The Forbidden Throb (Emma and Daniel) novel Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Nicholas’s POV:

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For three days, I’d been expecting Emma to call.

Three days since Megan’s birthday celebration. Three days of silence that grew increasingly irritating with each passing hour.

This wasn’t how things worked between us. Emma always called first. She always texted. She always made the effort when I was busy.

Yet here I was, staring at my phone like some lovesick freshman. Pathetic.

I tossed my phone onto my desk and leaned back in my Italian leather chair, running a hand through my carefully styled hair.

The suite my father had arranged in the premium campus housing was spacious but felt suffocating today.

My bank notification had just informed me that my monthly allowance was significantly lower than usual.

Daniel’s doing, no doubt.

My perfect older brother, the golden child of Prescott Medical Dynasty, ha inexplicably decided to cut my allowance. I couldn’t figure out what bug had crawled up his ass this time.

I checked the time-nearly noon.

I’d have to meet Tom for lunch soon, but first, I needed to settle this Emma situation.

I grabbed my phone and called her. Once. Twice. On the third attempt, the call connected for two seconds before disconnecting.

She hung up on me?

Anger flashed hot beneath my skin. What the hell was going on with her? Ever since I forgot to drive her home from the charity gala that

night, she’d been acting weird.

This wasn’t like Emma at all.

Before, she never caused problems-always understanding when I canceled plans, never questioning my explanations, always playing the perfect girlfriend.

Now she’d disappeared for days and was actually hanging up on me? Unbelievable.

I checked my watch, grabbed my jacket, and went out.

Thirty minutes later, I was seated at the table in the dining hall, nursing oth my wounded ego and a glass of sparkling water.

Tom had been talking about his classes for the past fifteen minutes, but my mind kept drifting back to Emma’s inexplicable behavior.

‘So then I told Professor Harrington that his investment strategy was outdated, and the whole class just went silent.” Tom laughed, cutting into his steak.

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Chapter 10

I swear, these professors act like their Ph.D.s make them untouchable, but half of them couldn’t survive a day on the trading floor.

I nodded, only half-listening.

44%

The dining hall buzzed with activity-professors lunching with visiting speakers, students networking over delicious entrées, staff hurrying

between tables. This place was always packed, a testament to its popularity.

Yet all this commotion barely registered as my eyes kept scanning the entrance, my mind elsewhere.

“You’re distracted,” Tom said, pointing his fork at me. “Still thinking about Megan? She’s been texting me about you since the party, you know.

“Megan’s not the issue,” I muttered, taking a sip of sparkling water. “It’s-

That’s when I saw her. Emma walked in with her friend Olivia, that loud journalism major who always looked at me like I was something

unpleasant she’d found on her shoe.

“Excuse me,” I said, standing abruptly.

I intercepted them before they could reach the salad bar, positioning myself directly in Emma’s path.

She looked up, surprised, then her expression cooled instantly.

“What’s your problem?” I demanded, keeping my voice low but intense. “I’ve called you multiple times.”

Emma stared at me with an expression I’d never seen before-distant, almost clinical, as if she was examining a particularly disappointing

specimen.

“Did you need something?” she asked, her voice flat and detached.

Her tone caught me off guard. Where was the warmth? The eagerness to please? This cold indifference felt like a personal affront.

“Do I need a reason to call my own girlfriend?” I snapped, irritation building. “What’s with the attitude? Are you still upset because I forgot to

drive you home from the gala? Is that what this is about?”

I shook my head in disbelief. “If you want a new handbag or jewelry as an apology, just say so. I can buy whatever you want. But this silent

treatment is childish, Emma. I thought you were more mature than this.”

Emma raised an eyebrow.

“Interesting. In all the time we’ve been together, I’ve never asked you for a single expensive gift, Nicholas. Not once.” Her voice was calm but

carried an edge I’d never heard before. “Perhaps you’re confusing me e with someone else you’ve been… generous with recently.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I demanded, feeling suddenly off-balance.

“It means I was at Megan’s birthday party the other night,” she said simply “I saw you kissing her.”

I felt my body go rigid, completely blindsided by her words.

My mind raced, desperately trying to recall what happened that night. The drinks had been flowing freely, and I’d been playing a game with the guys about… oh. Shit.

III

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Chapter 10

黃肉44%會

Emma, you misunderstood,” I said, quickly shifting to damage control. “That kiss was just part of a game we were playing. It didn’t mean

anything.

She let out a short, humorless laugh.

Right. And what about the charity gala? Was that a game too, when Megan answered your door wearing nothing but a towel?”

My stomach dropped.

So that was Emma at the door that night? The mysterious knock we’d ignore, thinking it was just staff-it had been her all along.

Now everything made sense: her sudden coldness, the ignored calls, this confrontation. She had actually seen Megan in my room.

“Look, I know how it must have looked,” I said, leaning forward, “but it’s easily explained. Megan had a wine stain on her dress. She came to my

room to clean up and change. Nothing happened between us.”

Emma tilted her head slightly, her expression unchanging. “You always have such convenient explanations, Nicholas. And what about telling

your friends how boring I am? How are you only with me because of family expectations?

I stared at her, momentarily speechless. She’d overheard that, too?

Yes, I’d said those things in the heat of the moment, fueled by too many whiskeys and irritation over Emma giving me the cold shoulder earlier

that day.

But I wasn’t about to grovel and explain myself further. I’d already lowered myself to give her one explanation today.

“You’re overreacting,” I said coldly. “Emma, I’ve been more than patient with this little tantrum of yours, but it’s getting tiresome.”

I expected her to back down, to retreat into that quiet, accommodating persona she always wore. Instead, her eyes hardened, and I noticed a

slight redness rimming her eyelids.

“I’m done pretending, Nicholas,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper but surprisingly steady. * We’re done, Nicholas.*

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