The past few days had been serene. 

Both Emily and James have been quite busy with their jobs. James, more so than Emily, as he was also handling some of Justin's work. 

James opted to shoulder some of Justin's responsibilities because his friend and Fiona were still on their honeymoon, enjoying their time together away from work. He didn’t want his friend to handle any work while he was with his wife. 

It was sad enough that Justin had turned his and Fiona's honeymoon into a business trip when they first got married. He didn’t want their fresh start to ruin again. Furthermore, they both deserve to spend some quality time with one another.

Emily rushed to their cabin at three o'clock in the afternoon, just as James was mentally preparing himself for the second half of the day.

"What is going on?" He asked her. She looked a bit distorted.

"I have to go home. ASAP." She informed him. Her forehead creased with worried lines.

"Is everything all right?" He asked her—concern written all over his face.

"I got a call from Mason. For god knows what reason, there is a flood in my house." She answered him. 

Mason is her next-door neighbor, as well as one of her closest friends. He's been a friend of hers since college.

"Shit!" He exclaimed.

"I know. If it isn't too much trouble, could you please possibly cover for me?" Emily asked him, hoping he'd say yes.

"Yeah, of course. Do you want me to come with you?" James asked her. 

He didn’t want her to go alone.

"No. That’s okay. Mason is there to help me through it. I don’t even know the extent of the damage." She told him. She prayed that it wasn’t horrible as it sounded.

"Are you sure?" He asked her again. He didn’t want Emily to be alone while handling the mess.

"Yes! Thanks, though." She told him. She truly appreciated his honest concern.

"Keep me posted and give me a call, if anything," James told her sincerely.

"Yes, thank you so much, James." Emily hurried home after James' response.

“Don’t mention it.” He gave her a nod with a slight smile on his face.

James was continuously checking his phone for updates from Emily, but there were none. He wasn't sure whether to call her because he didn't want to appear overly concerned, but he was. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was six-thirty. He couldn't take it any longer and dialed Emily's number.

"Hey." She picked the first ring. 

Her voice, though, was low. She sounded upset.

"Are you okay?" He asked her. 

"Yup." She said it in one word, in the same gloomy tone.

"Emily, where are you?" He asked her in worry. 

Her tone was off; instead of being frustrated with the entire world, she sounded drained.

"Home." Again, one-word answer.

"I'm on my way there." He told her. 

Before Emily could have processed his words and protested for the same, he cut the call, not giving her any opportunity to argue. Knowing Emily, she will never ask for help, and to be honest, he didn’t trust her when it came to asking for assistance. 

She is of the worst kind when it comes to asking for help.

He appeared in front of her apartment flat in less than twenty minutes. The image in front of him when Emily opened the door was not at all appealing.

"Welcome to Aqua Land." Emily gave him a phony grin as she greeted him. 

Her hair was in a messy bun, and the bottom of her pants had become wet, with water droplets splattered all over her.

"You look terrible." He commented.

"Not more than my apartment. I look like an angel in comparison to this," She said to him, trying to ease her own mood.

"Well, in comparison to anyone, you will be an angel to me. But what exactly happened here?" He asked her as he walked in. 

Mason was already there with a mop in his hand, trying to clean the mess.

Emily was beyond frustrated, but his first statement didn’t go amiss by her, but she chose not to comment on it. How could she when it made her heart skip a beat? 

Instead, she said, "The God of Water decided to honor her presence in my home." 

James shook his head in amusement and decided to help her by taking the mop from her hand. 

"James, go home. You don’t need to be part of my mess." She muttered it tiredly while attempting to wrest the mop from his grasp. 

He shouldn’t be cleaning up her mess. But he just kept pulling it away before she could even touch it. 

“James, seriously. You don’t need to sign up for this. Just go home.”

"Too late. So what is the damage?" He asked her, trying to soak the leftover water dispersed in her home.

"Everything," Emily said, looking briefly around her house. She gave a loud sigh.

"Emily…" James took her name softly, but Mason cut James off and backed Emily. 

“She is not exaggerating."

"Really?" He asked them in surprise.

"Yes, the pipe has burst, and water is gushing from everywhere. And for some reason, her ceiling is leaking as well. So, it is safe to say that it is not a mess, but a disaster." Mason explained.

"You cannot stay here, Emily," James told her right away.

"It is not that big of a deal. I have called the plumber and the repairman. They'll take care of it. Fortunately, we have insurance, so it must cover most of the expenses." Emily informed him, trying to dismiss the idea of staying somewhere other than her home.

"Plus, the secretary of the building has called for a structural audit just to be on the safe side," Mason added.

"All the more reason for you to leave this place. At least, for the time being." James told her. 

He didn’t like the notion of her staying in this place. It could be dangerous, and he would forever regret it and not forgive himself if anything happened to her.

"Emily, he is not wrong. It will be better if you shift somewhere else temporarily. You can stay with me." Mason offered.

"No, Mason. You already have your cousin who will be staying with you for a while, and I don’t even know how long this is going to take." Emily didn't want to be a pain in anyone's neck. 

And it's not that big of a deal.

James brushed off her and laid his thoughts out in the open. "You won't be able to stay at Justin and Fiona's old home as Justin has already rented it out, so that place is out of the question. Do you have any other places where you can crash?" 

He didn’t mind offering his place to her but knew that she would not agree. They would need to lay their cards all open.

"Well, I could go to Jake and Katie's, but after a long time, they have got some alone time, so I really don't want to bother them. Other than that, I cannot think of any place where I could crash. And don’t you dare judge me because it is no surprise that I don’t have many friends and I am not going to ask someone to help me. I will stay in a hotel if that will help the two of you to sleep at night." Emily declared. 

It was the best solution she could come up with. Even though it will drain some portion of her pocket, but then a few days of living in the hotel won’t do any harm.

"No. You can stay with me." James told her. 

It made little sense for her to stay in the hotel and unnecessarily add expenses to her account.

Emily was staring at him like he was a man with two heads. "It's nice of you to offer, James, but it's not required."

"Emily, it is stupid to stay in the hotel when you can crash at mine. Don’t be nuts. I have a house with an extra room, so you are welcome to stay as long as you want." James tried to convince her.

"I am not sure, James." Emily was in two minds. 

She didn't want to impose on him. She is not, however, a billionaire. It will be more convenient and cost-effective to stay with him.

Mason's words, though, persuaded her. "It’s a good idea, Em. You will be safe there. And you guys are dating, so it will be good for your ruse. Look, it is decided. You only have two options. You have to stay either with James or with me. The choice is yours."

"But…" Before Emily could express her anxiety, James approached her and gently gripped her shoulder. 

Whenever James does this, Emily feels calm, as if he will never let anything wrong happen to her. He is always going to be there for her.

"Emily, don’t think too hard about it. My home is not far from here. It is big enough for the two of us. Moreover, I understand we don’t know each other that well, but I am not a pedophile. I am not going to try anything on you." James attempted to reassure her.

"I know that, James. I don't want to impose unnecessarily." Emily explained.

"You won't, I promise." He said with a smile.

"Are you absolutely sure about it? I don’t want to be a burden on you." Emily said. 

She really wanted him to be a hundred percent on board with this.

"Yes, I am. I promise." He said this in the hopes that she would agree to live with him.

"Okay, I will stay with you." She said to him with a small smile.

Mason was elated that Emily agreed. He had not met James many times, but he seemed like a decent guy. 

"Great then. Em, I will contact the plumber and ask him to start working tomorrow. I'll be on hand to keep an eye on things. So there's no need to be concerned."

"You are the best, Mason," Emily told him gratefully.

"Thank my boss for allowing me to work remotely for the next two weeks." He told her with a chuckle.

"Em, we should start packing your belongings. Don’t forget to grab all the valuable items for its safety." James told her.

"Got it. I will pack everything and move in with you tomorrow." Emily said.

"Tomorrow?" He asked her with a frown.

"Yes, I will stay at Mason's today, and he can help me with packing. And then I will move in with you tomorrow." Emily said.

"Fair enough. So want to order dinner?" James suggested. He was hungry now.

"Yes!" Mason exclaimed, causing Emily to laugh. 

She was relieved to have these two idiots by her side in her hour of need.