Since it was still early, Emily swung by Betty's coffee shop before heading to the bar.
Betty was chatting with a man at a table. When she spotted Emily, she excused herself and hurried over. "Emily! What brings you by at this hour?"
Emily smiled warmly. "I didn't call ahead. I hope I'm not interrupting."
"Not at all. That guy has been hitting on me and comes in at the same time every day. It's actually getting annoying, so you totally saved me!" Betty laughed, guiding Emily to a quiet booth.
Emily didn't beat around the bush. "Betty, I'm so sorry, but I have to back out of our studio partnership."
Betty looked shocked. "What happened? Did you run into a problem? If it's about the money, you don't need to stress. I can cover all the startup capital myself."
Emily offered a knowing smile. "Are you covering it, or is Wilson?"
Betty froze.
While Charlie James had been out of town, Emily had taken a hard look at her interactions with Wilson Walton, going all the way back to her days at the James family company.
Wilson's timing was always a little too perfect. She really couldn't blame Charlie for getting jealous.
Betty had never been particularly ambitious. She had stumbled into architecture back in college by total accident. Even this coffee shop had been heavily funded by Wilson. There was simply no way she had suddenly scraped together enough cash to bankroll a design studio.
It was only an educated guess, but to avoid unnecessary drama and to respect Charlie's feelings, Emily knew she needed to put some serious distance between herself and Wilson.
Betty slowly stirred her coffee, offering a gentle smile. "I'll be honest with you, Emily. Wilson came to me. He said your new boss was making your life hell and that you were more than talented enough to strike out on your own. He asked me to pitch the partnership to you. He knew you wouldn't want to ask your boyfriend for a handout, so he had the funds ready to go."
Emily frowned. "Why would he go to such lengths for me?"
Betty's voice was incredibly soft. "You're a smart girl, Emily. Why do you think?"

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Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
This was soooooo sooooo good! I loved it! Thank you for the updates....
Then Melanie and Noreen will both understand that Emily is his wife, who he chooses and cares to be with. We’ve already had so much drama when Emily took off for three years hiding her pregnancy from Charlie. Emily has already confessed that the only man she loves is Kya father, which Charlie is. Now he needs to boldly claim the only woman he loves is Emily…I just had to add my two cents (he he he)....
Now Charlie needs to take Emily to the marriage office like Gabriel did with Sylvia . Reassure her that he will not take for granted. Thank you for the updates. I’m loving it....
May we please have updates. Thank you....
Wow.. finally they're married now. I thought there will be another separation....
Thank you for the updates of Emily and Charlie. It seem that Orval may knows of Amelia and may be helping Emily get around her,...
Waiting for updates..thank you...
More updates please. Thank you...
This was so exciting, from the demise of Evelyn and her departure; to Sylvia’s and Gabriel’ confession of their love, commitment and marriage to one another. Thank you for the updates…I’m loving it!...
Wow...Victory dance 💃💃 finally what we have all been waiting for. Just love the way it is progressing. Cant wait for more and more updates...