bitch.

He thought, deciding to make sure he gathered enough evidence to prove to everyone that Emma was innocent and pure.

Thinking about Emma, he shoved all thoughts of Vanessa out of his mind. What he needed to do now was protect Emma and give her happiness for the duration of their marriage. He reminded himself.

The moment he got home, he went directly to Emma's room to check up on her. He knocked on the door of her room and waited to see if she had slept or if she would answer him.

"Who's at the door?" Emma answered in a brittle tone as she walked towards it and opened it.

"I just wanted to check up on you. I hope I didn't disturb your sleep," Alex said with a smile.

"I wasn't sleeping. Thank you for coming to see if I was fine. I would love to try and get some sleep now. Can we talk tomorrow?" Emma replied dismissively.

Alex looked at her, and from the puffiness of her eyes, he could tell she had been crying.

"Have you had dinner?" he asked instead, and Emma swallowed.

She hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I haven't..."

"Why? Come on, let's go eat something. You can't sleep on an empty stomach," Alex said, but Emma shook her head.

"I'll be fine. I'm not hungry. Let's talk tomorrow, please. I'm tired," Emma said and although Alex wanted to argue, he nodded after a moment's hesitation.

"Alright, then. See you tomorrow. Have a good night's sleep," Alex said, even though he knew that was likely going to be impossible, given her state.

What could he do to help her? He mused as he walked back to his room.

'I need to make her life better and help her truly forget about these mishaps. He won't let her live with this pain forever,' Alex thought to himself as he stepped into his room.

Away from there, after Vanessa said goodbye to Claire, she headed straight to Jake's house.

Although it was past 10 p.m., she was determined to see Jake. They had to do something about Alex. She wouldn't let him look down on her like that and act like everything was okay.

She needed to start thinking of ways to get him and make him pay for looking down on her and talking down on her like he did. She thought as she focused her attention on the road ahead to Jake's place.

The moment she got there, she stepped out of the cab and headed straight into Jake's house.

Jake, who had been seated at the bar, awaiting Vanessa's call to update him on how the dinner had gone, frowned when he heard a knock on the door.

Who could it be? He mused as he walked over to open the door. "Nessa?" he called, slightly surprised to see her there.

Vanessa sighed as she just walked past him without saying a word, her anger clearly visible.

"What's wrong? What happened there to make you look this upset?" Jake asked as he followed her into the house.

"What could happen if not that stupid uncle of yours? Gosh!" Vanessa hissed, and Jake's frown deepened.

Although he had been upset about what happened earlier when Claire and his mother visited him, his mood had brightened up a bit when Claire had called to tell him to send her Vanessa's number.

He had been over the moon when Vanessa told him Claire had asked her to join her and Alex for dinner since it meant their plan was in place, but right now, it didn't seem so, seeing how pissed Vanessa looked.

"What happened? What did he do?" Jake asked, looking her over, and Vanessa hissed as she dropped her bag on the couch and took her seat.

"He is just so full of himself. Who the hell does he think he is to talk about me in that manner?" Vanessa said as she went ahead and told Jake what had happened at Claire's place.

"He said that to you?" Jake asked, his anger barely concealed.

"I wouldn't be here ranting if he didn't," Vanessa said, and Jake ran his fingers through his hair.

"Does that mean our plan isn't going to work? What are we going to do now?" Jake asked, needing to know what other options they had.

"Our plan is going to work. If anything, im more invested in seeing it work now," Vanessa said, and Jake frowned.

"How? What can we do if he doesn't like you?" Jake asked, and Vanessa smirked, a wicked glint in his eyes.

"Why don't you try getting close to him first? Try playing a good nephew and get to know all about his lifestyle. I need to know exactly who he is before I can proceed with what I have in mind," Vanessa said, and Jake looked at her for a moment.

"What is your plan?" he asked, and Vanessa smiled.

"What do you think?" Vanessa asked back, and Jake shrugged.

"You plan to seduce him?" he asked with a raised brow, and Vanessa chuckled.

"No man can humiliate me that way. I'll make him beg to have his cock buried deep inside me," Vanessa said, and although Jake couldn't help the feeling of jealousy that stirred within him at Vanessa's words, he shoved them aside.

"Why don't you come give me some sugar first before you talk about Alex having sex with you?" Jake said, and Vanessa smiled.

"Jealous naughty boy," she said as she let Jake lead her into his bedroom.