Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 198

Even though they were safe now, Emma couldn’t stop trembling. The fear still lingered, and her nerves hadn’t settled. When Sebastian asked if she was okay, she nodded, but her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Her wrist, the spot where Sebastian had grabbed her earlier, was still red and tingling with pain.

“How did you end up here?” Emma’s voice held a mix of disbelief and curiosity.

As it turned out, it was the height of redberry season in the neighboring state. The fruit itself wasn’t anything fancy, but Sebastian’s mother loved them, and despite all the conveniences money could buy—especially for someone like Mrs. Remington—Sebastian preferred to pick them by hand every year and deliver them to her himself. It was his way of showing he cared.

So, last night, he’d gone out to the redberry orchards himself, picking the freshest ones into the early hours. By morning, he’d driven back to Cresthaven, bought a ticket for a midday flight back to Capital City, and then paused. He’d thought of Emma, figured he might as well drop off a couple of crates for her to try. But when he got to her building and called, no one answered.

Coincidentally, as he was about to give up, someone came out of the elevator carrying a big box. Sebastian, with his arms full of redberries, slipped inside.

He had a rough idea of which floor Emma lived on. It might’ve seemed a little forward to just show up, but the berries wouldn’t last long, and even if she wasn’t home, he could always leave them with her housekeeper to put in the fridge.

But getting upstairs wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped.

Just then, a kid who lived two floors below Emma came in and swiped his keycard for the elevator. Sebastian rode along for part of the way, then took the fire stairs for the rest.

He kept calling Emma as he climbed, but she never picked up, though he could hear her ringtone from inside her apartment. He stood at the door and called her name for ages, but no answer. Something felt wrong.

That’s when he noticed the takeout still sitting by her door, untouched. It clicked—something was off. The two guys he’d seen leaving the elevator with that big appliance box—one of them had been wearing a delivery uniform.

Heart pounding, he rushed downstairs and ran outside, but the two men were already gone.

He asked around at the shops just outside the complex. One store owner remembered someone in a delivery uniform loading a big box into a car and driving away.

So, with her hands behind her back, she returned the signal—she understood the plan.

After listening to Theodore and the gang rant, and as Cecilia was shoved toward Theodore and the kidnappers let their guard down, Sebastian flashed the signal again, letting her know he was ready. Emma hurled herself backward, arms outstretched. At the same moment, the upside-down Sebastian caught her by both arms.

They moved as one—her muscles remembered the routine. With his help, she flipped in the air, landing clumsily but safely on his back. After all these years, the movement was shaky, but it worked. And Sebastian had thought of everything—even tying a safety net on the tenth floor. If she’d fallen, she’d have landed safely.

“Come on, let’s get you back to your apartment. Then I’ll go out and pick up a few things for you,” Sebastian said gently.

“You… aren’t you supposed to be heading back to Capital City?” Emma asked. If his flight was at noon, he’d definitely missed it by now.

“Doesn’t matter. I already missed it. I’ll just catch one tonight.” He flashed a grin, teeth bright and dazzling in the sunlight.