Chapter 137 Love Changes Everything

Chapter 137 Love Changes Everything
Alexander's POV:

I had barely taken two steps when I heard the soft, rhythmic breathing coming from behind me. Emma had fallen asleep on my back, her cheek pressed against my shoulder, her arms loosely draped around my neck. I couldn't help but smile as I continued walking toward the beach.

The moment we reached the sandy shore, Bill sprang into action, directing the security team to prepare lounge chairs. I gently lowered Emma onto one of them, taking care not to wake her. I grabbed a plush beach towel and draped it over her sleeping form, making sure she was comfortable.

"Alexander, marrying Emma might be the smartest decision you've ever made," Bill said, taking a seat next to me. Though he was my assistant, we often spoke like friends in private moments like this.

"Don't you think she's too rebellious?" I asked quietly.

"Rebellious, sure. But show me a woman who isn't," Bill replied with a knowing smile. "They just express it differently. Emma wears her emotions on her sleeve. Girls like that have sunshine in their souls."

"Emma doesn't have a malicious bone in her body," I agreed, nodding slowly. "No matter how angry she gets, she'd never stab someone in the back. Everything she does is right out in the open."

"Many people admire Emma for that," Bill continued. "Everyone at the company says that even though Emma was born with a silver spoon, she's not spoiled."

"What do you think?" I asked, keeping my expression neutral.

"I agree completely. Sure, Emma ends up at the police station every other day, but she can handle trouble as well as she can cause it. That's her superpower." Bill shook his head with a wry smile.

"Alexander, your temperament has changed considerably since you married Emma," Bill observed. I turned my head slightly, silently encouraging him to continue.

"When I think back to your relationship with Sophia, even when you were at your closest..." Bill paused, choosing his words carefully. "I never once saw you carry her on your back."

"You never ate her leftover food or drank from her cup or glass either."

"But with Emma, you eat her leftovers every day and finish her coffee without a second thought."

"You used to strictly avoid high-calorie fried foods, but just earlier, you ate everything Emma couldn't finish, down to the last crumb."

I reflected silently on Bill's words, realizing that my habits had indeed changed dramatically since Emma had entered my life.

"Remember when Sophia got into that argument and ended up at the police station?" Bill continued. "You were in a board meeting and sent me to handle it."

"But when Emma got into a fight and landed in jail, you were in the middle of signing a contract with the government. Instead of sending me, you left me to finish the contract and went to get her yourself."

"That's the difference."

I remembered that day clearly. While running my company in Italy, Sophia had gotten into a confrontation while shopping. I hadn't thought twice about sending Bill to deal with it while I continued my meeting.

But when I'd received the message about Emma—that she'd gotten into a fight over a parking spot and injured someone—I hadn't hesitated for a second. I'd left Bill to handle the government contract signing and driven straight to the police station.

It wasn't that I worried about Emma losing the fight. I worried about her feeling distressed. When I'd arrived at the station and found her sitting in the interrogation room, sipping coffee with her legs crossed and humming a tune, my anxiety had finally subsided.

Seeing me lost in thought, Bill pressed on. "You trained Nicholas and the others in Italy. You were with Sophia for years, and even she didn't know about them."

"Yet you told Emma everything without reservation. That means in your heart, Emma is someone worthy of your complete trust. She's the woman you're willing to turn your back to."

I didn't deny his assessment.

"Whether in Italy or America, whether at Argent or Sterling Group," Bill continued thoughtfully, "no matter how many millions you make, your smile never reaches the heights it does when you're simply sitting with Emma."

"You never even kept snacks in your office before. Since Emma arrived, you actively buy her snacks and drinks."

"Remember in Italy how Sophia would eat in your office? You'd always remind her to go to the break room or cafeteria."

"You said yourself that food odors in an office were disrespectful to others."

"Alexander, would you call this a double standard?" Bill's eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Continue," I replied, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Do I need to say more?" Bill raised an eyebrow. "Should I mention how you never carried Sophia's purse, but you're constantly helping Emma slip on her shoes?"

"How about the late nights you pulled to accompany Emma to Africa?"

"Or the arguments you had with the board to marry her?"

"The number of people you assign to monitor Vivian twenty-four hours a day to ensure Emma's safety?"

"How you've spent seven figures annually to build America's top secretarial team so Emma can vacation whenever she wants?"

"The fact that you personally decorated the wedding suite and personally selected Ecuadorian roses from global suppliers just to make Emma happy?"

"How you wait until she's asleep every night before getting up to handle North Enterprise documents so she can live carefree?"

"Do I need to continue, Alexander?"

I sat stunned. Had I really done all that? Yet somehow, it still felt insufficient. Emma had grown up with such abundant wealth that houses, cars, and luxury items were just numbers to her. I could only try to do things money couldn't buy.

I had never intended for Emma to know about these gestures. I simply wanted her to be happy—perpetually, carelessly happy—doing whatever she pleased.

"Even Warren doesn't spoil his daughter this much," Bill observed.

"Most men give women what they ask for," he continued. "But you, Alexander? You give Emma everything you can think of, whether she needs it or wants it. You've given her everything you can possibly give."

"Everything except the stars in the sky."

Bill chuckled, and I realized he was amused by the lovesick expression I must have been wearing.

Hearing Bill's words, I furrowed my brow thoughtfully before slowly shifting my gaze to fix it directly on him.

"Alexander, what's wrong?" Bill asked, suddenly alarmed. "You don't mean...?"

I maintained my silence, continuing to stare at him intensely.

"Alright, Alexander. I'll look into which stars have naming rights for sale right now," Bill sighed. He stood up from the sand and headed back toward the hotel.

I turned my gaze back to the sleeping Emma, a smile lingering on my lips. I lay back on the lounge chair, savoring this rare moment of tranquility, watching her peaceful expression as she slept.



"You asshole!"

A furious shout from nearby jolted both Emma and me awake. We sat up on our lounge chairs, turning toward the source of the commotion.