Chapter 118
He could only hear the roar of the range hood's exhaust fan. Whatever Emily was doing or saying inside, he couldn't hear any of it.
Though Emily tried to act calm, her clumsy movements gave her away.
Usually, she could make a meal in just over an hour, but today it took her two hours.
By the time the last dish came out, it was almost 2 PM.
When it was time to eat, Emily served rice for Oscar and Nina, placing the bowls within reach. She kept her head down, her expression unchanged, as if William didn't exist.
Amelia glanced toward the door a couple of times. "Emily, I just checked outside. He's still there."
Emily's hand froze while serving rice, but quickly returned to normal. "Mom, why do you care about him?"
She frowned unhappily. "As I said, whatever he wants to do is his business. It has nothing to do with us."
"We just need to live our own lives. Otherwise, you're just making trouble for me."
"Emily, you can't say that."
Though Amelia didn't know what had happened, based on her experience reading people, William seemed pretty good.
When they'd both gone to pick her up from the hospital, she could clearly sense that while William didn't show it on his face, his attention was completely on Emily. He remembered every frown, every sneeze.
With that level of focus, Amelia didn't believe for a second that William didn't like Emily.
And she could also tell that Emily clearly had feelings for William, too.
If they both liked each other, what could have happened to make things so bad that they wouldn't even see each other?
"Mom, let's just eat."
Amelia wanted to say more, but Emily didn't want to hear it. She put the rice in front of Amelia and kept her head down, wishing she could just shut her ears.
Seeing this, Amelia couldn't say anything more.
Oscar and Nina exchanged confused looks, not knowing what was going on.
From the conversation, Oscar and Nina heard William's name mentioned.
But William had always been so good to their mom, and to them, too. What could he have done to make Mommy this angry?
This was Oscar and Nina's shared confusion.
The meal was very tense.
Emily went to the kitchen to wash the dishes when she suddenly heard the sound of the door unlocking.
She froze for a moment, then rushed out of the kitchen to see William coming in.
"Nina, you're amazing."
William bent down and, forcing through the pain, picked Nina up with a pale but relieved smile.
"Nina!" Emily shouted her name angrily.
Nina, who had been smiling, shrank back. She stopped letting William hold her and quickly jumped down. "William, Mommy, I'm going back to my room."
"You stop right there!"
Emily rolled up her sleeves, ready to spank her.
Nina ran fast and even locked the door behind her.
"Emily." William quickly came over and grabbed her arm. "Don't be angry. Can we talk?"
"I have nothing to say to you."
Emily's anger didn't fade. "Everything I wanted to say to you, I already said on the phone that day."
"Since you chose to disappear, you shouldn't have come back. I have nothing to say to someone like you."
"Someone like me?"
A bitter smile appeared on William's face. "What kind of person am I in your eyes?"
"A rich person, of course."
Emily snorted coldly, her tone sarcastic. "You rich people are so busy all the time, your phones are ringing off the hook. How could you possibly care about little people like us? Am I wrong?"
While eating earlier, Emily had thought a lot.
If William hadn't deliberately broken his promise, he must have been held up by something else.
What could have kept William away for several days? It must've been something very important.
Thinking about how William had mentioned going back to the Brown Mansion, Emily guessed something must have happened there.
But the Brown family was a prominent local family. If anything happened, the paparazzi would be the first to know.
Even the smallest rumor would be blown up by the media.
Yet over these past few days, she'd been constantly checking the online news and never heard anything. The Brown family seemed perfectly calm.
Raymond had even appeared in the media a couple of days ago, looking energetic and healthy, not at all like someone whose family was in trouble.
If nothing had happened to the Brown family, what else could have held William back?
Emily couldn't figure it out, no matter how hard she thought.
Last time William was gone for a while, Emily didn't ask what he was doing, but from his vague words, she could tell it was related to the Brown family.
So the Brown family was his top priority, and she came second?
But if nothing had happened to the Brown family, and he still didn't come to see her, where could he have gone?
It was truly puzzling.
"Get out!" Emily pushed William without caring.
"I'll say it again — this is my home, not yours! The property deed has my name on it. If you dare come again, I'll call the police and report you for trespassing!"
"Emily, calm down."
Amelia had come out of the bedroom at some point and naturally stood on William's side, stopping Emily.
"Mom!" Emily looked at her in shock. "Whose side are you on? I'm your daughter!"
"Emily, listen to me."
Amelia sighed deeply. "You two have known each other for quite a while. Even if you don't understand each other completely, don't you at least understand each other halfway?"
Hearing this, a flash of guilt crossed William's eyes.
William knew Amelia was trying to help him, to get Emily to calm down.
But strictly speaking, Emily really didn't understand him.
This wasn't Emily's fault — he'd never been honest with her.
Whether it was the Brown family matters, the organization's business, or Aiden's background, he'd never explained anything clearly to Emily.
From Emily's perspective, knowing nothing about the Brown family, no wonder she was this angry.
"Emily, give him a chance."
Amelia made the decision for Emily. "Look how anxious he is. He must have something to tell you."
"You wouldn't refuse without even listening, would you? What if it's really important? Won't you regret it later?"
She grabbed William's arm and held Emily's hand, pulling them together.
"You two go outside and talk. Come back after you've worked things out. Oscar and Nina need their nap."
With that, Amelia went into the bedroom without waiting for their response.
"Let's go."
William grabbed Emily and ran outside without giving her a choice.
His movements were quick, ignoring the pain in his body.
Even though he could clearly feel the stickiness on his abdomen and could even smell the metallic scent of blood, right now, he had only one thought in his mind.