Chapter 4: Secrets and Lies

Friday afternoon, Emmett kept his promise and accompanied Rosalie to the secret meadow behind the woods. With her, she brought a few books she was anxious to read. With him, he brought his guitar.

That night, Rosalie was due to go to dinner with Royce, her fifth date with him. She didn't want to go. She didn't want to have anything to do with him. But she knew she had no choice. Her mother would never let her cancel on Royce just because she didn't feel like it. She was banking on Royce proposing in the next few weeks to her daughter. And once that happened, Rosalie would have no escape.

Emmett was lightly strumming on his guitar as Rosalie read, her eyes scanning the pages of War and Peace. There were certain books that were acceptable for her to read, and others that were not. This was one of the ones that was forbidden. Rosalie didn't care, however. She just wanted to be able to read what she wanted. Emmett had given her the ability to do that, and for that she was grateful.

Emmett occasionally would look up as they were sitting outside, smiling as his eyes rested on Rosalie. She looked so happy out here, and he was glad he was the cause of her happiness. Well, he gave her the cause of her happiness.

As Emmett played, he thought of Rosalie and every perfect feature of hers. Today, she had on a red dress that went down to her mid-though with white tights, a matching bow in her hair, and gold jewelry on. He didn't know how she did it, but even when she was coming outside to read, she still looked perfect.

Emmett watched as she tucked a curl behind her ear and turned the page in her book. He knew it was wrong. He shouldn't feel this way about her. She was younger than him. She was out of his league. And he worked for her family.

But he couldn't help it. Everything about her made him go weak at the knees. He was surprised he'd had enough self-control not to tell her how he felt already. He knew he would eventually—he wouldn't be able to help himself. He just hoped she felt the same way, though he doubted it.

Besides, why would she ever want a guy like him when she had rich Royce King III? He was everything a girl could want. He was rich, he was handsome, he was charming, he was—did Rosalie just wipe away a tear?

Emmett concentrated on her face as she read, and watched as, again, she quickly brought her hand to her face, wiping away a tear that had escaped from her eyes.

"Ms. Hale?" Emmett asked, never calling her Rosalie. That wasn't his place. She would always be Ms. Hale to him, sadly. "Are you alright?"

"Me?" she asked, looking up at him, her blue eyes meeting his. "Why wouldn't I be alright?" she asked, laughing nervously. "I'm fine. Completely and totally fine," she said, waving her hand in the air to show how okay she was.

Emmett shrugged his shoulders. "Okay," he said. "I was just checking," he said, turning his face back to his guitar as she continued looking at him.

Rosalie studied the features of his face, wondering what is was about it that drew her to him. He was handsome, of course, but it was more than a handsome face that made her fall in love with him.

He was always kind to everyone, even her. And he had no right to be. She had always been awful to him, acting like she was better than him because he worked for her. Yet he was always as nice as he could be. And sometimes, she swore she caught him staring at her. Could he like her like she liked him?

Rosalie shook her head at that thought. Why would he like her? Besides, she heard talk around the house by the servants that he was seeing Katie, a maid in the house. She was a few years older than Rose, and very pretty. She could see why he liked her. That didn't mean she wasn't jealous.

She didn't know why. She had a boyfriend, a very rich boyfriend who would most likely be her fiancée by the end of the month.

But Emmett was more than a rich guy who would take care of her for the rest of her life. First of all, he wasn't rich. He was poor. After all, he was just a gardener. But he was rich when it came to his heart. He cared for everyone, no matter what. She saw that every day.

Rosalie laid back in the grass, looking up at the sun. She couldn't be thinking like this. It wasn't right. But she knew in her heart she couldn't change how she felt. Not now. Emmett's guitar music was peaceful and calming, the perfect music to think to.

After a few minutes, the music stopped and she heard the sound of the grass rustling. She looked to the side, seeing Emmett lying down beside her, staring up at the sun as well. "You know, I heard you can go blind if you stare at the sun," he said, looking over at her.

"Right, just like you said smoking's going to kill me," she said, rolling her eyes. Emmett let out a laugh, keeping his eyes on her face. She was so beautiful, and he wanted to kiss her. But he saw Royce kiss her the other night. How could he compete with that? Rosalie was falling in love with that jerk, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He watched Rosalie reach down, pulling her cigarettes out of her bag, along with the lighter Royce had given her. He didn't understand why someone who supposedly loved Rose would give her a gift to encourage such a bad habit.

Emmett reached his hand over, pushing the cigarette away from her lips. "Not around me, please," he said. "You can smoke any other time. Just not right now," he said, his eyes meeting hers.

Rosalie stared into his eyes, the most perfect green eyes she had ever seen. And she couldn't help it. She couldn't help what she did next.

Rosalie leaned over and kissed him. She placed her hand behind his neck and pulled him close to her, kissing him full on the lips. She didn't care about Royce or her parents or the fact that Emmett was her garden boy.

She cared about his eyes, how they were the most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen. And how they were the most honest eyes she had ever seen. And how she had so many feelings for him that she couldn't help it. She had to kiss him, if only to know what it felt like.

Emmett hesitated for a moment. She was the daughter of his employer. She was too young for him. She was seeing the guy whose family owned half the town. And yet, she kissed him. Rosalie had kissed him.

To hell with what was proper. Emmett pulled her close, wrapping an arm around her, his hand pressed against the small of her back.

Rosalie placed both hands on his neck, her lips moving with his as her legs tangled with his. This was wrong. She knew this was wrong. And yet, it felt so right. It felt more right than anything had ever felt before.

After awhile, Emmett pulled away from Rosalie's lips, smiling at her. He ran his left hand over her arm, then moved it up to her face, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You're a very good kisser," he said quietly, pressing his lips to hers once more.

Rosalie smiled up at him. "Thank you. You're very good as well," she whispered. She sat up, brushing the grass out of her hair. "Emmett, I don't know what to do," she sighed. "This is wrong. I know this is wrong. But I can't help this. I like you a lot," she whispered.

"And I like you too, Rose," he said, figuring it was okay if he called her that now. They had just been kissing for the past thirty minutes. "But you're with Mr. King," he said quietly.

"Not by my own choice. He's an awful person. I wish I could just forget him, but my mother would murder me. She sees my potential marriage to him as a way for her to increase her own social standing," she sighed. "But he's awful. You weren't there the other day," she said, starting to cry.

"Rose?" Emmett asked, sitting up and putting an arm around her shoulders. "What's wrong? What did he do to you?"

Rosalie shook her head. "I can't. It's so humiliating," she said, her face red. What would Emmett say if she told him what happened. Worse, what would he do?

"Rose, you can tell me. I won't judge you or get mad," he said, pulling her close.

Rosalie looked at him before breaking down. She told him everything. About the woman. About what her father did for her. About what Royce did for her. And what he made Rose do.

She could see Emmett's fist clenching. "I'll kill him," he muttered. "I'll strangle that punk kid until he can no longer breathe," he said in an angry voice.

"Emmett, no," Rosalie said, placing her hand over top of his. "Please don't. He's not worth it," she said, hugging him. Emmett sighed, hugging her and rubbed her back. "You can get revenge on him another way. You have my heart, something he will never have," she whispered.

Emmett looked into her eyes. "What?" he asked.

"I care about you, Emmett. And I want to be with you. For now it has to be a secret, but one day, I'll figure out a way. And we'll leave this place and be together," she promised, kissing him softly. "I've made my choice, Emmett. What's yours?" she asked.

Emmett cupped her face, kissing her lightly. "My choice is you, Rose. You're wonderful. I adore you. I always have. And now that I know you feel the same, there's no way I can go back now," he said.

Rosalie leaned her forehead against his. "So this is a secret, then. I'll pretend to care for Royce. But every time I kiss him, every time I tell him I care for him, it will be your face in my mind."

Emmett smiled, hugging her tightly. "And I'll do everything I can to get us away from here. All my money will go towards getting a house or apartment out of here," he whispered. "One day, you'll be free, Rose. You'll be free from them if it's the last thing I do."

Okay, this was short, but I've been busy. A new chapter should come soon.