Chapter 21
Emily used cooking as an excuse to leave Aiden and Nina with William, then turned around to call her best friend, Evelyn Thomas. "Evelyn, how have you been lately?"
At Emily's greeting, Evelyn laughed cheerfully. "Pretty good. By the way, I've sorted out the school spots for Oscar and Nina. That Happy World Preschool closer to you is quite good - the principal gave me two spots."
Hearing Evelyn's words, Emily was overjoyed.
Oscar and Nina were already old enough for preschool, but nearby preschools were all full. Emily had no choice but to ask Evelyn for help. "Evelyn, thank you so much."
At Emily's thanks, Evelyn smiled. "Then treat me to dinner sometime, and bring the two kids along. I haven't seen them in ages."
She was a professional agent, and when busy, she traveled everywhere, working from the moment she opened her eyes.
"Sure." Emily agreed right away and chatted with her for a bit more.
"Emily, have you been in contact with the Johnson family recently?" Evelyn's question was somewhat abrupt, but Emily didn't take it to heart.
"Sophia has come to cause trouble a few times recently, but she didn't get anywhere." She spoke lightly, not wanting her problems to affect Evelyn's mood.
Evelyn understood and rubbed her temples, cursing, "These people are really hard to shake off!"
Hearing the anger in her voice, Emily tried to comfort her gently. "It's useless for them to bother me. I won't give in."
Emily's tone was calm, but beneath that calmness was a hint of quiet intensity.
"Just be careful yourself, watch out for those people scheming behind your back." After this reminder, Evelyn suddenly fell silent.
Just when Emily thought she'd lost connection, Evelyn deliberately lowered her voice. "Harper seems to be keeping a young male celebrity from our company now."
When she said this, Emily was washing vegetables.
Splash - the vegetables in her hands fell into the sink.
Emily never expected Evelyn to have learned such shocking news and was instantly stunned.
"Are you okay?" Evelyn hadn't expected Emily's reaction to be so strong and asked with some concern.
"I'm fine, but is this news real?" Emily took out the vegetables and set them aside, focusing on the conversation.
"Of course!"
No one could question gossip that came from Evelyn's mouth, not even Emily, her best friend.
But this whole thing sounded too ridiculous!
If she remembered correctly, Harper should be almost fifty now.
In Emily's impression, she paid great attention to her appearance and had spent who knows how much money on her face.
But no matter how much Harper maintained herself, her age was still there.
A woman close to fifty, while her lover was still around, was actually keeping another man on the side!
Harper claimed to love Brian the most, to be completely devoted to him, putting him first in everything.
Was that all fake?
Seeing no response from Emily's end for a while, Evelyn guessed her news had shocked her too much.
She coughed lightly, speaking somewhat awkwardly. "To be honest, at first I thought people were just spreading rumors. But I secretly followed that artist for a few days and confirmed it was true. I saw with my own eyes him and Harper entering the same hotel room."
Emily was silent for a moment before finding her voice. "I never thought she was playing around like this on the side."
"Me neither." Evelyn echoed the sentiment, then said seriously, "I'm telling you this so you can better protect yourself and the two kids. If necessary, the company can also drop that disreputable artist."
By saying this, Evelyn was backing her up.
Emily was moved and understood what a big risk she was taking.
After all, that artist was from the same company as her.
If something happened to that artist and the company investigated, they would inevitably trace it back to Evelyn.
So, to avoid damaging her work, Emily just kept this information to herself.
She made up her mind that unless it was absolutely critical, she would never reveal it.
The two chatted for a bit more before hanging up.
When Emily finished cooking and came out, she saw William huddled together with Aiden and Nina playing cards.
"I won!" Nina exclaimed with delight, placing her cards on the table.
"Nina, you're amazing." Aiden's eyes didn't blink as he praised her.
"Of course!" Nina patted her little chest, looking proud.
Emily came over for a look and also praised them a few times. "Go wash your hands, time to eat."
"Okay!"
Aiden and Nina said in unison, then walked toward the bathroom together.
"Both your kids are pretty smart." After the children left, William suddenly spoke.
Emily smiled at this, her hands skillfully gathering up the cards on the table.
"They are indeed smart, but their personalities are different. Oscar doesn't need me to worry about his studies, but Nina is different. She doesn't like this 'boring' knowledge - she needs learning to be fun."
William's gaze fell on her, and his heart suddenly softened a bit.
Emily's voice was gentle, and her words were full of care and understanding for the two children.
If that woman from years ago really was her, he thought, he would have been willing to marry her.
William was still lost in thought when Emily had already efficiently called them to dinner.
"By the way, I think I heard some strange sounds outside the yard today."
At the dinner table, William seemingly casually brought up the matter of the Johnson family sending people.
Of course, he didn't say it directly.
Emily's smile froze, and her eyes turned completely cold.
"Do you know what happened outside?"
Facing Emily's question, William shook his head. "I was playing with Oscar and Nina in the room, and didn't let them go out."
Emily breathed a sigh of relief and felt more grateful toward William. "Thank you for taking care of them."
Facing her polite thanks, William didn't take it to heart.
He brought this up mainly hoping Emily would be more vigilant.
Although his people were now guarding outside the small yard, he couldn't guarantee that nothing would happen.
Today, the Johnsons had miscalculated, not expecting there to be people outside the yard. Once they knew, they might very well come better prepared next time.
So Emily still needed to stay on guard.