Chapter 126
William looked up again, a glimmer of light in his eyes. "Now that everything's been cleared up, will you forgive me?"
But Emily shook her head.
William's heart sank. She still wouldn't forgive him? What should he do to make Emily happy?
"You don't need my forgiveness."
Emily explained, "You didn't do anything wrong at all. If I were you, in that situation, it would be really hard to know what to do. I have no right to blame you."
Emily's feelings had been complicated all along.
She was the one who hadn't believed William before, and now she was the one apologizing to him.
But she really hadn't expected something like this to happen to William. If he hadn't told her himself, she would never have believed it.
"I'm sorry."
Emily apologized again. "I'm sorry for what I said to you before. I shouldn't have doubted you, and I had no reason to blame you."
She sighed. "Thinking about it now, helping me was a favor, not an obligation at all. I had no right to blame you. You have your own things to deal with. I hope you're not mad at me."
"How could I be?"
William propped himself up to sit. "Don't blame yourself. In the end, I'm the one at fault. I promised to help you, but couldn't, and I left you to deal with everything alone. I'm the one who should apologize."
Seeing Emily about to speak again, William quickly stopped her. "Don't apologize anymore. I'm sick of hearing 'I'm sorry.'"
"If you really feel bad, just take good care of me from now on."
"Me take care of you?"
Emily quickly shook her head. "I don't have any experience taking care of people. Better not."
"But don't worry, I'll hire a caregiver for you."
"No, it's better if you do it."
William weakly clutched his chest. Just moments ago, he'd been full of energy; now, he seemed barely alive.
"You know I'm hurt this badly, and it can't be known by outsiders. If you get someone else to take care of me, the more people who know, the greater the risk of exposure."
"What if my uncle finds out and tracks me down here to finish me off?"
"It's not that dramatic, is it?"
Emily didn't believe him. "It's broad daylight in a lawful society. Your uncle isn't a murderer. How could he do that?"
William said nothing, just looked at her quietly.
Emily's heart skipped a beat, and she wisely shut her mouth.
William's uncle indeed wasn't a murderer, but what he'd done was worse than murder--completely lawless.
No matter what, he and William were blood relatives, yet he chose to destroy William completely, hurting him this badly. It was outrageous!
Emily wasn't from a wealthy family and didn't understand why such things happened among the rich, but she knew the fault lay with William's uncle alone.
William had a point. With injuries this severe, if word got out, there'd be serious trouble.
"Alright."
Emily nodded. "I'll tell my teacher I'll go to the funeral home a few days later. I'll stay at the hospital to take care of you, and we'll figure things out after you're discharged."
She paused, then continued, "But I can't be at the hospital all the time. Oscar and Nina are still at home."
"My mom hasn't had an episode yet, but I don't know when she might suddenly have one, so I need to go home regularly."
"Okay."
William nodded, staring straight at Emily, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
It seemed he'd found a silver lining in this disaster.
Before all this, though he and Emily had a good relationship, it always felt like something was missing. The barrier between them had never had a chance to be broken.
But now, with his shameless request, he'd gotten the chance to have Emily take care of him.
Without question, he would treasure this rare opportunity over the next few days to deepen their relationship.
If nothing else, a misunderstanding like this one could never happen again.
He couldn't bear losing Emily, and he didn't want her to distance herself from him.
Then, having just woken up, William fell asleep again from exhaustion.
Emily actually had many more questions to ask him, but seeing him like this, she couldn't bring herself to ask.
After William fell asleep, Emily didn't leave right away. She sat by the bed until the anesthesia wore off and William woke up in pain.
The doctor had said William's injuries were so severe that he needed a pain pump, but even with it, William was still in a lot of pain.
Though he didn't show it, his pale face and the fine beads of sweat on his forehead revealed how much he was suffering.
Emily felt even less comfortable about leaving. She stayed with him until his pain lessened and he fell asleep again, then finally left the hospital to go home.
William had been admitted to the hospital in a rush. If Emily was going to stay at the hospital with him, she needed to go home and pack some things first.
When Emily got home, Rodolfo was there, chatting with Amelia.
Emily had been gone so long, yet Amelia had been fine the whole time--no breakdowns, no episodes, no violent behavior. Emily felt much more at ease.
"Emily, you're finally back."
Amelia was the first to greet her. "Where did you go? You were gone so long, it's completely dark out. I thought you weren't coming home tonight."
"Sorry, Mom, I worried you."
Emily smiled apologetically. "Something came up, but it's taken care of now. Though I have to go out again soon, and I probably won't be back tonight."
"What's so urgent?"
Emily hesitated, then decided not to say.
William's injury involved too much. It was better not to let Amelia know. The more she knew, the more likely she'd get dragged into it.
If something happened on William's end, Amelia definitely wouldn't be able to stay clear of it.
"Mr. McCoy, what brings you here?"
Emily changed the subject, looking at Rodolfo.
Rodolfo stood up. "Things aren't too busy at the funeral home, and it's not far from here. I came to see what you're up to and if there's anything I can help you with."
He looked around and nodded. "Looks like you really are busy. You can't come to work tomorrow, can you?"
Emily lowered her head sheepishly.
She really couldn't go to work. She'd come back planning to tell Rodolfo. She at least needed to take care of William properly first, and only talk about work after he recovered. She hadn't expected Rodolfo to come here first.
Emily remembered what Rodolfo had just said, and her eyes lit up. "Mr. McCoy, you just said the funeral home isn't too busy lately?"
Rodolfo nodded.
"What's up?"
Emily had an idea. "Mr. McCoy, can we talk privately for a moment?"
Originally, Emily hadn't planned to ask Rodolfo for help. She'd wanted to hire an extra helper temporarily to look after the house and care for her mother, so she could feel at ease when she wasn't there.