Chapter 387: This Woman Is Extremely Hard to Pursue

Chapter 387: This Woman Is Extremely Hard to Pursue

She tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I'm busy. What's up?"

"Come home to Grandma's for dinner tonight. Bring the kids."

"Okay. You go ahead. I'll bring them over later."

"Where are you? I'll come pick you up now."

"No need, I—"

"Emily, who's calling you?"

Nico had been listening patiently off to the side, but when he saw a soft expression on Emily's face—one he'd never seen before—jealousy surged through him.

The moment Nico spoke, Emily's hand trembled, and she abruptly hung up on James.

The living room fell silent.

Hanging up on James had been pure instinct. Deep down, she didn't want him to hear Nico's voice.

After a long pause, Emily let out a soft sigh. She turned to Nico. "Let me ask you one more time—what's the real reason you came to Emerald City?"

Nico smiled gently. "Like I said, I missed you. So I came looking for you."

Emily didn't buy it, but she wasn't in the mood to dig into his motives right now.

She switched to a simpler question. "Did you book a hotel? If not, I can help you—"

"Elysian Residences is huge. There are plenty of empty rooms. Surely you can spare one guest room."

Before Emily could finish, Thora walked in from outside and picked up where she left off.

"Only you and Grandma live here. It wouldn't be convenient for him to stay..."

"What's inconvenient about it? Nico's your friend from abroad, isn't he? You don't trust his character? You think he'd hurt me and Verity?"

"That's not the issue..."

Emily shot Thora an irritated glare. Can you not make this harder?

Thora blinked innocently back at her. What am I doing? I'm just being a good host and looking after your friend.

Nico watched quietly as the two beautiful women argued in front of him. Truth was, he'd already booked a hotel when he first arrived in Emerald City. He hadn't mentioned it earlier because he wanted to see how Emily would handle his accommodations.

And she didn't disappoint. Emily clearly didn't want him staying here.

Nico felt a brief pang of disappointment, but quickly rallied.

It's fine. He'd known for a long time that Emily's heart was locked behind ice—nearly impossible to reach.

Back abroad, countless men had thrown themselves at her, only to be coldly rejected.

As for the ones who tried to force the issue? They either ended up destroyed or publicly humiliated, becoming the punchline of everyone's gossip.

Nico was confident in his own charm. This trip to Emerald City wasn't just for work—he was here to win Emily over.

Even back in Zephyria, he'd stayed in touch with Jasper.

It was strange, really. Of Emily's two handsome little boys, Jasper and Chase, only Jasper warmed up to him and shared bits of insider information about Emily.

Chase, on the other hand, remained distant no matter how many toys or treats Nico offered. Their relationship never grew closer.

The real reason Nico came to Emerald City was something he'd learned from Jasper: Emily was now involved with a man—out of gratitude, no less.

And this man was the kids' biological father.

That news had sent Nico into a panic all the way back in Zephyria. If he didn't act now, someone else would steal his treasure.

On top of that, Nico had noticed a shift in Jasper's attitude during their recent chats.

Before, Jasper had been enthusiastic, frequently sharing updates about Emily and even saying things like, "I wish Nico were my dad."

But lately, Jasper's warmth had cooled considerably. He stopped sharing anything about Emily at all.

That growing sense of unease gnawed at Nico.

So he'd immediately rearranged his work schedule, bought a plane ticket, and flew to Emerald City.

Once here, he discovered Emily had four children.

All of them were beautiful, inheriting the best features from both parents. Especially the youngest girl—she was absolutely adorable, with a face like porcelain that melted hearts on sight.

To win over the mom, you have to win over the kids first.

So over the past few days before Emily returned, Nico had been at Elysian Residences trying to bond with the children.

Unfortunately, results were minimal.

Jasper and Chase knew him well. Though their enthusiasm had dimmed, they still liked him and appreciated his gifts.

But Mason and Briar were tougher nuts to crack.

Mason was the oldest and the calmest of the four. He didn't speak, but his eyes said everything.

When Nico offered him a carefully chosen gift, Mason didn't accept. Instead, he wrote a single line in his notebook:

[Thank you, but I can't take this. Give it to my siblings instead.]

For a moment, Nico suspected the boy had figured out his feelings for Emily and was rejecting him because of it.

As for Briar, she was young and brutally direct.

"Mister, do you want to be my daddy?"

"But I already have a daddy, so you can't be. And I can't take your present either."

Looking into Briar's crystal-clear eyes, Nico felt helpless.

He could tell—out of all four kids, Briar loved her biological father the most and was completely on his side.

The realization was discouraging.

But Emily was back now. If he couldn't win over the kids, he'd just have to win over their mother first.

Once Emily accepted him, the children would have no choice but to follow.

With that thought in mind, Nico gave Emily a gentle smile. "Emily, I've already booked a hotel. You don't need to worry about me."

Emily ended her silent standoff with Thora and turned to Nico apologetically. "Nico, I'm sorry. My grandmother isn't in good health. She prefers peace and quiet and doesn't like having too many outsiders around. So..."

"It's fine. You don't need to apologize. I understand."

Nico smiled warmly. "But we haven't seen each other in so long. Having dinner together should be okay, right?"

"Tonight?"

"Yeah. Is that inconvenient?"

Emily hesitated, remembering James's phone call earlier.

"It is, actually. How about tomorrow? Tomorrow I'll treat you."

"All right, then. I'm heading back to the hotel now. Would you mind seeing me out? Surely you can't refuse such a small request."

Having just turned down his dinner invitation, Emily couldn't very well refuse this too. She nodded and agreed.

She and Nico walked out of Elysian Residences together.

And just their luck—James's car drove right past them.

Emily's eyes widened as her gaze locked with James's through the window.

A sharp screech of brakes tore through the air. The black sedan swerved violently and nearly crashed into the guardrail along the street.