Chapter 155
Sophie sounded like she had a point.
What Nola hoped for most was that Emily would find a decent guy right here in their hometown.
Of course, if she found someone even richer in the big city, that would work too.
At least when the family had expenses or needed money, he could help out.
"Sophie has a point," Nola agreed.
Emily felt upset but there was nothing she could do.
Sophie smiled and said, "Emily is young, pretty, and capable. She won't have trouble getting married. You and Carson don't need to worry."
Nola glanced at Emily and saw her long face, then rolled her eyes. "I'm just afraid once she leaves, she won't want to come back. It's nice out there, but if you're not careful, you'll get fooled. If she'd just listen to me and find a husband back home, that would be perfect."
Emily didn't want to argue with her mother. She picked up her bowl and walked out the back door.
"See, she's really nothing but trouble," Nola said, glaring at Emily's back before turning to smile at Sophie. "You're the sensible one. Getting married early at least gives you someone to rely on. Then have a kid, and life is stable."
Sophie just smiled faintly, not saying much about her own situation.
Nola's mind was entirely on her daughter, so she said to Sophie, "You need to talk some sense into Emily. She just doesn't understand we mean well. Now that she's working out there, she won't listen to me or her dad anymore."
She glanced outside, then leaned closer to Sophie and lowered her voice. "Joshua seems nice. If she can't find anyone better, she should marry him soon. You and Emily are close and in the same city—help me keep an eye on her and get her to make a choice soon. Men change their minds so easily."
"Don't worry, Emily knows," Sophie said, then added, "Joshua isn't the type to be heartless."
"You're not a mother yet, so you don't understand how parents feel. Carson and I just hope Emily finds an honest man to marry and has two kids. That's what life is about."
Sophie didn't agree with this, but she just smiled and nodded.
She also went to the back door and walked out to find Emily with red-rimmed eyes.
"I can understand their thinking, even if I don't agree with it," Sophie sat down beside her. "Actually, you could just not listen to what they say so much. Your parents mean well, they just want you to do things their way. We can't change how they think, we can only stay firm about doing what we want to do."
"Every time I think about how to handle it, how to ignore what they say. But when I actually hear them say those things, I still can't stay indifferent," Emily said, taking a big bite of noodles.
Sophie understood her. "After all, they're your birth parents. There's a bond that can't be broken."
Emily stood up and looked at Sophie. "I've put you in an awkward position."
"How so? I probably shouldn't say this, but I do envy you. At least your parents are here with you. Maybe they don't love you the right way, but they are people who truly care about you."
Hearing this, Emily knew Sophie was hurting inside.
She stepped forward and gently hugged Sophie, patting her shoulder. "I care about you too."
Sophie smiled. "I know."
After breakfast, Emily took them around the village.
It was harvest season, so everyone was pretty busy.
At noon, Emily went home to make lunch.
Joshua and Sophie washed vegetables while Emily did the cooking.
After lunch, Emily's parents rested for two hours before going out again.
Rural life was actually quite busy, but young people who'd been working in cities for years didn't really remember what farm work needed to be done in which season anymore.
Emily and Sophie cleaned up the house. Joshua came in from outside, glanced at Sophie, then said to Emily, "I need to go out for a bit."
"Where are you going?" Emily wasn't trying to track his movements, she just thought he wasn't familiar with the area—what could he need to go out for?
Joshua looked a bit uncomfortable.
Seeing this, Emily stopped asking. "Go ahead then. Come back early for dinner."
"Okay."
Joshua drove off.
"Has Matthew stopped calling you?" Emily asked while cutting meat, planning to make fried pork for dinner.
"No," Sophie answered.
Emily gave a cold laugh. "He really is..."
Sophie didn't care that much. "You get used to it."
"Tell me, is his business trip really for work? Could it be for some woman? It can't be that Victoria who disappeared for years showing up again, right?"
Sophie laughed. "You have quite the imagination."
"No, but haven't you thought about Victoria coming back? She's just missing, not actually dead." The more Emily thought about it, the more possible it seemed. "If he really was on a business trip, wouldn't he at least send you a message?"
Sophie replied, "Even if that were true, what good would it do for me to think about it?"
Hearing this, Emily nodded. "That's true."
Sophie filled the basin with water and said, "There's no point thinking about things that haven't happened. When something does happen, there's always a way to deal with it. I don't really like to imagine things that haven't occurred anymore."
Emily said admiringly, "You really do see things clearly."
"What else can I do?" Sophie shrugged. "We can't change things that are going to happen or outcomes that are already set."
Emily suddenly stared at Sophie. "You're really not afraid of divorce?"
"No, I'm not. Why should I be? From the start, I never thought Matthew and I would be together forever. Anyway, I won't lose out if we divorce."
"If you really do divorce, it'll be like a wish come true," Emily laughed.
Sophie laughed too.
If they divorced, she'd still be a rich woman.
Joshua was gone for a long time. Emily's parents had already come home and he still wasn't back.
Emily called Joshua. He answered.
"When are you coming back? We're about to have dinner." Emily had it on speaker while her hands were busy.
Joshua replied, "I'm on my way back."
Emily could hear the wind through the phone. "Okay. We'll wait for you."
After hanging up, Emily started cooking.
The weather was nice tonight, so Carson moved the table out to the yard, and Sophie brought out the dishes and set them up.
As long as they didn't bring up unpleasant topics, days like this were actually quite pleasant.
All the dishes were on the table. Nola was about to have Emily call Joshua to ask how much longer he'd be when two bright beams of light appeared at the yard gate.
The car stopped. Emily walked out. Joshua got out of the car, and she said, "I was just about to call and ask how much longer you'd be, and here you are. Where did you go for so long?"
Before Joshua could answer, someone got out of the back seat.
After seeing who it was, Emily's mouth dropped open in surprise. She quickly turned around and went back to tell Sophie, "Matthew's here!"