Cherry on Top

Emily’s POV

“I guess it’s true what they say about women with pretty faces. They’re damaged goods in disguise.”

He peeled off the bed and threw his T-shirt over his exposed chest.

“David, you don’t have to leave like this,” I pleaded, but I actually did want him to leave.

“Nah, it’s all good, Emily. I’m going to be fine. I wish you a happy life, and I hope you find what it is you’re REALLY looking for.”

He left the room and shut the door with a very loud slam, which made my heart leap.

I did it again.

I chased away yet another guy because I couldn’t find what I was looking for in him.

Of course I wouldn’t find it. I wasn’t looking for something, I was actually looking for someone.

I slowly walked out to the balcony and stared out at the horizon.

The weight of a pound of tears lingered on my chest like crashing waves. My breathing hitched while my blood ran cold throughout my entire body.

“Why can’t I forget you? It’s been ten years, Sebastian. Ten long, lonely years without seeing you or hearing your voice. You’re only memories now, but you wouldn’t go away,” I softly spoke as if he was actually listening to me.

I didn’t like the woman I was becoming. I didn’t want to be responsible for ruining ‘love’ for a person or for people. I was aware that I should accept someone for who they were, not what I wanted them to be, but I wanted to love again as well. I needed to love again.

The look on David’s face when I ended our time together... I couldn’t stand seeing someone else hurt because I didn’t have my heart and feelings in order.

I walked back into the room and got into the bathtub. I took an hour-long bath and stepped into an outfit for a late-night party at the club.

After dressing, applying my makeup, and styling my hair, I met up with my best friend, who also happened to be my personal assistant, in the hotel’s lobby.

Gen and I had visited Conovia—a small but beautiful foreign country just beyond the United Kingdom—to establish a waterfront hotel on one of the beaches. 

“You’re looking sexy tonight, boss,” she teased as we got into the limousine.

“Don’t start with me, Gen. I already want this night to be over.”

“Where’s David?”

“He left.”

“Oh, Em, I’m so sorry. I really thought that the two of you would—”

“I ended it,” I cut her off before she finished her statement.

“Really? Why?” She turned towards me so that she was looking me straight in the face.

I heaved a sigh.

“Oh, I see. You’re thinking about him again.” Gen knew me as if we had grown up in the same house and fed off the same mother.

“I can’t get him out of my mind, and I feel terrible for David. He’s a really great guy, Gen, but for some reason, I can’t love him.”

“Of course not. You’ve been dating him for only three months. It took me two years to fall in love with someone.”

“This isn’t about you, Gen,” I groaned as I sank into the comfortable seat of the limo and the driver drove towards the night club.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. One shot of Hennessy, and you’ll be alright,” Gen said and patted my shoulder.

________

Half an hour later, we arrived at a club. The music was blaring, and the atmosphere was cold. I wrapped my arms around myself as Gen, and I walked towards the front of the line.

“IDs, ladies!” a very muscular guy wearing black sunglasses said.

Gen and I complied and also showed our VIP tickets. There were groans of complaint from the other people in the long line when he ushered us inside before them.

______

The scent of strong alcohol and overused perfumes hung in the air as we made our way over to the bar, Gen holding my hand and pushing people out of her path.

“Bartender! Two shots of ‘Henny’ please,” she called.

“Gen, we’re VIPs. Being here isn’t necessary.”

“I know that,, but the vibe here is lit and turned all the way uppppp!” she squealed and threw her arms in the air as she dragged out the word ‘up.’

“You haven’t had one drink yet, and you’re already drunk,” I joked.

“Shut upppp.”

We got our shots of Hennessy and made our way up to the VIP area, but it was boring up there.

The music was less deafening, the enclosed walls hid the rest of the club from our sight, and there wasn’t anyone else present but Gen and me.

“Girl, shall we head back downstairs?” she asked with raised eyebrows.

“Please.”

We headed back downstairs and got into the tangle of bodies on the dancefloor. I needed to dance my ‘damaged’ self away, and when the DJ hit Rihanna’s Please Don’t Stop The Music, I found myself becoming a free spirit.

Gen got exhausted quickly. She pulled me towards the bar to have a seat with her.

“Oh damn, I have to pee.” She made a beeline to the washroom, but after a minute, she came back and crossed her legs in front of the other.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“I haven’t peed because the bathrooms are jammed.”

“I’m certain you could use the ones upstairs,” I answered, pointing at the VIP bracelets we got from the bouncer.

“Come with me?”

“Nah, I’m having my drink.” I took a sip and waved to her. She rolled her eyes and walked away.

______

“EM! EM!” I heard Gen calling from through the now thick crowd.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I saw him. He’s here.”

“Saw who. Who’s here?”

“Sebastian.”

My heart skipped ten beats.

Emily’s POV

“Gen, for the last time! It wasn’t Sebastian you saw at the club last night,” I semi-shouted to my friend, who was still pleading with me about seeing my ex-boyfriend.

“Think about it, what would Sebastian be doing out here?” I asked her as I got into my pair of heels.

“I have no idea, but I’m certain that I’m not mistaken.”

“Girl, you were drunk out of your mind last night. It’s a wonder that you’re not hungover, but that’s excellent because we’re heading to the construction site now.”

I took my purse off the table and checked myself in the mirror to make sure everything was on point. It was a habit of mine.

I ushered Gen through my hotel’s room door and took my car to the site where the new hotel would be established.

______________

“Boss, we have a big problem,” one of my contractors said as I reached the site and got out of the car.

“What seems to be the problem, Jerry?”

“The land around us.”

“What’s wrong with the land around us, Jerry?”

“It belongs to a Prince.”

I laughed and placed my hands on my hip. It was always like Jerry to be funny when he should be starting my jobs and taking them seriously.

“I’m a very busy woman, and I don’t have time for games, Jerry.”

“I’m not joking around this time, Boss. Here, the men who came to warn us gave me this to give it to you.”

He handed me a white envelope and inside was a letter, which stated that all construction development should be terminated immediately.

“This is plain bullshit!” I yelled. “I’ve already paid for this land, and I've got the papers to show it.”

“Boss, I smell foul play. Those men who came by, they weren’t joking about this land. You have to straighten this out before we proceed. I don’t want to get into trouble over this.”

“I’ll handle this. Gen, get this ‘so-call-kingdom’ on my GPS. I’m going to pay that Prince a visit.”

Everyone looked at me as if I had grown two heads, but I didn’t care. I was furious.

“I’ve located the palace on the GPS,” Gen spoke as I drove angrily. I glanced my eyes at the monitor and turned on the Voice Navigation System.

"Destination: Three miles ahead."

I stepped on the accelerator.

“Em, can you please slow down?” Gen said, and she held onto her seatbelt.

I slowed down.

_________

Half an hour later, we arrived in front of a massive and beautiful palace.

“My word. This is as beautiful as Buckingham Palace,” Gen spoke as she stared in awe.

We approached a guard at a tall gate.

“Good morning, I’m Emily Hollen, and this is my assistant, Generosa. We’re here to settle an urgent matter with the Prince.”

“Which one?” the guard asked firmly.

“Um, how many are there?” Gen asked in a flirting manner, and I gave her The Look, which indicated she should keep her mouth shut.

“I would have to stop you right here, ladies. No one enters unannounced and uninvited.”

“Uninvited? He invited me here when he stole my land.”

The guard’s eyebrows rose in fractions.

“Are you the hotel developer?” he asked next.

“Yes,” I answered shortly.

“Please come in. They’ve been expecting you.”

“They?” I asked, but he didn’t clarify on that.

He opened the gates, and Gen and I walked in.

“Hold it!” the guard ordered. He took our cellphones and wanded us with a metal detector.

Afterwards, we walked up the very long pavement. We took in the surroundings as we walked by. Trees lined the neatly trimmed lawns, beds of flowers spread around, water fountains looked like waterfalls, and more guards, dressed in red, yellow, and white, lined the entrance.

“Okay, this is freaking me out,” Gen spoke softly.

“Sshh,” I let out.

We walked through the entrance of the palace.

“Oh, sorry, can I help you?” a woman asked when she accidentally bumped into us.

“I’m really not sure where I have to go actually, but I have a problem with the land I’m to build my hotel on,” I explained.

“Oh, you’re that brave hotel developer. Conovia praises you on your efforts, but you can’t go around stealing land.”

“I didn’t steal it. I have the paperwork that shows I paid for it. All of it.”

“Oh dear, right this way please,” she offered, and we followed her down a very long aisle. My feet ached, my breathing increased, and I thought that I was going to pass out at any minute.

Gen looked the same, but she didn’t dare complain, nor did I.

“In here,” the woman spoke finally, and I let out a breath of relief.

I walked into a large room, which resembled a conference room. Golden chairs and a large golden table with 'goldish-coloured' curtains were the decorations. A large air conditioning unit blew out cool air. Gen and I took a seat and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

“How much longer? I’m becoming hungry,” Gen asked.

I was becoming irritated. I tapped my nails on the surface of the table and looked at my wristwatch.

The door finally pushed open, and an elderly man appeared.

I stood up, and Gen did the same.

“Good afternoon. I’m King Charles the Third. Welcome to Conovia.”

“It’s a pleasure, Your Highness. I’m Emily Hollen, and this is Generosa Sky.”

“Yes, I know who you are. Please, have a seat.”

We sat down, and he took the chair at the head of the table. Gen and I sat at the end.

“My son will be here shortly to resolve the issue,” he said.

“Thank you,” I spoke.

The doors pushed open again, and I almost fell off my chair when I saw who entered, dressed in a uniform suited only for a prince.

My eyes widened, my heart leaped, and my brain bounced around in my head. I couldn’t believe it.

It was, indeed, him. It was Sebastian.

Our eyes collided, and I saw a tiny smile displayed on his familiar lips, but it quickly disappeared when his father spoke.

“Son, resolve this matter now!”

Sebastian turned towards me. “Emily Hollen, what makes you think you can build on my land?”

His tone was harsh. I wanted to laugh it off like if we were back in high school, but when I saw the stern look on his face, I knew it was no joke and I was serious trouble.

I reached for my papers with trembling hands and handed them to him. He looked over the documents then handed it to the King, who did the same.

“This is a big misunderstanding,” Gen spoke finally.

“Indeed. Someone ran a scam on you for land that wasn’t theirs to begin with,” The King said.

“Oh my goodness. So what should I do now?” I asked as a terrible feeling flooded me.

“That’s not our concern!” Sebastian answered and exited the room.

I got off the chair and went after him. I didn’t think twice about whether I was allowed to run after a prince.

I caught up with him in the long hall.

“Sebastian, why did you speak to me like that in front of the others? It’s like you don’t know who I am.”

“Maybe I don’t, Emily. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to a meeting.”

I watched his tall, beautiful figure walk away.