Summary: Being a single mother was sad, but being an expectant mother jilted at the altar was even sadder. Emma Swan thought Neal Cassidy loved her, but in the end it was nothing but hurt and scars that he brought her. Could a devilishly handsome and charming neighbor help her out of her misery? Because fate—or rather, Cupid—had an interesting plan for these two. CaptainSwan AU fanfic. Rated M to be safe.
An Unexpected Neighbor
Chapter One
It was supposed to be the best day of her life. Pregnant with her fiancé's baby, about to get married with the man she loved, she thought she was going to live happily ever after with her Mr. Right. He was the only person that made her let her walls down. She felt comfortable with him. She thought Neal was her happy ending. But she was wrong. She trusted him and loved him with all her heart, but he just didn't love her as much as she loved him.
"Do you take Emma Swan to be your lawfully wedded wife?" asked the pastor. The question was met by Neal's silence. The pastor asked again, as if it wasn't embarrassing enough the first time. Still, Neal didn't answer. Gasps filled the quiet church. Neal looked at Emma with all sincerity and she was puzzled by the look on his face.
"I'm sorry, Em. I just can't do this," he whispered. That was all he said before scurrying for the church doors. He wasn't getting cold feet about marriage. But he was leaving her for her own good. A life with a wanted criminal was not the kind of family their child deserved. He knew Emma wouldn't mind being Bonnie and Clyde as long as they stayed together. But the baby should be taken into account too. He couldn't be thinking for himself only. It would be too selfish to have the baby born to an outlaw father.
The sight of Neal gradually disappeared. The shocked ex-bride-to-be stood at the altar woodenly, trying to make sense of the current situation. Her fiancé, the father of her baby, left her alone on the altar facing astonished guests. She doubted he would come back to her, and the baby. He's gone, for good…
The night of their supposed wedding, Emma sat on her bed alone, fearing what her future might be now that Neal's left her and the baby. Tears drenched the ivory dress she bought for the wedding reception. A dress that would remind her of Neal in the future. But she saw no point not to wear it one last time, symbolizing the end of their relationship. She placed a hand over her stomach, determined to soldier on by herself, at least for the baby's sake. She could raise this baby on her own, without a man's help. As a friendless orphan, she grew up all right. She wasn't the first woman in the world being abandoned by heartless men. Nor was she the only single parent in the world. She could manage this, she told herself strong-mindedly. Although a job in the newspapers business was not ideal for a woman who's about to have a baby, it provided a stable income. An income that would provide her and the baby a comfortable life, she reminded herself.
Emma heard her phone buzzed on the nightstand. She took a look at the screen, Incoming Call: Elsa. Elsa was her colleague and also a dear friend of hers. She supposed Elsa was calling about what happened earlier that day. But she's not ready to talk about it yet so she just ignored the incoming call and concentrated on thinking about what her future could be.
Before she could conjure up some more plans for the future, her stomach growled as if she was starved for days. She threw her jacket over her shoulders and wrapped her neck with her favorite scarf to avoid catching a cold in this freezing winter. Just as she stepped onto the cramped corridor of the apartment corridor, she bumped into a couple holding bottles of beer. The liquid spilled onto her scarf and the woman quickly apologized, but the man seemed to have paid no attention to the incident at all. When she was about to yell at the drunk man, she noticed that the man lived next door, who just moved in two days before. It was her second time meeting him. "Hello to you too, Mr. Jones and your… friend." Emma pretended that she didn't mind the woman's careless behavior, even though the woman ruined her favorite scarf.
"Oh hello, Ms. Swan. Sorry about your scarf. I'll get you another one later. But now…I have some other important business to get to, so if you'll excuse us…" Emma swore she saw him grabbing his lady friend's ass in front of her. The couple then retreated to the apartment next to hers. She thought he was an average guy as a neighbor, but not after what happened tonight. What an SOB, Emma thought. And she shrugged off the encounter with her nasty neighbor and made her way to the elevator.
Later that night when Emma came back to the apartment after dinner, she was exhausted. She could literally fall asleep when she's on her feet. After a quick shower she prepared herself for bed. But thanks to the thin walls of this apartment complex, she couldn't sleep, not at all. Her neighbor was making a lot of noise with his friend. All she heard all night was the woman's voice begging for more and faster. Gosh, she hated hearing people having sex. But this went on for hours and hours. Shouldn't they know other people need to sleep? But he did have great stamina; she would credit him with that. Then Emma muttered a curse and covered her ears with her pillow, trying to fall asleep at 4am.
The next day she met her neighbor in the elevator, his lady friend from last night was nowhere near him. She sighed with relief. At least she didn't have to bear his inappropriateness today. She kept scrolling on her phone, pretending to be busy, hoping to avoid any conversation with this man. She occasionally peeped at him when she thought he's not looking. In spite of his very improper behavior the previous night, he was good-looking—no, that would be an understatement—devilishly handsome being the correct description.
"I do apologize, Ms. Swan, for ruining your scarf last night." He sounded so sexy with that British accent when he's sober. And Emma was startled by his courtesy. She thought he was a jerk since they first met. A polite jerk, she summarized. It sounded a little hypocritical when you offended someone when you're drunk and politely apologize for it the next day.
But she decided not to be so judgmental by saying anything rude. So she just accepted his apology with a smile—the kind of smile which you put on when you didn't want t hurt others' feelings—and added, "it's…fine." But it was not fine. That scarf was Neal's present for her celebrating their first month anniversary. It was something she loved and cherished.
"I promise I'll pay for the dry cleaning or even get you a new one when the stain won't come off."
"It's fine, really." Money couldn't buy everything. Everyone should know that. It wouldn't make her feel better if he bought her a new scarf. It could never replace what the old one represented. The elevator chimed and the doors gradually opened, allowing Emma to hurry out as quickly as she could, and soon after the blonde disappeared into the busy street of New York.
Looking at the sight of Emma Swan's back, Killian started to take a liking to this stunning woman. Perhaps one day, he imagined, they could be the perfect couple that everybody envied. He would do anything do have her fall for him. When he set his mind on something, he aimed to get.