Chapter 45 Don't You Want Me as a Person?
Matthew's private estate was as heavily guarded as a fortress. Several black-clad bodyguards stood at attention, eyes straight ahead.
Suddenly, a figure burst through the side door.
Jack clutched a girl tightly in his arms, moving quickly.
The girl's face was deathly pale, with striking purple-red strangulation marks on her neck that were shocking to see.
Jack shoved her into a waiting car, the engine roared, and the vehicle shot out like an arrow, disappearing in a cloud of dust.
Behind the floor-to-ceiling windows on the second floor, Matthew stood quietly.
Only after the car had vanished did he slowly reach out and draw the heavy curtains closed.
The moment the curtains met, the cloudiness in his eyes cleared, returning to cold lucidity.
His episodes were becoming less frequent now. The remaining toxins in his body were almost completely cleared; he was just waiting for Emma to prepare that tube of reagent No. 13.
The sudden ring of his phone cut through the indoor silence.
Matthew lowered his gaze and glanced at the name flashing on the screen.
Almost instantly, a corner of the ice in his eyes quietly melted.
He swiped to answer without the slightest hesitation.
"Matthew! I did it! I succeeded!"
Emma's voice came through the phone, filled with barely contained excitement and a hoarseness from exhaustion.
"This time it really worked—no adverse reactions at all! None whatsoever!"
Matthew's previously rigid posture seemed to relax slightly.
The last traces of coldness in his eyes were completely replaced by warmth, and his voice softened accordingly.
"Congratulations, Emma. That's fantastic!"
"Wait for me, I'm heading back to the office now. I'll celebrate with you tonight! We absolutely have to celebrate!"
"No need, Matthew, let's do it another day." Emma's voice carried obvious fatigue.
"I... I can't handle it anymore. I've been working in the lab for three days and nights straight. Right now I just want to go home and get some proper sleep."
"Alright." Matthew immediately agreed. "Then go home and rest right away, don't push yourself."
He had almost never refused any of her requests!
"You haven't been around these past couple days. Did your condition flare up again? I made you a serum—it's in incubator 9, try it."
Her words carried concern for him.
"Okay."
After hanging up, he seemed to still be savoring her gentleness.
...
That evening, as dusk settled in.
Evelyn was frantic with worry, still unable to reach Emma. She bit her lip and directly called Nicholas.
The moment the call connected, her emotions found an outlet.
"Nicholas! Where have you hidden Emma?"
A cold, mocking laugh came through the receiver. "She's your friend, and you can't find her, so you're asking me? Evelyn, aren't you being a bit ridiculous?"
Evelyn was so angry she spoke without thinking.
"Ridiculous? I think you're the ridiculous one! What a stellar husband you are! Besides that pathetic bedroom business, can you even be called a man? Do you know what's happened to her? Do you care about her safety at all?"
The call was abruptly disconnected.
Nicholas gripped his phone, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
The pressure around him dropped to terrifying levels, his expression grim.
...
At seven PM, Emma walked out of Moore Group, breathing in the fresh air. Even the air seemed sweet.
Because she had done it—she'd created the most important serum.
This serum would save so many people.
At eight PM, Nicholas arrived at Emma's apartment door.
He had originally had Charlie make restaurant reservations, but Emma had directly refused to meet him.
She'd only left him with one message: if he had something to discuss, he could come find her!
Fine, so he had come!
Emma went to answer the door. The person standing outside made her frown.
Nicholas?
"Mr. Harrison, what brings you here?" Her voice revealed no emotion.
Nicholas didn't answer. His gaze moved past her, looking into the apartment.
"Emma, I have something to ask you."
As he spoke, his hand was already pushing the door open, walking in uninvited with smooth, natural movements, as if this were his own home.
His steps stopped beside the small dining table.
Two dishes were set on the table.
The vegetable and fruit salad looked healthy, and the freshly pan-seared steak was still steaming.
A fork was still resting on the edge of the bowl, clearly untouched.
"You haven't eaten yet?" he asked.
"Obviously not." Emma closed the door, her tone carrying barely perceptible sarcasm.
Nicholas brazenly pulled out the chair across from her and sat down.
"I haven't eaten either." He paused, then added, "I was planning to take you out to dinner, but you wouldn't come out, so I had to come here."
The implication was crystal clear—he intended to mooch this meal.
Emma walked to the table without looking at him.
"Say what you need to say quickly."
She just wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.
Nicholas, however, made himself completely at home. He picked up the fork from the table and took a bite of salad.
He chewed a few times.
"Not bad." He commented, then speared a piece of beef and put it in his mouth.
His movements were so quick that Emma couldn't even stop him in time.
He swallowed the food in his mouth and looked up at her. "How about we eat and talk?"
Emma was almost laughing with anger.
How had this man become so shameless? This meal wasn't even prepared for him.
She took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and sat across from him.
"Whatever you need to say, say it quickly." Her voice was cold and hard.
Nicholas set down his bowl and wiped his mouth with a napkin, taking his time.
He studied her, that probing gaze making her uncomfortable.
"I heard you're an orphan." He began, his tone casual but the content sharp. "You came to Emerald City when you were around ten."
He seemed to be making small talk, yet also probing for something.
Emma's expression didn't change at all.
She just looked at him quietly.
An ex-husband, after divorce, coming to his ex-wife's home, eating his ex-wife's dinner, then chatting with her?
What kind of behavior was this?
"Mr. Harrison, if you came here today just to chat, then please leave."
Her voice grew colder. "I have work to do later."
Nicholas acted as if he hadn't heard the dismissal in her words.
He leaned forward slightly, staring intently into her eyes.
"Emma, why did you originally marry into the Harrison family?"
She was momentarily stunned, a bit speechless, but still answered seriously, "Of course it was to get your family's money. What else?"
This rhetorical question clearly displeased him. Nicholas obviously heard the dismissiveness in her response.
He countered, "Wasn't it because you wanted me as a person?"
Emma was speechless.
"Emma, when we were children, did we know each other?"
He finally asked that question.
"No, we didn't!"
Her cold answer came with a slight tremor in her voice, but her tone was resolute.
It was all in the past.
That path filled with thorns and blood and tears—she didn't want to look back at it anymore.
She had spent three years with him, and he had never wanted to understand her.
If he had asked her before, she definitely would have told him this story.
But now, there was no need!
The phone rang, breaking the current calm.
Emma picked up the phone and answered Evelyn's call.
After listening to the call, her face turned pale. She hung up and sat there gripping the phone, looking like she might crush it.
Nicholas clearly sensed the change in her emotions. "What happened?"
A crisp slap landed on Nicholas's handsome face!