Chapter 117
So William's time was limited. He had to hurry and explain everything to Emily.
Emily looked at William quietly.
In less than a minute, all kinds of thoughts flashed through her mind. Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
For so many days, she had nowhere to turn for help. She had no choice but to pin all her hopes on William, begging him to save her and Amelia.
But he never showed up. She had called William so many times, too many to count, but he never responded.
Now everything was resolved, the police had taken over, and William had come back.
"Emily, are you still mad at me?"
William's tone carried a bit of caution and guilt. "I need to explain this to you. I didn't mean not to come. Something very important happened to me."
"Actually, it's my fault too. I should've told you in advance, so you'd be mentally prepared."
"But I didn't expect what happened that day. I couldn't handle everything at once, so that's why..."
"You shouldn't have come here."
Emily finally snapped out of it, interrupting William and looking at him coldly.
"Did you come to help me? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Everything here is already resolved. My mother is back. I don't need your help."
Emily's lips curved slightly into a smile without any trace of sarcasm, only calmness, as if she were looking at the most familiar stranger.
"I've also found a job. From now on, I can earn money to support myself and the people around me."
"To be exact, I don't need you anymore. Whatever happens, I can live well without you. Please leave."
During the days William was missing, Emily had felt angry, upset, desperate, and sad. She'd had all kinds of emotions.
She had even secretly vowed that when William came back, she would demand to know where he went and why he had promised to help but left her alone to clean up the mess.
But now that she actually saw William, she couldn't say a word. All those prepared questions were swallowed back down.
It all seemed unnecessary now. Whether she asked or not, the answer was already there, and the result was obvious. What would asking change? It would only add to her troubles.
"Emily, please don't be like this, okay?"
For the first time, William spoke to someone in such a humble way. His wound sent a wave of unbearable pain through him.
He gritted his teeth and forcibly grabbed Emily's hand. "Let's go inside and talk."
"You don't need to come in."
Emily raised her hand and pushed him away. The force wasn't great.
But William stumbled backward, hitting the wall behind him. He covered his chest with his hand, a flash of pain in his eyes.
He had more than a dozen stitches in his chest. It had still been bleeding last night. His movements just now were a bit too much — he didn't know if the stitches had come loose.
But Emily didn't look at William's expression, so naturally she didn't know how much pain he was in.
"Mr. Brown, this is my home, not yours. Please go back."
Emily picked up the scattered vegetables from the ground, opened the door, and walked in.
"Wait!" William raised his hand and tried to rush over, but because of the severe pain, his movements were much slower.
When his hand finally touched the door, Emily had already shut it firmly.
"Emily! Emily!"
William pounded on the door, looking anxious. "Won't you even give me a chance to explain? Do you really think I'm such an irresponsible person?"
"Do you really think I deliberately disappeared and left you to face despair alone? We've known each other for so long — is this really what you think of me?"
Through the thick door, William's questioning voice reached Emily's ears.
But she didn't stop walking. Her figure just wavered slightly as she headed to the living room.
William's voice gradually became unclear.
Oscar and Nina were playing in their room. Through the bedroom door, they didn't know what was happening outside.
But Amelia heard everything clearly when she came out of the bathroom. Seeing Emily's unpleasant expression, she seemed to understand.
"Emily, did William come?"
She walked to the door and looked through the peephole. "Why didn't you let him in?"
As she spoke, Amelia raised her hand to open the door.
"Don't open it for him."
Emily snorted coldly and pulled Amelia back.
"This isn't his home. I'm tired of him coming here all the time. He should go wherever he needs to go. I don't want to see him."
She didn't know if William, outside the door, heard this.
"Mom, I'm going to cook in the kitchen."
Emily carried the vegetables into the kitchen and didn't forget to remind her, "Don't open the door. I really don't want to see him. There's nothing for us to talk about."
"Mom, please don't make things difficult for me, okay?"
With these last words, Emily softened her tone, even sounding somewhat pleading.
She was really, really tired. Every day, there were endless problems to solve. Every day, she lived in fear and on edge.
Now that Amelia was finally back, her tense nerves could relax a bit. But then William came, and Emily had no energy left to deal with him.
What she wanted most now was to have a good meal, get some sleep, rest up, and go to work the next day in the best condition. She didn't want to deal with anything else.
Amelia hesitated but could only nod, deliberately ignoring William's knocking.
Emily intentionally turned the kitchen range hood to the highest setting. The roaring sound drowned out the noise from outside.
She also played cheerful music, as if proving to William outside that she was in a good mood. That heavy door separated the inside from the outside into two different worlds.
William's hand slowly slid down, covering his abdomen.
He could clearly feel blood seeping down over his skin. Without even checking, he knew the wound must have opened.
He should've gone back to the organization or to the hospital to stop the bleeding, but he chose neither. He just stood stubbornly outside the door.
He didn't believe Emily could be so heartless. Misunderstandings weren't scary — what was scary was that she wouldn't give him a chance to explain.
Was he really so unforgivable? Did Emily really think he was a cold-blooded jerk?
They had talked on the phone that day. She should've known he was on his way.
Wasn't she even curious about what had happened? Or did Emily not care about him at all?
Overthinking wasn't just a woman's privilege — men did it too, especially a man who had feelings for someone. That was exactly what William was like right now.
This floor was very quiet. The building's soundproofing was excellent.