Chapter 167 Preparing for Marriage
"Emma contacted me by phone through Matthew at the time, and I sent people to investigate. This might be hard for you to accept right now."
"I understand." Jake stood up with a cold expression and walked out of the study.
The Robinson family's back garden was lit up even late at night.
Jake sat on the swing, the black sky mirroring his dark mood.
He lit a cigarette and held it between his lips.
He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a small photo.
In the photo, Annie was holding a book with both hands, looking puzzled as she sketched with a pen.
The day he took this photo, the weather wasn't great—it was a bit gloomy.
He had always carried this photo with him.
Only after finishing his cigarette did he put the photo away and stand up.
Emma was standing not far away.
Seeing that Jake was about to leave, she quickly walked over.
"Mr. Robinson."
She wore a simple cotton dress, her hair loose, holding baby Jane in her arms. She looked vulnerable.
"Can we talk?" she said softly, her eyes pleading.
Half of Jake's face was hidden in shadow as he slowly smiled. He turned to look at her.
He stood there, watching her without moving.
Timothy smiled lazily, "If you have something to say, make it quick."
Emma breathed a sigh of relief—he was finally willing to listen to her.
She walked closer to Jake with Jane in her arms and said sadly, "About the children, I didn't mean to hide it from you. You and Ms. Penrose were so close back then, I actually hesitated about whether to have them."
"I..." She paused, "I couldn't bring myself to abort them later, so I contacted Mr. Manuel Robinson."
After speaking, Emma looked down at Jane and asked bitterly, "Mr. Timothy Robinson, are you very angry?"
"No, the Robinson family should thank you for having the children," Jake replied seriously, smiling slightly. "I'm not angry. I really need to thank you for having them. I know you didn't mean to hide it from me."
His tone was somewhat cold.
Emma frowned, helpless. "Mr. Robinson, do you have to speak so coldly? You should know that Erik and I were very close back then. When I found out the truth, I was even more devastated as the person involved."
She blinked her reddened eyes.
She bit her lip.
She held Jane closer and showed her to Jake, saying gently, "This is Jane. Don't you want to hold her?"
Jake looked down at little Jane expressionlessly, then turned and left directly.
A flash of shock crossed Emma's sad face.
How could he react like this?
This wasn't right.
She chased after him with Jane in her arms.
The next second, she stumbled.
Emma cried out.
Jake heard the sound and reacted quickly, turning to steady Emma and the baby in her arms.
Emma's face instantly paled. She really hadn't done it on purpose. "Thank you."
Elizabeth stood with her arms crossed, squinting at Emma and Jake across from her. What kind of dramatic accident was this? "Mr. Robinson, time to go to bed."
Emma looked up at Elizabeth.
Jake smiled and walked toward Elizabeth, taking her hand and interlacing their fingers. "Why did you come looking for me?"
"I asked Zander and found out you were here," Elizabeth frowned in disgust. "I got bitten by mosquitoes. What are you doing in the back garden so late at night?"
"I'm sorry." Jake apologized humbly.
Emma stared at the couple leaving together. So he would say sorry to Elizabeth.
In the room.
Elizabeth had called Jake back, but now she was holding her tablet watching funny videos, laughing happily.
She was laughing so hard she was shaking.
Meanwhile, Jake sat beside her.
He had fallen back into silence since returning from the back garden, just sitting there.
Elizabeth didn't ask him what happened.
"Elizabeth, ask me what happened." He commanded in a flat tone.
Elizabeth immediately stopped laughing. She turned to glance at Jake and smiled. "A good man should take the initiative to talk about things, not wait for a woman to ask."
Her bold statement left Jake speechless.
He sat with his legs spread wide, his narrow eyes smiling, lazily with his hands behind his head, his shirt unbuttoned, exposing his chest.
He glanced at Elizabeth. "With your personality, no matter what happens in the future, you'll be able to live your life well."
Elizabeth found this strange.
She paused the funny video, her eyes dramatically scanning Jake from top to bottom first, then becoming sharp. "What do you mean by that?"
Jake felt a chill. He closed his spread legs, muttering to himself—why was he afraid of her!
He smiled faintly and poured himself a glass of water. Elizabeth directly took the water he poured.
Jake fell silent.
He poured another glass and said, "I don't mean anything, just complimenting your personality."
When she found out later that Timothy and Emma were getting married, with her personality, she should be able to adjust quickly, right?
Elizabeth stared at Jake for a few seconds before turning back to watch the funny video.
She had reason to suspect that Jake was hiding something important from her.
"Elizabeth, let's move out after breakfast tomorrow morning."
Jake worried that staying too long at The Robinson Mansion would let Manuel recognize him as a fake.
Although Jake had spent years learning to imitate Timothy, he still had to be careful around Manuel.
Jake dared to come to The Robinson Mansion so openly this time because Timothy had rarely returned in recent years.
Elizabeth had no objection to moving out. She was happy to do so.
She asked casually about something else, "When are you planning to do the paternity test with Tommy and Jane?"
Jake's eyes flickered, revealing a cold, sinister smile. "In a couple of days."
Elizabeth didn't turn to look at him, but she caught a glimpse of Jake's sinister smile in the small mirror on the coffee table.
She looked down and continued watching the video.
This funny video wasn't funny. She swiped to the next one.
Who was human and who was a ghost—who knew until the end?
Elizabeth yawned, her voice tinged with drowsiness. "I'm going to shower and sleep. You're sleeping on the couch tonight, or on the floor."
After turning off the tablet, she casually placed it on the sofa.
She stood up and walked in front of Timothy.
Elizabeth leaned down, fake-smiled, and used her thumb to firmly lift Jake's chin. "I'm still angry about you packing me onto that plane today, understand?"
Elizabeth's slender fingers released Jake's chin, and her finger traced down along Jake's sexy Adam's apple. The Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, and her finger continued downward.
Her finger stopped at the tiny gray mole that could easily be overlooked, then slid to his collarbone and poked it.
She smiled, straightened up, and held her lower back as she went to get her pajamas.
Her faint fragrance drifted past.
Jake raised an eyebrow. He lifted his well-defined fingers and, like a pervert, mimicked Elizabeth's movements on himself, finally stopping where Elizabeth had paused.
"Mr. Robinson, where are my pajamas?" Elizabeth's voice interrupted his fleeting thought.
Jake stood up and walked over. He glanced at the suitcase, bent down, and picked up a black dress meant for going out. "Can this work as pajamas for now? I'll buy you some tomorrow."
Elizabeth froze.
"Or you could just sleep in a bathrobe?" He looked down at her and suggested again.
Elizabeth coldly took the black dress.
The bathroom door closed.
Soon, the sound of water came from the bathroom.
The next morning.
Breakfast was served in the downstairs dining room.
Manuel had already left for the office early in the morning.
Cecilia whispered to Emma, "Emma, congratulations in advance."
Last night, Cecilia had learned something from Manuel—Timothy would marry Emma, and the wedding announcement would be made at the hundred-day celebration.
Emma asked in confusion, "Ms. Patel, congratulations for what?"
Cecilia smiled meaningfully. "It's a secret."
Emma covered her mouth and laughed. "You're deliberately keeping me in suspense, aren't you?"
After laughing, she took out her phone.
Elizabeth and Jake walked out of the elevator to see Emma and Cecilia getting along very well.
Elizabeth also saw Tommy and Jane, whom Emma had given birth to.
Tommy and Jane were still sleeping in their stroller.
Emma held her phone, smiling as she took photos of Tommy and Jane.
As Jake passed Tommy and Jane, he glanced at them coldly, his eyes full of coldness.
Elizabeth and Jake left The Robinson Mansion after breakfast.
Emma looked down at Tommy and Jane.
Emma reminded herself again—no rush. She had come this far; success wasn't far away.
Jake took Elizabeth to a newly purchased house.
He couldn't take her to his previous villa, so he had to buy a new one temporarily.
There were still a few days until the hundred-day celebration. Jake planned to use this time to show Elizabeth around Border Ridge City.