Chapter 6

Emma Carpenter POV:

"My parents are expecting us at the estate for dinner tonight, Emma," Collin announced, his tone leaving no room for discussion. "It's important. Face time. They need to see we're still 'united' before the Golden Spoon." The word 'united' tasted like ash in my mouth. It was another performance, another act for the Sweeney dynasty.

I nodded, my face a carefully constructed mask of compliance. "Of course, Collin."

The Sweeney estate was a fortress of old money and colder sensibilities. Polished mahogany, ancestral portraits, and a pervasive silence that spoke volumes about expectation and control. Collin, ever the perfect son, played his part flawlessly. He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close, his smile dazzling, his whispers of affection for public consumption. "You look beautiful, darling," he murmured, pressing a kiss to my temple, his eyes scanning the room for his parents' approval.

I moved through the opulent rooms, a ghost among the living, observing the charade with a chilling detachment. The clink of crystal, the hushed conversations, the scent of expensive perfume – it all felt distant, unreal. My mind drifted back to all the years I'd spent trying to fit into this world, trying to earn their acceptance.

They had never truly welcomed me, the ambitious chef from a modest background. Oh, they were polite, impeccably so, but their eyes always held a hint of disdain, a quiet judgment that I wasn't "one of them." I was Emma Carpenter, the creative talent who brought their son money and prestige, not a true Sweeney. I had swallowed their veiled insults, endured their condescension, all for Collin. All for us. For the future, he had promised.

What a fool I'd been. The empire that was supposed to be "ours" was always his. My talent, a tool. My love, a convenience. My presence, a necessary prop in his elaborate tableau. He wasn't just leading a double life; he was living a thousand lies, each one meticulously crafted to serve his insatiable ambition.

The thought solidified, hard and sharp, in my mind. This charade had to end. Tonight.

Suddenly, a commotion at the entrance. All heads turned. Casey, dressed in a stunning (and undoubtedly expensive) crimson gown, stood framed in the doorway, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and defiance. She scanned the room, her gaze darting directly to Collin.

Collin's face, usually so composed, contorted with fury. "Casey! What in God's name are you doing here?!" His hissed whisper was laced with pure, unadulterated rage. He hadn't expected her. This was not part of his carefully constructed narrative.

Casey flinched, her vulnerability momentarily piercing through her usual facade. "I... I just wanted to see you, Collin. I missed you." Her voice trembled, a pathetic plea.

Collin's mother, a woman who could freeze oceans with a single glance, stepped forward. "And who, may I ask, is this... young woman?" Her voice, though soft, carried the weight of generations of Sweeneys.

"A-a new chef," Collin stammered, pulling away from me, his face pale. "A protégé."

"She's more than that, Mother," his father interjected, his eyes gleaming with a shrewd, calculating light. "She's carrying Collin's twins, isn't she?" He looked directly at Casey, a triumphant smirk on his face.

Everyone gasped. The room plunged into a suffocating silence.

Collin's face drained of color. "Father! What are you talking about?"

"Don't play coy, son," his father scoffed. "We've had our eye on your little... dalliances. But twins? Now that's a development. The Sweeney line must continue, after all." He looked at Casey, a new respect dawning in his eyes, a respect he had never shown me.

Collin turned to me, his eyes pleading, an unspoken plea for me to play along, to save his reputation. "Emma, darling, please. This is a misunderstanding." He reached for my hand again, but I kept my arms folded across my chest, my face impassive.

Casey, emboldened by the father's words, stepped forward, her eyes locking onto mine, a flicker of triumph, then a sudden, sickening vulnerability. "He promised me, Emma. He promised he'd leave you and be with me. And the babies..." Her voice cracked.

Collin whirled on her, his face dark with fury. "Casey, shut up! Don't you dare-"

"Enough!" Collin's mother's voice, sharp and commanding, cut through the tension. She looked at Casey, then at me, her gaze cold and assessing. "Blood, Collin. That's what matters. Not some... temporary arrangement. The legacy."

My stomach churned, a sudden wave of nausea washing over me. The air felt thick, suffocating. I felt a cold detachment, watching this family drama unfold, a spectacle of greed and entitlement.

Collin's father, sensing the shift in power, turned to Collin. "You need to sort this out, son. Immediately. This can't be good for the Golden Spoon. Or the family name."

Collin, caught between his calculating parents and his desperate mistress, looked utterly lost, a puppet with tangled strings. "I... I will. I promise." He turned back to Casey, his voice an attempt at soothing, laced with irritation. "Casey, darling, why don't you go wait in the guest room? We'll discuss this later."

Casey's face crumpled. "But... but I'm carrying your children, Collin! Don't you care?"

"Of course I care!" he snapped, his patience wearing thin. "Just... not here. Not now."

My head began to throb. The sheer hypocrisy, the blatant disregard for anyone's feelings but his own, was sickening. I felt a cold anger rising, a slow burn that threatened to consume me.

Then, Casey screamed. A high, piercing shriek that cut through the strained silence. She clutched her stomach, her face contorting in pain. "The babies! My babies!"

Chaos erupted. People rushed forward. Collin, his face pale with alarm, rushed to her side. His parents, rigid with shock, watched the scene unfold.

"What's wrong?" Collin cried, his voice laced with genuine panic. "Casey, what is it?"

Casey sobbed, "I... I think I'm losing them, Collin! The pain! Oh, God, the pain!"

Collin, his eyes wide with fear, scooped her up into his arms. "I need a car! Now! To the hospital!" He looked at his parents, then at me, his eyes blazing with a desperate plea for help, for understanding.

My heart, however, remained unmoved. I watched him, his face a mask of primal fear, as he rushed out of the room, Casey clinging to him, whimpering. He was terrified of losing his legacy, his heirs. Terrified of losing the one thing his parents truly valued.

His parents, still in shock, looked at each other, then at me. His mother' s lips thinned. "This is a disaster, Emma."

I took a deep breath, the decision firm, unyielding. "It is," I said, my voice shockingly calm, clear, and steady. "And I'm done being part of it."

The words hung in the air, a declaration, a breaking point. His parents stared at me, their faces a mixture of confusion and dawning comprehension.

"I want a divorce, Collin," I said, my voice rising slightly, loud enough to carry through the suddenly quiet room. "I want a formal separation. Effective immediately." I looked at his parents, then around the room, taking in all the shocked faces. "Consider our marriage... dissolved."

Collin, already halfway out the door with Casey in his arms, froze. He turned, his face a mask of horror. "Emma! No! You can't!" He started to put Casey down, moving toward me, his hands outstretched. "Don't be ridiculous! This is just a misunderstanding!"

"A misunderstanding?" I scoffed, a bitter laugh bubbling up. "You really think so, Collin? After everything? After openly flaunting your mistress, your 'fragile' mistress carrying your 'twins,' in my face, in front of your family? You think I'm still going to stand by you?"

Casey, in his arms, looked up at him, her eyes wide with fear. "Collin, what about me? What about our babies?"

Collin, torn, looked from me to her, his face a contorted mess of panic and desperation. Then, a chilling thought seemed to cross his mind. He looked at Casey, his eyes suddenly hard, calculating. "You and your 'babies' are a liability, Casey. A complication I don't need right now." He dropped her abruptly, not gently, but almost roughly, onto a nearby antique chaise lounge.

Casey cried out, clutching her stomach, her face white. "Collin! How could you?!"

"How could I?!" he roared, turning on her, his rage now fully unleashed. "You think I'm stupid, Casey? You think I don't know what you're doing? You think I don't know you're manipulating me for money, for fame? You're nothing but a gold-digger!"

Casey whimpered, tears streaming down her face, but she looked genuinely shocked by his sudden brutality.

Collin turned back to me, his focus shifting, desperately trying to salvage what he thought he was losing. "Emma, please! Don't do this! We can fix this! We can still win the Golden Spoon! We are a team!" He pleaded, his eyes wide with a raw desperation I had never seen before. "Please, don't leave me. I need you."

But his words were too late. They rang hollow, echoing the empty promises of a lifetime. The sight of Casey, sobbing on the chaise lounge, betrayed and discarded, stirred a strange mix of pity and a cold, hard satisfaction within me. She was getting a taste of her own medicine, a taste of Collin's true nature.

I looked at him, truly looked at him, and for the first time, I felt nothing. No love, no anger, no pain. Only a profound, liberating emptiness. "No, Collin," I said, my voice clear and steady. "You don't need me. You need a prop. And I'm done playing the part."

I turned my back on him, on his family, on the shattered pieces of the life I had once believed in. As I walked toward the exit, I heard Collin's frantic shouts, Casey's desperate sobs. But their sounds faded into the background, becoming a distant hum, powerless to stop me. I was free.