Chapter 188 Emma, I Love You
Nina sat beside them, secretly gesturing to Daryl.
'Dad, ask now! Hurry up and ask!'
Daryl caught the signal, cleared his throat, and ventured cautiously.
"Mrs. White, I heard you also have a daughter?"
Luna's smile faded slightly, but she maintained her composed demeanor.
"That's right, I do have a daughter. She was lost for over ten years, and we just found her last month."
She paused, then resumed her enthusiasm.
"On the 6th of next month, I'm planning to host a family reunion celebration for her in Imperial City. I hope Mr. and Mrs. Jackson would honor us with your presence."
"I'll arrange for someone to show you around Imperial City properly."
As she spoke, she looked at Evelyn with warmth.
"Though Imperial City gets quite cold this time of year. Miss Jackson, do you mind the cold?"
Evelyn, who had been silent, suddenly raised her eyes, her tone cold.
"Very much."
"I can't stand being in places that are too cold. I have no intention of traveling so far."
One sentence, conversation over.
Daryl kicked her under the table in anger, hissing under his breath, "What are you saying?!"
Meanwhile, Emma had frozen completely.
She stared at Luna intently, her mind buzzing.
So it was her.
Earlier at Harrison Manor's side parlor, the woman who had spoken about wanting an alliance with the Harrison family, wanting to marry her daughter to Nicholas—it was this woman right in front of her!
The warmth and affection she'd just begun to feel instantly vanished, plummeting into an abyss.
Just then, Luke, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke, his gaze burning as he looked at Evelyn.
"I could move to Emerald City permanently, as long as you'd like that."
It was a brazen declaration of love.
Evelyn laughed, though the smile didn't reach her eyes, carrying a hint of mockery.
"Mrs. White, you probably don't know yet, do you? I'm already eight weeks pregnant."
"Mr. White, do you want to be a stepfather and become the laughingstock of all Imperial City?"
These words hit like a bucket of ice water.
Luna's face went instantly pale, her lips moving but no words emerging.
Evelyn didn't give her a chance to respond, continuing.
"I don't like you, Mr. White. Excuse me."
With that, she pushed back her chair and headed straight upstairs.
"Evelyn!"
Ruby called after her, but she didn't even pause.
The dinner couldn't have been more awkward.
Yet Luke's attitude remained unusually resolute—he said he didn't mind the child, and if she was willing, he could accept any conditions.
Luna's expression darkened. Had Luke lost his mind? Or had Evelyn bewitched him?
Eventually, Luna and Luke took their leave.
Ruby followed behind them, apologizing profusely until her mouth went numb.
At the door, Luke instinctively looked back.
He saw a lone, slender figure standing under the corridor light on the second floor.
Evelyn noticed him too, but only gave him a cold glance before turning and walking into her room.
Her world had no room for any man except Hawk.
The moment Luna left, Ruby and Daryl stormed into Evelyn's room.
Seeing her daughter's back as she focused on painting, Ruby immediately launched in.
"Mr. White is such a fine gentleman—couldn't you have been a little nicer?"
Evelyn's brush didn't stop, paint spreading across the canvas. Without looking up, her voice was flat.
"I have no plans to find a stepfather for my child."
Daryl followed in, also trying to persuade her earnestly. "Evelyn, you have a long life ahead of you. Raising a child alone, you need someone to take care of you. Mr. White is genuinely excellent—his background, his looks, they're impeccable. Doesn't he fit your type perfectly?"
Evelyn finally put down her brush.
She turned to face her parents, her expression serious.
"Dad, if you knew he was impotent, would you still want me to marry him?"
Daryl choked, all his words getting stuck in his throat.
That wouldn't work at all!
That would be like living as a widow! Even worse than having no man at all!
"That's impossible," Daryl still couldn't believe it, sizing up Luke in his imagination. "He doesn't look like it at all."
Evelyn's tone was calm. "He told me himself. That's why he wants me and the child to marry him—so no one would know his secret."
Ruby's fury exploded instantly.
"Good-looking but useless! Absolutely not! So he's here to con his way into marriage and steal our grandchild—how devious!"
Ruby and Daryl exchanged glances, abandoning all thoughts of persuasion as they cursed their way out.
Far away in his car, Luke suddenly sneezed heavily, unaware he'd already been eliminated.
At that moment, Emma was in her room, on a call with James.
"Seven-colored berries might work," James's voice came through the phone with gravity. "They have strong numbing effects, but you're pregnant now—you absolutely cannot try them lightly."
"I understand!" Emma's eyes lit up with delight as she nodded.
From an exquisite wooden box, she carefully retrieved two clusters of seven-colored berries.
The fruits were crystal clear, flowing with iridescent light.
They were the ones she and Nicholas had worn during their wedding ceremony under the sacred tree.
She touched the berries gently with her fingertips, her eyes filled with barely contained joy.
If she could develop this anesthetic, she would be the biggest beneficiary—never again would she have to endure surgery without anesthesia.
Suddenly, her expression darkened as she thought about the grandfather Leon had mentioned. Could he be related to her origins? If so, then her parents...
She didn't dare think further.
Just as she hung up with James, her phone screen lit up again.
It was Nicholas.
"Are you asleep?" His voice was low and magnetic, reaching her through the airwaves.
"Not yet."
"I'm here to see you. Come out."
Emma walked to the balcony.
Below, that familiar black sedan sat quietly under the streetlight, the tall man leaning against the car door, phone in one hand, his gaze locked firmly on her window.
"I can't sleep without you," he continued. "Come with me?"
Emma laughed softly.
"All these years, I never saw you having insomnia before."
He seemed a bit displeased, his tone carrying some unreasonable dominance.
"From today forward, I'll never leave you again. I want to sleep beside you every night until you get tired of me."
Her heart skipped a beat. "Who said I want to be with you?"
"Emma, come downstairs. I really want to hold you." His voice was gently coaxing.
They talked like this over the phone, sharing ordinary sweet words that felt incredibly precious.
They had never had such a long phone conversation before.
So this was what missing someone felt like.
Behind the curtains in the adjacent room, Daryl and Ruby pressed their heads together sneakily.
"This kid's coming more and more frequently now," Daryl whispered. "Looks like we need to upgrade our home security system—the surveillance keeps malfunctioning."
Ruby rolled her eyes at him.
"When daughters grow up, you can't keep them. I bet she'll sneak out."
Daryl looked confident and smug. "Impossible. She wouldn't dare."
The moment he finished speaking, the mansion's front door slowly opened.
Emma's figure rushed out.
Nicholas dropped his phone, strode forward to meet her, swept her into his arms, and his burning lips immediately covered hers.
The kiss was passionate enough to ignite the night sky.
Daryl's expression instantly darkened.
"You lost," Ruby said gleefully, pulling him away.
They kissed for a long, long time, until Emma could barely breathe. Only then did Nicholas reluctantly release her, watching her return to her room before driving away himself.
Deep into the night, Leon sat in his office, staring at the wound on his hand, a sinister gleam of malice flashing in his eyes.
'Nicholas, it seems you're deliberately playing dumb. Don't blame me for being ruthless then.'
Suddenly, he clutched his chest in pain, quickly pulling a small medicine bottle from his drawer. He swallowed a pill dry, then leaned back in his chair to rest.
It was time. Once Dr. N's anesthetic was complete, he should close his net too.
The White family's debts were finally due.
The next day, at dawn, Emma went to the lab.
Soon after, Leon arrived as well, and they immediately dove into testing the seven-colored berries.
"Success!" Emma looked at the data on the analyzer, telling Leon excitedly, "These seven-colored berries really can extract anesthetic compounds that work on special physiologies—it's a completely natural anesthetic!"
Leon was overjoyed, finally showing a smile on his tense face.
"Excellent! This way, that elderly gentleman in Imperial City can have his surgery smoothly!"
He looked at Emma with sincere eyes.
"Ms. Rodriguez, could I possibly ask you to make a trip to Imperial City?"
Emma considered. "Let me check my schedule."
"Thank you."
That afternoon, before five o'clock, Nicholas came downstairs and took Emma away.
The Jacksons had planned to send someone to pick up Emma today—not a chance.
Following Charlie's dating strategy, he first took her to see a movie.
When they walked into the public cinema, the handsome man and beautiful woman combination instantly drew everyone's attention.
"Holy shit! Is that Mr. Harrison and Dr. N?"
"My God, Mr. Harrison is actually taking his wife to see a movie here! Look at him with bubble tea in his left hand and popcorn in his right—so down-to-earth!"
"Wow! So sweet!"
Camera flashes and chatter erupted everywhere. Emma felt a bit embarrassed by all the attention.
He strode over, placed the warm tea in her hands, and asked softly, "What's wrong? Don't want to watch anymore? We could go somewhere else."
Emma looked up, her eyebrows curved in a smile. "Of course we're watching."
He flashed that devastatingly charming smile, took her hand, and walked confidently to the ticket booth.
During the movie, neither of them paid much attention to the screen.
Nicholas had one arm gently around her, his other hand tightly intertwined with hers, the warmth of his palm providing reassuring comfort.
She leaned against him, sitting among the noisy crowd, experiencing this most ordinary kind of love, unable to suppress her smile.
He wanted to do everything that ordinary couples did, all of it with her.
Soon, they were trending on social media.
#Mr. Harrison and Dr. N at the Movies#
After the movie, Nicholas took her to Galaxy Restaurant for dinner.
Following their meal, they strolled through the back garden.
The garden was exquisitely designed—a moon-shaped fountain pool sparkled with water, the streetlights were all star-shaped, lights twinkled among the flower beds, and romantic music drifted softly...
The night breeze was cool. He took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, held her as they sat on a swing, using his tall frame to shield her from the cold wind as he gently pushed them back and forth.
The air carried the fragrance of lilies on the wind, intoxicatingly sweet.
"Emma." His deep voice resonated above her head, so tender it could melt into water. "Thank you for still being willing to stay by my side."
She looked up, meeting his profound gaze. "Nicholas, I'm so glad you're alive."
"I never knew I could fall this completely." He looked at her, his eyes filled with love so deep it couldn't be dissolved.
"Emma, I love you."
As his words fell, he lowered his head to kiss her lips.
They had kissed many times before, but this was the first time it truly felt mutual.
Having weathered the trials of life and death had built an unbreakable fortress between them.
After a long while, Nicholas pulled back slightly, his forehead against hers, his voice extremely hoarse.
"Emma, I want you."
"Come home with me, hmm?"
Tonight, he didn't want to let her go again.
Her heart trembled violently as she looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with emotion.