Chapter 23 Have You Ever Thought About Having Children With Me?
Nicholas had appeared behind her at some point, rolling up his shirt sleeves to reveal his muscular forearms.
Emma didn't even have time to wonder how he knew about cybersecurity—her brain had already reacted instinctively.
She stepped aside to make room.
Nicholas sat down, his gaze calmly scanning the chaotic battle on the screen.
"Access code."
His words were crisp and direct.
Emma quickly scribbled a complex string of characters on a sticky note and handed it to him.
"02090630CNLFYAMS!"
Nicholas only glanced at it briefly, then his fingers touched the keyboard.
That wasn't typing; that was something indescribably fast, phantom-like!
It was so fast that only blurred afterimages were visible, the keyboard producing dense, rain-like sounds.
Code cascaded down the screen like a waterfall, with precise commands being entered at lightning speed.
He didn't bother repairing Emma's firewall, but instead, he directly wrote new counterattack programs.
Track.
Locate.
Reverse infiltration.
On screen, code refreshed at an incomprehensible pace. The previously arrogant attack routes now seemed to have met their nemesis.
They were rapidly cut off, cleared, and turned back on themselves!
After about five minutes, the alarm stopped.
The attackers were clearly stunned, their offensive momentum instantly collapsing, even showing signs of retreat.
Nicholas's expression remained ice-cold, his fingers never stopping. Not only did he kick out all the intruders, but he also traced back through the network connections. The screen displayed notification after notification of forced disconnections.
On screen, those previously brazen attacking IP addresses turned gray and disappeared one by one, as if snuffed out instantly by an invisible hand.
But Nicholas didn't stop there; his fingers continued their work, constructing another new program.
"Done!"
He embedded the program into the system, his fingers tapping gracefully across the keyboard a few more times.
A shield icon with a pale blue glow appeared on Emma's desktop.
"Built you a security shield. With this, they won't find it so easy to break in again."
Emma looked at the shield, then at the man beside her, her heartbeat still not quite settled.
Thank goodness for his help today; otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
He had been her hero once again!
She used to think he was so distant from her, but now, he felt so close.
"Thanks."
She rarely expressed gratitude to him, her voice carrying the hoarseness that comes after intense stress.
As soon as she finished speaking, her phone rang.
"Matthew" flashed on the screen.
Emma picked up the phone and walked to the window to answer.
"Hello?"
"Emma? How are things on your end? Why didn't you accept the connection share?" Matthew's voice carried obvious anxiety.
"It's fine now." Emma glanced at Nicholas's silhouette, keeping her voice as steady as possible. "Already resolved! Don't worry, no data was lost. I'll transfer it to a new location tomorrow."
After hanging up, she turned around.
Nicholas had already stood up and was looking at her computer screen.
His gaze seemed to linger on the name of a certain encrypted folder.
It appeared to contain materials related to both her and Matthew, probably something connected to the Global Medical Summit.
"What exactly are you hiding in this computer?" he asked, his voice low but carrying an oppressive weight. "What treasure could attract so many experts to steal it?"
Emma was silent for a moment before quietly saying, "Nicholas, thank you for helping me today. But everyone has their own secrets, don't they?"
Her tone was calm, with a distant politeness.
"All I can tell you is that these things aren't illegal, aren't criminal, and won't harm anyone. You can rest assured."
Nicholas stared at her for several seconds before finally dropping the subject.
"Since I helped you, shouldn't you repay me somehow?"
Emma's heart trembled as she tried to suppress her growing suspicion.
"Alright! What kind of repayment do you want?"
Nicholas approached her, his eyes carrying unmistakable desire. He reached out, wanting to caress her face, but she instinctively stepped back.
Nicholas stared at her, dark emotions swirling in his eyes.
"You hate my touch that much?"
His voice carried mockery, along with a barely perceptible hurt. "Before, you used to enjoy it."
His mind was flooded with intimate memories.
He had to admit, his body liked her more than his heart did!
Emma turned her head sharply, her lips curving into an ice-cold smile.
"Nicholas, your memory's excellent—you still remember the past. But get this straight: what exactly is our relationship now!"
"What relationship?" Nicholas scoffed. "Emma, as long as we're not officially divorced, you're still Nicholas Harrison's wife! And you should fulfill a wife's duties!"
He reached out again, wanting to touch her face, just on a whim to tease her.
Emma jerked her head away, her eyes full of wariness.
"Nicholas, why keep entangling? Can't we just part amicably?"
Seeing her disgusted expression, he suddenly laughed.
"Emma!" He gently grasped her chin, speaking seriously. "Are you sure you don't want to?"
In three years, she had never refused him.
Emma knocked his hand away again, speaking firmly, "Nicholas, thank you for helping me today, but I won't repay you with myself! If you ever need my help in the future, I definitely won't refuse."
"Fine, remember what you said. I'll collect on this favor someday!"
His tone carried dominance and satisfaction.
Emma pulled out a small square blue sticky note from the drawer and wrote something: [One favor owed.]
Below it, she seriously signed her name! She wrote quickly, making the specific content illegible.
"Take this, Mr. Harrison. Don't lose it." She spoke with complete seriousness.
Nicholas took the note and looked at the handwriting.
His eyes darkened!
When had he, the richest man, been reduced to asking Emma for favors? Interesting!
He didn't know why he was acting this way.
Maybe he didn't dislike her as much as he thought.
Emma clearly sensed he was troubled tonight, as if something was about to happen.
She poured a glass of warm water and handed it to him.
Nicholas's mouth twitched, but he still accepted it and took a sip.
After another sip, he set the glass down.
Emma took a deep breath and slowly spoke, "Nicholas, in three years, have you ever thought about... having children with me?"
She had always wanted to know this answer!
Of course, it was more of a test; she wanted to know if that innocent child was connected to him.
Nicholas was stunned. He hadn't expected her to ask such a question.
But he had never really imagined what life with children would be like for them.
Three years they'd tried, and he could only blame her body for apparently not wanting to conceive!
However, he wouldn't give her that answer!
He tugged at the corner of his mouth rebelliously, cold words spilling out, "Did you think just anyone is qualified to bear the heir to the Harrison family?"
That single sentence undoubtedly pushed Emma into an abyss.
"So, even if I had a child, you wouldn't want him?"
She clenched her fists, glaring at him with obvious anger.
Nicholas watched her, wanting to get angry, and smiled with detached amusement.
"I won't answer hypothetical questions. They're meaningless!"
Suddenly, Nicholas's pupils contracted sharply as he grabbed her hand, his voice somewhat urgent, "Are you pregnant?"