Chapter 166 Find a Man Who Loves You
Emma helped Nicholas inside, where warmth instantly enveloped them both.
She wrung out a hot towel and carefully, meticulously wiped away the snow from his face and hair.
The bitter cold radiating from his body finally began to dissipate.
As she started to move away, he nervously gripped her wrist. "Emma, don't go."
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm just making you some noodles. Wait here for me." Her voice was gentle, soothing.
He nodded and reluctantly released his hold.
She disappeared into the kitchen, returning quickly with a steaming bowl of noodles.
"Here, eat this." She set the bowl before him and placed chopsticks within his reach.
"Be careful, it's hot."
He lowered his head, bringing a forkful of noodles to his mouth with that bone-deep elegance that never left him.
Even though he could no longer taste anything.
He ate with apparent relish, completely focused.
After finishing half the bowl, he paused and gently pushed it toward her.
"Emma, you eat too."
"Okay." She picked up his fork and began eating from his bowl.
She deliberately slurped the noodles loudly.
"Mmm, delicious! I'm getting better at cooking!"
The comment made him smile.
But her eyes betrayed her, tears falling like broken pearls into the broth below.
After the meal, she helped him upstairs.
In the bedroom, she brought a basin of hot water, intending to help him wash.
She reached out, unbuttoning the first button of his shirt, then the second...
When his shirt fell open, she froze completely.
On his chest, over his heart, was a tattoo: Emma.
Around the lettering wound a blooming lily, with two small red hearts dangling from the leaves below.
The red and white ink was stark against his pale skin, breathtakingly vivid.
Her fingers trembled.
He suddenly pressed his hand over the tattoo, covering it completely.
Looking at her with complete seriousness, he said, "Emma, I will never forget you in this lifetime."
"Never. I won't allow myself to."
"Okay." Her voice was thick with unshed tears.
She took the cloth and slowly wiped his face, from his sculpted brows to his nose to his lips...
She'd never imagined they would face such a day—time hadn't aged them, yet they could only wait for death.
She forced back her tears, swallowing them again and again.
After washing, they lay in bed.
He held her tight against him as before, his chin resting against her forehead.
"Emma, I'm leaving Harrison Group to you."
"I'm sorry for the burden."
Her throat tightened as she buried her face in his chest, whispering softly, "Okay."
He paused, then continued, "Tell Grandpa I'm on a business trip overseas. Don't let him know the truth."
"Okay." Her heart trembled, though she feigned composure.
He sighed, his palm gently stroking her hair.
"Emma, promise me you'll find a man who truly loves you. Make sure he really cherishes you before you marry him."
Even now, he was still worried about her.
He was no longer the obsessive, possessive Nicholas—he simply wanted her to have a peaceful, happy future.
"Okay." She could only manage that one word, biting her lip until it turned white.
She reached out, interlacing their fingers and holding tight.
His arm around her shoulders tightened, pulling her deeper into his chest.
She pressed her ear against him, listening to his heartbeat.
Once, twice...
Neither dared sleep, afraid that if they closed their eyes and opened them again, time would have slipped away completely.
They didn't even dare breathe too loudly, afraid they might shatter these final moments.
The next morning, Nicholas woke with his mind completely blank, empty.
He stirred and felt something soft and fragrant in his arms.
Alarm bells went off in his head.
He threw back the covers and violently shoved the figure beside him off the bed.
The impact of hitting the wooden floor created a dull thud.
Emma was jarred awake by the brutal force, her right side slamming hard against the floor, pain shooting through her bones.
Before she could react, the man on the bed was sitting up, his devastatingly handsome face twisted with disgust and rage.
"Someone get in here!" Nicholas roared. "Throw this bed-crawling woman out!"
The door burst open as Charlie rushed in with two black-suited bodyguards.
"Mr. Harrison!"
Charlie saw Emma on the floor and his face went pale. He quickly moved to help her up.
"Mrs. Harrison, are you hurt?"
Emma's eyes filled with tears of pain. Wearing Nicholas's oversized shirt, her long, slender legs exposed, she looked both disheveled and vulnerable.
She shook her head.
Nicholas's fury burned hotter, his eyes vacant but cold as ice.
"Who let her in here?"
"I don't care who she is—I want her permanently gone from Emerald City."
Charlie's scalp prickled with fear as he tried to explain.
"Mr. Harrison, please calm down. This is Mrs. Harrison, your wife."
Nicholas's mouth curved into a smile of pure mockery.
"My wife?"
"I'm not even married. Where would I get a Mrs. Harrison?"
Charlie cursed silently, 'This crazy bastard.'
Emma's face went white. No—his mind was scrambled again.
She pulled away from Charlie's support, her voice trembling but trying to stay calm.
"Mr. Harrison, I was wrong."
"You don't need to lift a finger—I'll leave myself."
She turned and ran, not even bothering with slippers, racing out barefoot.
The door slammed shut with such force that even Nicholas flinched.
He sat on the bed, brow furrowed, lost in thought for a moment.
His furious expression suddenly shifted to confusion.
"Emma..."
"Where's my Emma?"
Like a child who'd lost his favorite toy, panic flooded his face as he rushed toward the door.
"Emma! Where are you?"
He crashed straight into the door frame.
Charlie jumped forward to steady him.
"Mr. Harrison!"
But Nicholas seemed not to hear. He suddenly pressed both hands over his heart.
His beautiful face contorted in agony, veins bulging on his forehead as cold sweat beaded his skin.
His body went limp, and he collapsed unconscious.
Charlie was terrified, catching Nicholas as he fell and screaming toward the door.
"Mrs. Harrison!"
Emma came running back in.
"Nicholas, Nicholas." She rushed to the bedside, calling his name.
The man on the bed lay with eyes closed, his handsome face drained of all color, unresponsive to her calls.
He was unconscious.
A massive panic seized her heart.
Her trembling hands shakily reached toward his chest.
Beneath the fabric, his chest was warm, but that familiar, strong heartbeat was gone.
Deadly silence.
"His heart's stopped."
The words escaped her lips, her voice shaking as if all strength had been drained from her body.
She trembled violently, her mind going completely blank.
"Quick, call the doctor!" She spun toward Charlie, who stood frozen in the doorway, and screamed.
Charlie snapped into action like someone had hit a switch, scrambling out of the room.
Soon after.
Three doctors with nurses pushed emergency equipment into the room at a run.
"Cardiac arrest!"
"Prepare defibrillation!"
"Epinephrine!"
The doctors spoke rapidly, moving with practiced efficiency as the room filled with suffocating tension.
She paced back and forth outside the door, each step like walking on knife blades.
Even breathing brought sharp pain as she prayed silently over and over.
After about half an hour.
The door that had separated life from death suddenly opened...