Chapter 116
On the taxi ride home, Emily was watching the scenery outside with great interest when Amelia suddenly tugged at her sleeve.
"Emily, where's that handsome guy who's always with you? How come I haven't seen him?"
She was talking about William, of course.
Emily had been smiling, but her smile froze the moment she heard this.
How should she tell Amelia about William?
When she needed him most, William had disappeared. Although he contacted her later, Emily was extremely disappointed in him and didn't want anything to do with him anymore.
After all, they were from different worlds to begin with. No matter how they met, now that William had left, it was time for them to go their separate ways.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Emily's long silence, Amelia frowned slightly. "Did you two have a fight?"
Emily shook her head and forced a faint smile. "Mom, William has his own things to deal with. He's not here."
"Where did he go?"
"I don't know."
Emily shrugged. "He didn't tell me anything when he left. I only know he had to go take care of something. As for how long he'll be busy or when he'll come back, I have no idea."
Emily had no choice but to lie. She didn't want Amelia to worry about her.
So much had happened over the past few days. Amelia seemed normal on the surface, but she must be under a lot of pressure inside. It was better not to make her worry more.
Amelia stared at Emily for a moment, then nodded. "I see."
Emily breathed a sigh of relief.
But soon, Amelia asked again, "So does that mean he'll come see you when he's done?"
"I guess so."
Emily gave a vague response.
She didn't know if William would come or what that phone call was about, but their connection really should end here.
William had a child, and she had two children — what could there realistically be between them?
Even if something were to happen, society wouldn't accept it, not to mention that William had already abandoned her at a critical moment.
Now, even if William wanted to come back, Emily wasn't willing.
Amelia said nothing more.
From her expression, she probably didn't entirely believe Emily's explanation.
But Emily's attention wasn't on this anymore.
Although Brian had escaped, the whole incident had caused a huge stir, with people discussing it all over the internet.
It was no exaggeration to say that, although Emily wasn't a celebrity, her current popularity was higher than that of many A-list and B-list stars.
After appearing on that reality show, Emily's fame had skyrocketed.
Many people thought Emily would strike while the iron was hot and enter the entertainment industry, but unexpectedly, after recording a few episodes, she left early and went back to being an ordinary person.
But fans loved her too much and followed Emily's account, with many even trying to look for Emily in real life.
There are no secrets in this world. Word got around, and Emily's activities became widely known.
Including when Emily went to the police and when the police raided the Johnson family, there were people who witnessed it firsthand and wanted to post about it online.
In those days, Emily was too worried about Amelia to deal with it, and now that Amelia was back, she had missed the best time to handle these matters.
Whatever. Just let people talk about it online.
Emily told herself.
Once people's enthusiasm died down, even if she did nothing, the matter would fade away on its own.
The internet is always like this — when a hot topic appears, people love to talk about it endlessly.
But before long, when a new story breaks, people quickly abandon the previous topic and move on to the next one.
This was nothing new, and Emily wasn't too worried.
Now, except for Brian still not being caught, Emily had no other worries.
Tomorrow, she could go back to work at the funeral home, with the two kids looked after by Amelia.
This time, Emily was extra careful and locked the door from the outside, which gave her peace of mind.
Anyway, Rodolfo had said Emily only needed to work half a day, morning or afternoon — her choice — and she could spend the rest of the time at home with Amelia and the kids. It was all very considerate.
Emily was extremely grateful to Rodolfo.
The mother and daughter returned home, and Emily made a special trip to the supermarket to buy lots of groceries.
So many bad things had happened recently that she planned to cook a good meal to help Amelia recover and to comfort the two kids, so they wouldn't feel anxious or traumatized.
Emily also bought a big lock to use the next day when she went to work — she would lock the door from outside to make sure no one could get in when she wasn't home, and the people inside couldn't get out either.
Although it was a bit unfair to Amelia and the two kids, this was undoubtedly the safest approach. She would take Amelia and the kids out for some fresh air after she got back.
Emily carried bags large and small as she hurried home from the supermarket.
When she took the elevator to her floor and turned the corner, she saw a familiar figure standing at her door — it was William.
"Emily!"
Seeing her return, William called out joyfully and quickly walked toward her.
Emily froze in place.
It was too sudden — someone who had disappeared for several days now appeared in front of her without warning, catching her completely off guard.
"Emily, I'm back."
William's expression was as calm as ever, but his eyes were filled with barely contained excitement.
"I'm sorry. So much has happened these past few days."
"But I came back this time to explain everything to you. I believe you'll understand once you hear me out."
"Come on, let's go inside and talk."
William naturally took the bags from Emily's hands and was about to lead her inside. Emily didn't move.
William turned and saw her staring at him blankly, and his heart softened.
"I'm sorry."
He lowered his eyes and apologized softly.
"Something happened to me these past few days, so I couldn't help you in time. You must be very upset."
"But I had my reasons. Let's go inside first, and I'll explain everything from beginning to end."
It hadn't been easy for William to make this trip.
Tony hadn't wanted him to leave. William's injuries hadn't fully healed — even now, his wounds still hurt. If he moved too much, there was a risk they would tear open again.
He had lost too much blood over the past few days and looked extremely pale. When he saw Emily, he was so happy that the blood rushed to his face, which made him look flushed.
But now, seeing Emily's attitude, it felt like a bucket of cold water was thrown over his head. The joy in his heart quickly faded, and his face turned vaguely pale again.
William didn't know if Tony would discover he'd left. If Tony found out he was gone, he would surely search for him everywhere.