Chapter 179 The Secret to Pursuing Women
Amelia fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Why didn't you ever tell me about your brother?"
Byron said casually, "He's already dead. What's there to talk about? If he were alive, I could've asked you to bring him into the Shadow Operations Division too."
After all these years with her, Byron had come to see life and death very lightly.
Or rather, he'd been in pain so long that he no longer felt it.
People can become numb emotionally too.
"The person who matters more to me now is you, the leader of the Shadow Operations Division," Byron said. "Things from the past are too far gone. I've pretty much forgotten them all."
Amelia lowered her eyes.
She thought of Isaac and Piper.
Their story also felt distant to her now.
So she had that feeling of forgetting the pain once the wound healed.
That's exactly why, when Piper said she was seriously ill, Amelia went back to see her.
Only to find that Piper had sold her out for thirty thousand dollars.
If Maeve hadn't mentioned today that the people she'd sent to the countryside had returned, she would have almost forgotten about that mother and son.
"You're also the most important family to me."
Amelia smiled slightly, finished the entire bowl of chicken soup, and returned to the Richardson family.
Today was the final set of needles for the Shadow Realm Needling.
"Today will be a bit tough," Amelia told Liam. "But once you get through tonight, you'll be reborn, Liam."
Liam nodded hard.
That entire night, not only was Natalie there, but everyone from the Richardson family, except Felix and Hunter, who hadn't returned yet, stayed with Liam.
One moment, he was so hot he wanted to climb into the refrigerator, the next so cold he wanted to hug the fireplace, wishing he could jump straight into the fire.
Then his legs would sting with pain, as if countless knives were cutting him.
His body was in agony, but his spirit felt more relaxed than ever.
"Keep going, Liam."
Natalie's eyes brimmed with tears.
Liam bit down on the soft wooden stick and nodded hard.
Finally, as dawn broke on the horizon, they made it through the most difficult night.
Amelia watched Liam fall into a deep sleep and let out a long breath.
Natalie asked, "Is it over now?"
Amelia nodded, then shook her head.
"My treatment is done, but from now on, Liam has to do his own rehab training. He can already walk, but when he'll fully recover to our normal level depends on his own training."
Natalie felt somewhat relieved.
"Your brother has willpower. Even though he gave up on himself for a while, with the chance you've given him, he'll definitely grab hold of it."
Amelia agreed completely.
Everyone soon went back to their rooms to sleep.
Though they'd only been keeping Liam company, everyone was exhausted and quickly fell asleep.
Only Liam remained.
After everyone left, he slowly opened his eyes.
He hadn't fallen asleep.
He got up and, with some difficulty, walked to his desk, where he began drafting a rehab training plan.
These past few years, he'd slept enough. He didn't want to keep "sleeping" anymore.
He could put in several times as much effort and hardship as others.
If others needed a month, he'd do it in half a month.
He had to recover quickly and become someone who could help Amelia.
The next day arrived in a flash.
Amelia received two text messages.
One was from Samuel.
He was asking her to dinner today.
The other was from Maeve.
According to yesterday's agreement, she'd booked a restaurant and sent Amelia the time and address.
Amelia first replied to Maeve's message, saying she'd be there on time.
Then she called Samuel.
"What's up?"
"Can't I ask you to dinner if there's nothing special?"
"If there's nothing special, let's do it another day. I have plans with someone else today."
"Who?" His voice dropped, seeming somewhat displeased.
Amelia ignored his mood and said seriously, "I'm meeting Maeve to discuss something important."
Samuel didn't have anything important.
He sighed and said, "Forget it then."
He asked again, "Where are you eating?"
"Golden Fields."
"Maeve booked it. The food doesn't matter."
"Alright, we'll meet another day then."
Samuel hung up.
Amelia felt a bit confused.
She'd thought he had something urgent too.
Little did she know, to Samuel, she was the most urgent matter.
Besides Samuel, Yosef, who'd been listening to the whole call, was beside himself.
"She made lunch plans, you could've asked her to dinner! Why did you just say 'another day'? When it comes to chasing women, didn't I tell you the golden rule? It's all about the three B's — Be Bold, Be Brave, Be Brazen!"
Samuel gave him a cold look.
"You're really annoying."
"I'm annoying because I care about you. You think I actually enjoy watching this bachelor finally like a woman?"
Samuel frowned. "What are you saying? Who's an old bachelor?"
He wasn't old.
He and Amelia were well-matched in age.
"I'm talking about you! Call her back now and tell Amelia you have something important."
Samuel asked, "What important thing?"
Yosef was at a loss for words.
"There is no important thing! It's just an excuse. You'll figure it out when she gets there."
Samuel said expressionlessly, "I won't lie to her."
"It's not lying, it's sweet-talking."
"Sweet-talking won't work either. The most important thing in life is integrity, especially in front of her. I can't lose her trust even once. Just shut up."
Yosef nearly choked with frustration.
"Fine, fine, fine. You're so noble, stay single forever then!"
Yosef turned and left.
But Samuel ignored him and pressed the intercom, telling his people to prepare for a meeting.
Two minutes later, though, he picked up the phone and called Jeremy in.
Jeremy wasn't wearing a suit today, just a white casual outfit.
His eyelids were slightly thick, but his lips were thin, giving him a somewhat detached look.
Others said he'd become more like Samuel from working with him so long.
But only Jeremy knew he'd always been a detached person.
It had to do with his childhood experiences.
He was an orphan.
If Samuel, who happened to be running away from home, hadn't saved him, he would have been beaten to death.
So from then on, he cared about nothing except following Samuel's orders.
His life belonged to Samuel.
"Mr. Crawford. What do you need?"
Samuel twirled his pen, as if it took great resolve to say, "The lunch meeting with The Myers Group, arrange it at Golden Fields."
Jeremy was somewhat surprised.
"Don't you dislike that restaurant?"
"Mr. Myers might like it."
Jeremy didn't think much more of it and nodded in agreement.
He asked again, "Do you need to book out the whole place?"
"No need."
"Yes, sir."
After Jeremy left, Samuel let out a soft breath.
Was this... following her?
Probably not, right?
He was just going for business.
It just happened that Sean Myers liked that restaurant, that's all. Amelia wouldn't be mad.
He seemed to be convincing himself.
On the other side, after hanging up, Amelia went downstairs for breakfast.
But everyone else in the house was asleep; only Uma was there.
She was eating oatmeal at a small table.
Seeing Amelia, Uma looked surprised.
"You all stayed up so late last night, I thought you wouldn't be up, so I didn't make breakfast..."
She hurriedly put down her utensils to go to the kitchen.
Amelia stopped her.
"Don't bother, I'll have what you're having."
"How can that work?"
"It's fine." Amelia's smile was warm, as if she'd never discovered Uma's past betrayal.
Uma nodded, her eyes reddening a bit.
She quickly brought over some oatmeal, then was about to go back to the small table to eat.
Amelia asked her to eat together at the dining table.
Uma hesitated, but agreed.
During breakfast, Uma seemed to gather great courage.
She asked Amelia, "Ms. Richardson, can I stay?"
Amelia put down her utensils and said very calmly, "No."
The light in Uma's eyes gradually dimmed.
She laughed self-mockingly and said, "Pretend I didn't ask. I was being shameless."
"Uma," Amelia spoke slowly. "It's not that I don't trust you, it's that you have a weakness. Your son is your weakness. This time, because of him, you almost betrayed us. There's no guarantee there won't be a next time. So I'm asking you to leave, not just for the Richardson family, but for you and your son too."
Similarly, Felix had many flaws, and he would become a weakness for the Richardson family.
That's why Amelia arranged for him to go to the island.
Uma understood.
Her husband, Holden, cared more about the Richardson family than his own son, so he had no weakness and would never betray them.
But Uma would.
Even though she was completely loyal to the Richardson family, she ultimately couldn't overcome her weakness.
Uma herself didn't know if she'd make the same mistake again if faced with the same situation.
She said, "I won't bring up staying again."
Amelia nodded and said, "But don't worry, I'll arrange a very safe place for you and your son. When all the threats here are resolved, I'll let you come back."
Uma's eyes regained a bit of light.
"I can come back?"
"Of course."
Uma seemed to find her motivation again and went happily to wash the dishes.
Amelia hadn't lied to her, except that resolving all threats would take a long time.
Or perhaps, just a year.
No one could say how long.
It depended on how the situation developed.
It was also possible that the Richardson family would lose, Micah would be defeated, and Uma would never be able to return.
But she would ensure their mother and son's safety.
Soon it was afternoon.
Amelia went out.
She drove herself, first stopping by the Shadow Operations Division, then heading to Golden Fields.
The restaurant was very large, with an interior courtyard.
The server led her to a private room.
Their room faced a small pond in the courtyard.
Many fish were kept in it.
When Amelia arrived, Maeve was feeding the fish.
She hadn't changed clothes, still wearing her Chanel suit, looking a bit irritated. After feeding them a few times, she threw all the fish food in at once.
"Feeding them like that is wasteful," Amelia said.
Maeve's eyes suddenly lit up.
But as if to hide something, she quickly put on a sour face.