Chapter 91 – Unconditional Love

Sarah and John were sitting at the dining table, waiting for Alex and the other person who was coming with him.

"Who can it be?" Sarah was still worried. She didn't want Alex to meet anyone like Natasha again. Though she knew Alex was a smart guy who didn't get into trouble easily, she was still worried and didn't know how to get rid of those thoughts.

John sighed and placed his hand on Sarah's shoulder. "Stop worrying. Seeing you like this makes me worry too. Let's just go somewhere to travel. It will help you to stop worrying."

"If Alex finds the right person and gets married to her, maybe only then I would stop worrying," Sarah answered, taking a deep sigh as if it were never going to happen.

"That day will come soon," John said with a smile.

After a while, the door opened, and Alex entered the house. Behind him, Emily also took steps inside.

"Oh, they're here," John said, getting up from the table to see who was with Alex, and found Emily next to him.

'She's his secretary. I thought he would bring his business partner,' John thought to himself as he sat on his chair again.

As Alex and Emily reached the table, Alex greeted his mom and dad and then introduced Emily.

"This is Emily, my secretary," Alex said.

"Yes, we know her. You brought her with you to the hospital when you came to see your mom," John said.

"Hello, ma'am, hello, sir," Emily nodded at Sarah and John.

"Hello." Sarah smiled a little.

"Hello." John smiled at Emily. "Sit down," he urged Emily towards a chair.

Emily sat down on the chair, and Alex also took a seat next to her.

"So what's for dinner today?" Alex excitedly asked, rubbing his hands together.

"Pork belly and soy sauce, your favorite, with lemonade," Sarah replied.

"Wow. I'm starving. Thank you for making it, mom," Alex said as he put some pork belly on his plate and started eating.

"Wow, it's tasty," Alex said with a big smile.

"Why are you overreacting today? You usually don't get excited like this about food or eating, as if you haven't eaten all day," Sarah said as she saw Alex acting like that.

Alex stopped eating and put the fork down on the plate. He knew he had been caught. He was terrible at acting, especially when he had to pretend that everything was normal.

"Actually, Mom…"

"Actually what? You brought this girl to introduce her to us, right? Maybe you, or maybe she likes you?" Sarah said it before Alex could say it.

"Actually, "Alex started, "we've both liked each other for months now. "I can't say for her, but I've liked her since the first time I saw her. So according to that, I have liked her for a year now." Alex explained.

"What!" Sarah and John spoke in unison. They knew their son very well. He wasn't a man who could fall in love and keep it a secret for a year. That was impossible.

"Why didn't you ever tell us about it?" Sarah asked curiously.

"Yeah, if you had told us about it earlier, Natasha's incident wouldn't have happened," John said, twirling his fork In the pork belly and taking a bite of it.

"I'm sorry about that. But how could I tell you about her when I hadn't told her my feelings yet? Just what would be the use of telling you about it if she didn't accept my love?" Alex said.

"Why would she do that? You're perfect," Sarah said, as if she didn't care about Emily's presence there.

John bit his tongue, knowing that his wife was completely ignoring Emily.

"Sarah, she's still there," John said in a low voice.

"That's okay, Uncle," Emily smiled, who heard John, though he tried his best not to be obvious about what he was saying.

"I understand, ma'am, why you are saying that. Any mother would say that. There is nothing wrong with that. My mom, too, says that I'm her precious daughter and better than anyone out there." Emily smiled.

Sarah was surprised to hear that. She had expected Emily to get angry or say something that she wouldn't like, but nothing like that happened.

"Alright then, we should eat," Sarah said, and everybody started eating.

"Do you want more?" Alex asked as he put some more pork on Emily's plate.

"No. Do you want to make me fat by making me eat so much?" Emily said, stopping Alex and instead filling his plate. "You eat more. You need more power to yell at your employees," Emily said under her breath.

John saw their interaction and smiled. Seeing Alex looking all happy, he knew that Alex really loved that girl, and maybe that girl could keep him happy for the rest of his life.

"You two really like each other? Huh?" Sarah asked, interrupting Alex and Emily's cute lovey-dovey moment.

Alex looked at his mom and nodded. "I do indeed love her a lot."

"More than me?" Sarah raised an eyebrow.

Alex didn't know how to answer at first, but then he smiled. "What are you saying, Mom? Are you jealous that I will love someone more than you?"

Sarah shook her head. "No. I'm just curious about how deep your love is for her and how much she loves you back. Will she love you if you have nothing, not even a penny to live?" Sarah took a big spoonful of pork and put it in her mouth. She needed the energy to talk, and for that, she needed to eat more. Having made a mistake before, she wasn't going to do it again, and neither was she going to let Alex do it. She was going to know everything about Emily, and only then was she going to approve of their love.

"Yeah. Because she is in love with me, not my money," Alex said, looking at Emily, and Emily smiled at him.

"Money is easy to make with hard work, and you can make more than enough to live a good life." Emily said. "But if you are with the person who loves you and whom you love, life becomes easier and more beautiful, and then you don't need anything else." Emily smiled at Sarah.

"What if you're only saying it, but you don't really mean it?" Sarah asked.

"Mom, please. That's enough. I know her very well. Last time, you didn't believe me, but please believe me this time. She loves me, and I love her. What else do you want from us?" Alex said, growing annoyed.

Emily quickly placed her hand on Alex's to calm him down. She gave him a meaningful glance, indicating not to talk to his mother in that manner, but Alex didn't listen to her.

"And if you don't accept our relationship, it doesn't matter to me. But I would be happy if you two gave us your blessings." Alex was so angry. He couldn't understand why his mom was acting this way. He knew Emily very well; she wasn't that kind of girl who loved him for his money.

"I'm just worried about you. I don't want you to get hurt by anyone. Last time I couldn't save you, but this time I want to. I don't want anyone to hurt you and pretend to love you for your money," Sarah expressed her concern.

"Mom, I understand that you are still afraid of what happened a month ago, but everyone isn't the same. There are a lot of good people out there who care and love other people for real, not only for their money," Alex told Sarah.

"Then how do I believe that she's a good person? That she isn't after your money, but she really loves you?" Sarah asked.

"Because your son believes her. I know her very well," Alex answered.

"I thought the same thing about Natasha. I thought I knew her very well, and she loved you, but I was wrong," Sarah replied nonchalantly.

"Just because of what happened in the past, you can't think everyone is the same. At least she isn't," Alex said, annoyed by the situation.

Sarah nodded. "Alright. I don't mind if you think she's the best for you. But if she tries to hurt you or break your heart, I'm not going to forgive her." Sarah cleaned her hands with the napkin and got up from the dining table. "I'm done; you can eat now," she said and turned around.

"You should sit until we eat," John said to Sarah.

"No need to stop her," Alex said, getting up from the chair.

"Let's go." Alex extended his hand towards Emily. "I thought that she would be happy to see you here, but I was wrong." Alex looked at his mother.

Sarah sighed and climbed the stairs to go to her room.

"Wait a minute, ma'am," Emily said, taking her hand away from Alex.

Sarah stopped and turned around.

Emily walked towards Sarah and said, "I know what you're going through. I was there, and I saw everything. I can understand your pain." Emily took another step towards Sarah, lessening the distance between them. "I know that you are worried for Alex, but please give me a chance. I promise you that I won't ever hurt your son. I love him, and I'm ready to do anything for him. And if you think that I love him for his money, then that is wrong. I have enough money to buy anything. Of course, I'm not as rich as you, but I can be that too with my hard work. So, please think about it. If anyone can make your son happier than me, then I don't mind giving him to them. But I wonder if I really can do that." Emily rubbed the back of her neck and continued, "But I don't think anyone has the ability to tolerate him. I am the only one who can like him as he is." Emily looked up at Sarah.

"What's the problem with my son? He's perfect. So, why can't anyone love him as much as you do? He's handsome, he has money, and he has everything anyone could wish for. So, why can't anyone like him?" Sarah said, taking steps down the stairs and coming in front of Emily.

"Of course he's handsome; he has money, and he has everything anyone could wish for. But even all his money can't buy him someone who will love him for who he is. Who doesn't care about who he is in the eyes of the world, but who he really is from inside. I don't like Alex's rich life. I love Alex, who is nice to me. Who smiles at me all the time, and who acts towards me as if I'm the most precious thing in the world?" Emily smiled as she said it. "I love that, Alex. I love Alex, who is still innocent in many ways." Emily turned to look at Alex. "Who acts as if he knows everything but doesn't even know how to express his feelings?"

"I don't mind if he has money or not; as long as I have him, I have everything. And no matter what, my decision will never change," Emily finished, a smile on her face.

She didn't remember the last time she talked like this about anyone, but though she said all that, she felt like there was a lot more to tell about him. Those words couldn't measure the love she had for him or how he really is. He is just amazing. He is the most wonderful person in the world she ever knew.