Adam's POV
She blinked.
Then her eyes fluttered open like the soft unfurling of petals in spring.
Emily.
She looked so small and pale, like all the light had drained from her. Amanda, Luca, and I hovered over her, each of us holding our breath like she was made of glass.
She blinked again. Sat up slowly. Her hands brushed across the couch and clutched at her purse. Her eyes flitted around, confused, then dulled into something I didn’t like—like detachment.
She didn’t say a word.
Not to Amanda. Not to Luca. Not to me.
I couldn’t take the silence.
"Emily, hey, take it easy. You fainted back there," I said gently, crouching beside her.
She didn’t even glance at me.
Amanda sat on the armrest. "We were so worried, Em. You just... collapsed."
"I’m fine," she muttered, her voice a hollow echo of itself.
Luca knelt beside me. "We didn’t take you to a hospital because I was able to bring you back quickly. Adam freaked out. He carried you straight out of the party. Didn’t even stop to grab your shoes."
Still, she said nothing.
Amanda touched her hand. "You scared us. Seriously."
Emily looked down, then rose, collecting her phone, her lipstick, her little clutch bag, stuffing them all with frantic energy.
She turned on her heel and made for the door like she couldn’t bear another second in the room.
“Emily!” I shot to my feet, rushing to block the doorway. My body braced against the frame. “Please, wait. Let me explain.”
She stared up at me with eyes that used to sparkle, but now only held tiredness. Hurt. Betrayal.
"That's what you all say," she whispered. "Let me go home."
"No. You saw something out of context. What happened with Tammy... it’s not what you think. I swear."
Her arms fell to her sides. She didn’t even argue. Just stared.
"Luca can tell you. He was there. He knew something was off."
She turned to Luca without a word.
Luca cleared his throat and stepped forward. "I can vouch for Adam. Tammy cornered him. She kissed him before he could even react. I followed her earlier because... she was acting sketchy. I caught one of her friends sneaking out of the bathroom with a phone. Recording stuff."
Amanda’s eyebrows shot up. "What?"
Luca nodded. "I made her delete everything. She was trying to frame Adam. To ruin his relationship. Emily, Tammy said she was going to 'end everything.' She wanted you to walk in. She wanted this to happen."
Emily didn’t even flinch.
"You knew who she was," she murmured to me.
"No," I said quickly. "Not until it was too late. I didn’t even recognize her. Not with the makeup and the lights. Tammy was the last person on my radar tonight."
Emily nodded slowly, like she heard me but didn’t really hear me.
Then she looked up sharply. "What about the bet?"
That stopped me cold.
I blinked. "What bet?"
She squared her shoulders, voice shaking. "Are you betting on me, Adam?"
It felt like someone had kicked me in the chest. "What? No. God, no. Where is this coming from?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Call Steve."
I frowned. "Why?"
"Either call Steve or let me go."
Luca handed me my phone like he’d been expecting this. I swallowed hard, opened my contact list, and tapped on Steve’s name.
The ringing filled the room. Once. Twice.
He picked up on the third.
"Yo, Adam. What’s up, man?"
Emily took a step forward. "Steve, you said something earlier at the prom... about Adam placing a bet on a girl. Susan, right?"
There was a pause on the other end.
"Uh, who is this?"
"It’s Emily," she replied, firm but calm. "Don’t worry, it’s just a clarification. Adam is here, too."
"How... how did you know about that?"
"I overheard you. At the bar. You and Maxwell. I just want to know the truth."
Silence again.
My stomach dropped.
Then he disconnected the call.
Emily lowered my phone slowly and turned to Amanda and Luca.
She just looked at me with the saddest eyes I’d ever seen. The kind of sadness that broke you from the inside out.
"I don’t know what to believe anymore."
Amanda stepped closer. "Emily, I get it. But look at him. He’s freaking out. He loves you."
Emily shook her head. "Love isn’t enough if I have to question everything."
Luca touched her arm. "Tammy wanted to ruin this because she couldn’t stand seeing Adam happy. That’s all it was. Don’t let her win."
Emily sat back down slowly. Her hands trembled.
"Why did this all have to happen tonight?" she whispered. "Everything was perfect... and then it wasn’t."
I dropped to my knees in front of her. "Em, I swear to you, I never bet on you. I don’t even want to imagine a life where I don’t have you in it."
Amanda folded her arms. "Luca and I are in the dark. What bet are you two talking about, Emily?”
She looked into my eyes for a long moment. Then looked away, and turned to her friends. I shut my eyes as she revealed. "Apparently," she said with bitter amusement, "your golden boy is with me because of a bet."
"What?" Amanda and Luca both exclaimed in unison.
Amanda stared at me like I’d just turned into a stranger, and Luca’s fists clenched.