Chapter 16: I Need To Go
A beautiful morning greeted the day, the kind people wrote about in novels, where the sun rose with golden hues, casting its warmth over everything it touched.
The birds sang their familiar melodies, the trees swayed gently as if greeting the morning breeze, and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air. For an optimist, the day could easily have been called "blessed."
But in the silence of the grand house, something lingered in the air that no amount of sunshine could erase. Alex descended the stairs dressed casually but impeccably, his mind more focused on the heavy thoughts swirling in his head than on the beauty of the morning.
He sat down at the dining table, where the house staff had already laid out the breakfast: eggs, toast, fresh fruit. Everything was meticulously prepared. Yet, the empty chair across from him cast a shadow on the otherwise perfect setting.
"She hasn't eaten anything decent since they returned from the hospital," Alex muttered, a frown creasing his brow.
His patience was running thin, but his concern was genuine. Emma hadn't been herself, and the last thing he wanted was for her to fall ill. He motioned to one of the maids, who hurriedly came to stand in front of him.
"Go upstairs and tell her to come down for breakfast."
The maid nodded obediently and headed up the stairs, pausing briefly at Emma's door before knocking lightly. Without waiting for a response, she opened the door just a crack.
"Ma'am, Mr. Sterling requests that you join him for breakfast," she said gently.
There was a long pause before Emma's thin, almost fragile voice floated from the room. "Tell him I'll be down shortly."
The maid delivered the message, and Alex went back to scrolling through an article on his phone, though his mind was more on Emma than the words on the screen.