Chapter 37
The car slowly drove away, kicking up a cloud of dust at the courtyard gate before finally disappearing at the end of the road.
Emily stood at her doorstep, feeling completely drained of energy.
She raised her hand and tremblingly pulled out a key card from her bag.
Emerald Oasis Hotel, Room 8808.
These words felt like a curse, spinning wildly in her mind.
Tonight at 8 PM—if she didn't go, that bastard James would really show up at the kindergarten after school started and tear apart the children's last shred of dignity in front of everyone.
Though the two children were young, they were sensitive.
If they were labeled as "bastards," Emily was terrified they would live in that shadow for the rest of their lives.
But if she went...
Emily closed her eyes as two silent tears rolled down her cheeks.
Even though she had no other choice right now, she absolutely would not give in to James.
Since James wasn't giving her any other options, Emily would tear open a path from the choices he gave her and make him understand that messing with her came with a price.
Emily calculated in her mind, having already made up her mind.
She took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, straightened her disheveled clothes, and tried to make herself look normal.
She couldn't let the children see through her—absolutely not.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, Emily had just walked into the living room when she saw Nina and Aiden sitting on the sofa watching TV.
Hearing the sound, both children immediately turned around.
"Mommy!" Nina happily rushed over and hugged her legs. "You're finally back! Did that bad man bully you?"
This morning, when she left, Nina happened to see her.
Of course, she also saw James, which explained her question.
Emily crouched down, suppressing the pain in her heart, and touched Nina's soft hair, forcing a gentle smile. "No, I'm fine. I just talked to him about work stuff."
"Work?" Aiden stood to the side, somewhat unconvinced, but seeing that Emily didn't seem too different, he slowly let go of his worry.
Emily nodded, her smile as usual, though her tone was slightly rushed. "Of course, why would I lie to you? Are you hungry? I'll go make you something to eat."
After saying this, she hurried into the bedroom, as if escaping from something.
The moment the bedroom door closed, Emily leaned against it and could no longer hold herself up, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor.
In the living room, Nina looked at the tightly closed bedroom door, her little face full of worry.
She tugged at Aiden's hand and said quietly, "Mommy seems to be lying. She looks a bit sad."
Aiden nodded, his eyes darkening slightly. "That man definitely has bad intentions. We need to think of something."
The two children looked at each other, unable to think of any solution for the moment.
"I'm going to call Godmother." Nina's eyes suddenly lit up, and then she skillfully went to search through Emily's bag.
"Mommy's phone has Godmother's number. We'll ask Godmother for help."
The godmother she mentioned was Evelyn.
Though Aiden didn't know who this godmother was, he nodded along anyway.
As they turned around, they noticed that Emily had forgotten to take her bag with her when she went in.
Nina skillfully climbed onto the sofa, picked up the bag, unzipped it, and started looking for the phone.
"We shouldn't be doing this," Aiden said hesitantly.
Nina paused in her searching, her little face falling. "I don't want to either, but I don't want Mommy to get hurt even more."
She knew she shouldn't be a bad kid who went through other people's things.
But right now, besides telling Evelyn about this, she couldn't think of anyone else to ask for help.
Seeing Nina looking a bit sad, Aiden quickly comforted her, and the two searched together.
The phone was quickly found in the outer pocket of the bag.
But when taking out the phone, Nina's small hand touched something hard and cold.
Unable to resist her curiosity, she pulled it out.
It was a beautifully made card with a picture of a magnificent hotel lobby and a string of gold-embossed numbers—8808.
"What's this?" Nina held the key card, somewhat puzzled.
Aiden leaned over to look, his pupils contracting.
He had traveled with William for business before and stayed in hotels, so he had seen what key cards looked like.
"This is a hotel card, a place where people sleep."
Hearing Aiden's explanation, Nina was even more confused. "But why would Mommy go sleep somewhere else?"
Aiden couldn't figure it out either.
This time, he didn't wait for Nina to ask Evelyn for help. He directly grabbed the key card and pulled Nina's hand toward William's room next door.
As soon as Nina entered, she went straight to the bed and moved close to William, chattering non-stop.
"Please, you have to save my mommy."
Hearing Nina's words, William was confused.
Didn't Emily go to work? How come now the two children were saying William needed to save her?
Seeming to notice his confusion, Aiden added from the side, "We just found a hotel key card in Mommy's bag. She left with that bad man this morning. I'm really worried about her."
Compared to Nina, Aiden's explanation was much clearer and more direct.
As he spoke, he handed the key card to William.
William's eyes were still recovering, but he could see things clearly up close.
He looked down at the key card in his hand, his brow furrowing. "Are you sure the bad man gave this to her?"
Faced with his question, both Aiden and Nina shook their heads.
They were just guessing.
William had already formed a plan, but when facing the two children, he still gently reassured them, "Since you don't know who gave this key card to your mommy, you shouldn't suspect her so easily. If she didn't tell you, she must have her reasons. As the children she loves most, shouldn't you trust her?"
Faced with his patient guidance, Aiden and Nina realized they had been too hasty and had told others without getting the facts straight.
Nina hung her little head, and guilt flashed in Aiden's eyes.
William had taught him before not to spread rumors about others without understanding the situation clearly.
But this time, he still failed to do that.
Seeming to notice the children's low spirits, William patted each of their heads. "Don't worry, adults will handle adult matters themselves."