Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 425

Suddenly, Emma found the whole thing tedious. She was perfectly happy, both physically and mentally. She didn't need to mock him to heal herself; she was just enjoying the gossip that had landed in her lap.

Deciding to drop the pretense, she sent him the password. He could download it and see for himself.

Theodore: *Got it. Thanks.*

She was just about to block him when a string of question marks appeared from him.

She replied: *???*

Theodore: *There's nothing here.*

Emma: *I know. I never said I had the evidence.*

Theodore sent a single thumbs-up emoji. *Very clever. Emma, I feel like I'm only just getting to know you.*

Emma felt an eye-roll coming on.

So what? In his mind, had she always been an idiot?

Then came something that made her want to roll her eyes even harder.

He sent a completely random question: *You didn't post anything on your social media feed today?*

What did he mean? Why would she?

The next second, he sent a video. It was of her in the neighboring garden, eating apple pie.

She and Sebastian were sitting side-by-side. He was cutting a slice of pie, placing it on her plate, and handing her a dessert fork, smiling at her the whole time.

Genevieve had been the one filming, so it was just the two of them in the frame.

How had Theodore gotten this video? It felt unsettling, like she was being watched.

Another message followed: *He made that for you himself? Suddenly, I'm so jealous of him.*

He'd spent so much time on Emma's block list. Even on the rare occasions she unblocked him, like today, he was quickly sent back. As a result, their chat history was painfully short.

But he read and reread those few lines, imagining her expressions as she typed each word. As he pictured her, it felt as though she were right there in front of him, and an involuntary smile spread across his face.

His office door was open, and when Hanley walked in and saw him grinning like an idiot, he assumed it was good news.

"What's up? Did we get a breakthrough?" Hanley asked hopefully.

Theodore quickly closed the chat window and cleared his throat. "No."

But Hanley had already seen the screen. He'd recognized the chat with Emma and was genuinely happy for his friend. "She's finally talking to you? I'm still on her block list."

The comment felt like a punch to the gut.

Theodore's face darkened. "No, she's not. Now get back to work. If we don't turn this around, we'll be handing out flyers on the street next year!"