Chapter 128
Emily felt guilty; her words came out all jumbled, and she had no idea whether Oscar believed her or not.
"Alright, I need to go."
Emily stood up, gathered her packed belongings into one large bag, hoisted it up, and headed out.
Amelia and Nina were outside seeing Emily off. Their voices drifted in, including Nina's slightly whiny tone.
Oscar stayed alone in the bedroom, his brow still tightly furrowed.
He knew Emily was lying. When she spoke just now, her eyes kept darting away--clearly something was wrong.
That meant his guess was right. Emily's departure must have something to do with William.
But what happened to William? When he came by the house this afternoon, everything seemed fine. Then, in the blink of an eye, he disappeared. Really strange.
Now Emily was leaving too. Even stranger.
He couldn't figure it out, and he was too lazy to keep thinking about it.
Right now, he was more worried about something else.
Aiden had already left, saying he was going home, but he'd been gone for several days now.
Before, when he was around, Emily treated him so well. Why wouldn't he come back to see Emily now?
He left, and there hasn't been any word from him since. That doesn't make sense.
Unless Aiden got held up by something.
That's it! That must be it!
Oscar always fixated on things others couldn't understand, but he had a knack for them.
After going round and round in circles, he'd eventually figure out some shocking truth.
Rodolfo walked Emily downstairs and chatted with her for a bit.
He'd just called his wife, asking her to help temporarily look after the funeral home.
He would stay at Emily's place, making it easier to watch over Amelia and the two kids around the clock, in case something happened.
The two kids were okay, especially Oscar. Though he was just a child, he was clearly more mature than others his age and the least troublesome--he never caused Emily any problems.
What worried Emily most was Amelia. She might seem normal now, but no one knew when she'd have an episode again.
Once she had an episode, she wouldn't recognize anyone. Not only would she run out of the house for no reason, but she might also even hurt the two kids.
Emily couldn't bear to think what chaos would break out at home if Amelia had an episode while she was away.
But now, with Rodolfo helping to watch over things, she had no more worries.
"Emily, you and William have been pretty close lately."
While Emily waited for her ride at the door, Rodolfo suddenly said this.
Emily froze slightly. "Mr. McCoy, what do you mean...?"
Rodolfo smiled. "Don't worry, I don't mean anything by it. I just want to ask if you know about William's background."
Emily's pupils contracted slightly. Her lips moved, but she didn't respond.
Normally, there was no way Rodolfo would know William's true identity. Although Rodolfo had met him, William wouldn't go around talking about such things.
Even though she had only found out recently, so why would Rodolfo suddenly ask about it? And from his manner, it wasn't just a casual question.
Emily thought for a moment, then said softly, "Whatever his background is, I just know he means me no harm. I do appreciate him. We can just be friends."
"Just appreciate him?"
Rodolfo asked again.
Emily's smile froze, her eyes clearly evasive.
Of course, it wasn't just appreciation. Last time William left, she felt empty inside, like something was missing, though she couldn't quite explain it.
Not until her mother got into trouble this time, and with nowhere else to turn, could she only think of William, desperately calling him for help.
In that moment, Emily realized she'd already fallen for William.
For so long, she'd gotten used to William taking care of her, used to him being by her side helping solve problems big and small, and long used to turning to William first whenever she felt helpless.
He always stood by her side, helping solve all her troubles without needing a reason.
As if, with William around, even the most troublesome matters would become easy.
At first, Emily didn't know what that was. Now she seemed to understand a little.
Especially today, seeing William collapse from his injuries, her whole heart clenched tight--an emotion she'd never experienced before.
When Amelia was taken away by her father, Emily was anxious too, and even felt like giving up at one point.
But today, seeing William collapse, she was even more worried that William wouldn't survive.
These were two completely different yet strangely similar feelings.
Now, with Rodolfo suddenly asking such questions, though he hadn't said it outright, Emily understood what he meant.
"Emily, you need to think carefully about this."
Rodolfo patted Emily's shoulder lightly. "The gap between people is sometimes bigger than the gap between people and animals. Having a good relationship doesn't necessarily mean you can close that distance."
"Many times, some people can only share hardship, not prosperity. You must think it through."
"Remember, whatever decision you make, as long as you can handle the consequences, you can go ahead and make it."
Emily fell silent.
The implication in Rodolfo's words was obvious. From the first time he saw William, he thought he was no ordinary person.
Though William hadn't said much then, he was vague about his background.
But just from the man's bearing and way of handling things, he knew he definitely wasn't ordinary.
He'd originally thought Emily saving him was just a small favor, that their paths had crossed briefly, and that nothing else would happen. He never expected their connection to run so deep.
Now that things had developed this far, Emily was getting more and more drawn into William's affairs. It wouldn't be so easy to pull away later. If the two of them were destined to be tied together, what would the consequences be?
These consequences wouldn't just affect Emily alone, but also her mother and the two children.
If anything went wrong, it would be devastating.
"Mr. McCoy, I've taken in everything you said."
Emily thought for a long while, not coming back to herself until the car arrived.
She looked at Rodolfo seriously. "Mr. McCoy, you're right. I'll think carefully about what you said and take responsibility for every decision I make."
The driver kept honking, urging her to get in. Emily didn't say more, picked up her luggage, got in, and waved goodbye to Rodolfo.
But after closing the window, she fell into deep thought.
Others might not know, but she was clear that the Brown family waters ran very deep. Now she also knew about Clarence.
Without asking, William and Clarence had already been fighting tooth and nail to the death. Maybe even William's car accident was Clarence's doing.
That meant that before long, sometime in the future, the Brown family would definitely experience a major upheaval, a complete reshuffling from the inside out. Who would win or lose was hard to say.
And she'd gotten caught up in this conflict at this very moment. No one could guarantee that she'd come out of it okay in the end.