Chapter 48 We are Married
Stepping into the elevator, she held her tablet and draped a yellow tweed coat over her shoulder.
“Ding.”
When the elevator doors opened on the first floor, she was startled.
A dark cluster of figures and one man in white stepped inside.
She took a step back.
Liam, wearing a white shirt, wrapped his arms around her waist the moment he stepped in. Six men with crew cuts followed, dressed in black suits and flanking them on either side.
She tried to pull away, but he tightened his hold.
The elevator doors closed.
“Good morning, Mrs. Hayes,” the group said in unison.
Startled, Emma swallowed hard as she nodded slightly.
“Ding.”
The 28th floor finally arrived.
Liam reluctantly released her.
The moment the doors opened, Emma dashed out.
“Whoa…” A few people outside the elevator spotted the scene and secretly took photos to share in their group chat.
Unknown: \[Wow! The boss is so handsome, and even his guys are hot!\]
Unknown: \[So many men…\]
…
“Pfft…” Emma couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Look. Seriously top-tier. All those muscular guys.”
Iris zoomed in on the photo and studied it over and over.
Emma opened her phone, tapped the image, and noticed two familiar avatars: Daniel and Oliver!
Do these two know Liam?
No wonder I felt something was off during that game.
She sent the photo to Liam.
Emma: \[Pretty handsome.\]
But the message arrived faster than the photo. While it was still uploading, the read receipt popped up.
Liam: \[Hot in bed?\]
Emma: \[…\]
She quickly turned off the screen.
What’s gotten into him lately?
Is he thinking about sex all day?
“Hey, did you notice Lily running upstairs all day?” Iris asked, leaning over to Emma. “Don’t you worry about him?”
“Not at all.” Emma shot her a glance. “If he wanted to get back together, they’d already be together.”
“Aren’t you afraid he might lose control?” Iris pressed.
“My only fear is that the knife by the bed isn’t sharp enough.”
“Ruthless!” Iris remarked.
Not long after, Lily emerged from the elevator, beaming.
“What’s got you so happy? Lily?” An employee who had just come from the lounge area walked with her.
“Dinner with Mr. Hayes tonight,” she declared proudly.
“Wow! Seriously, are you and Mr. Hayes…”
“No way. Stop saying that,” she replied coyly, flicking her shoulder hair, but unable to hide the smile on her face.
The click-clack of high heels grew louder as she approached the office.
“The boss has so many admirers. Yesterday it was Claire, and today he actually asked Lily out.”
“Which one will he pick?”
“He must be married. He’s been wearing that wedding ring for two or three months now.”
“Well, if he’s married, he certainly doesn’t have any sense of boundaries.”
Bored by the gossip, Emma put on her headphones and walked to the design department’s showroom.
…
By the time she got home, Emma was completely drained.
She lay on the first-floor sofa when she heard unfamiliar footsteps echo from upstairs.
Slowly, she sat up and found a girl around twenty years old. Their eyes met, and both froze.
Only then did Emma notice the pink suitcase in the living room.
“Are you Liam’s mistress?” Shock flashed in the girl’s eyes, giving way to disgust.
Emma smiled.
Dragging her weary body, she stood up and stretched.
“Tell me!” Seeing that Emma ignored her, she grew impatient.
“What is it?” Emma asked calmly.
The girl was slightly annoyed.
Emma took a deep breath and picked up her phone to call Liam.
He didn’t answer. Claire called her instead.
“T Bar. Grab a bite before coming over.”
“Got it.”
After hanging up, Emma glanced at the girl.
“Liam won’t be back until late tonight. There’s no spare room here. If you need a place to stay, I’ll have Arthur book you a hotel,” she said. “And I’m not Liam’s mistress. We’re married.”
She emphasized the last sentence earnestly.
“Wait.” The girl descended the stairs.
Emma slung her chain bag over her shoulder and watched the girl approach.
“Move out.” The girl snapped, her face twisting slightly.
“What’s your name?” Emma crossed her arms, a hint of disdain on her face.
“Celeste Wren.”
“Want me to move out?” Emma smiled. “Liam might not agree.”
“Behave yourself. You’re just a mistress,” Celeste snapped.
Ignoring her, Emma turned to leave.
Celeste went upstairs and dumped Emma’s belongings in the middle of the second-floor living room.
…
Emma hailed a taxi.
The moment she slid in, she saw that Liam had called her back.
“What’s up?” he asked on the other line.
“Who’s Celeste?” Emma asked.
“My buddy’s little sister. Did you run into her?”
“Yeah, at the villa. She told me to move out.”
“…”
“What should I do?” she asked, breaking his silence.
“Ignore her. I’ll handle it.”
“Okay.” She hung up.
Liam frowned at his phone while eating.
“Liam.” Lily, sitting beside him, speared a piece of beef with her fork.
He pushed the beef aside without looking.
She gave an awkward smile, relieved that no one else had noticed.
Back then, Daniel asked her if she wanted to have dinner together, and she agreed. The others scolded him for quite a while afterward.
“Daniel, go pick up Celeste,” Liam said.
“Huh? When did she come back? Where is she?”
“At my villa,” Liam replied.
Daniel immediately dropped his cutlery and dashed out.
“Is Celeste back?” Lily asked, following along.
“Yeah. School must be out,” Liam said.
Her expression shifted. Back when she and Liam were together, Celeste often took out her frustrations on her.
Soon, Daniel brought Celeste to their private dining room.
Everyone made room for her as the waitstaff added extra place settings.
“Why not tell us you were back? Celeste.” Oliver asked, guiding her to sit between himself and Daniel. “Why did you head straight to Liam’s place?”
“This year, you’ll stay with Daniel or Oliver. My villa has no spare rooms,” Liam said coldly.
“I’ve always stayed at your place before. I’m used to it, Liam.” Celeste insisted.
Ignoring her, he sipped his drink while texting Emma instead.
Liam: \[Angry?\]
Emma didn’t reply.
He stared blankly at his phone.