Chapter 32
"Emily, go check it out - there's someone outside the door waiting for you with a bouquet of roses!" A colleague came running over, out of breath, looking somewhat anxious.
Emily's brow furrowed slightly, and her expression darkened even more when she heard this.
Which idiot did this?
Waiting for her at the funeral home entrance with a bunch of roses?
Didn't he know where this was?
Everyone who came here was grieving, and here he was making such a scene - was he trying to ruin her job?
Emily suppressed her anger, thanked her colleague, quickly changed out of her work clothes, and left in a hurry.
As soon as she stepped outside, she saw James looking at her with what he thought was affection.
At that moment, Emily was furious.
This guy just wouldn't go away!
"What exactly do you want?" Emily didn't bother being nice to him anymore, not even pretending.
James put on a hurt expression and said seriously, "I just want to make you happy, to start over with you. Why are you being so cold to me?"
"Start over with me?" Emily snorted coldly, her face full of anger.
"Your idea of starting over with me is to ruin my job here? James, we had nothing between us before, and we won't have anything in the future. Please leave now and apologize to all the families here." Emily's stern demeanor actually intimidated James for a moment.
But James was completely shameless.
He glanced around, clutching the roses as he moved closer to Emily, trying to shove them into her arms.
Emily quickly stepped back, looking at him defensively. "James, watch your behavior!"
She suppressed her anger, her tone cold and hard.
This was her workplace, with people coming and going. Emily couldn't make a scene with James here - it would be disrespectful to the deceased.
Seeing her angry but unable to speak out, James seemed to have found a way to control her, and a bright smile appeared on his face.
"Emily, why do you keep pushing me away? We were husband and wife before, and we should be again." His shameless statement truly shocked Emily.
She couldn't take it anymore. Right there in public, she slapped him across the face.
The slap was crisp and loud, wiping the smugness right off James's face.
"You dare hit me!" James pressed his tongue against his back teeth, his eyes full of resentment.
Emily couldn't be bothered with him and called security to "escort" him out.
James didn't expect her to be so ruthless, but with everyone watching, he didn't want to embarrass himself further, so he left.
Seeing this trouble resolved, Emily quietly breathed a sigh of relief, though her disgust only grew stronger.
James had caused her trouble, so Emily had to swallow her pride and apologize to everyone present.
Her mood ruined, Emily wore a cold expression until the end of her shift.
In the locker room, a colleague looked at Emily curiously. "Who was that guy outside? He looked pretty handsome, but why was he acting so shameless?"
Seeing the gossip in her colleague's eyes, Emily sighed helplessly. "He's just a jerk."
She didn't say anything more.
Seeing this, the colleague didn't press further, just nodded and gave her a warning. "You really need to be careful. Our workplace is special - if someone with bad intentions gets something on you, you could lose your job."
Emily understood this was well-meaning advice and appreciated it.
"Okay, I'll make things clear with him. If this keeps going on, I can't handle it either." She made a self-deprecating joke, and the atmosphere between them became more relaxed.
After work, Emily unsurprisingly ran into James again on the road.
"Emily, we meet again." James sat in the driver's seat, waving at her with a cocky smile on his lips.
"James, what exactly do you want?" Emily stopped her e-bike right there on the roadside.
James pulled over behind her.
"I don't want anything. I just feel things aren't over between us, so I want to get back together with you." His smooth-talking manner disgusted Emily.
"There was never any relationship between us - it was all an accident. Besides, I already know what you guys did five years ago. What's there left to say?" Emily asked back, her expression cold.
Hearing her bring up the past, James felt rare guilt.
He touched his nose and said seriously, "If I'm willing to apologize for what I did before, would you forgive me?"
He put on a pitiful look, as if desperately seeking Emily's forgiveness.
Emily didn't want to waste time with him and nodded directly. "Fine, I forgive you now. Please leave and don't appear in my life again."
With that, she got back on her e-bike to leave.
But James blocked her path. "Your forgiveness is just to brush me off, so I don't accept it."
"Do I need you to accept it?" Emily asked back, frowning.
"I don't know what you're trying to achieve by pestering me like this, but if you dare cause trouble at my workplace again, don't blame me for not being nice." Her cold warning only made James more infatuated.
His eyes showed some obsession, then he lowered his voice. "Don't you like the flowers I sent you today?"
"If you were the one lying inside today, if you were my client, I could send you a flower for free." Emily smiled without warmth, her words full of sarcasm.
A flash of displeasure crossed James's face. "Emily, can't you just talk nicely?"
"I've never had anything nice to say to you."
Having been delayed so long after work, Emily checked the time on her phone, growing more impatient.
The kids and William were waiting at home, and she had things to do.
She didn't waste any more time and turned to leave.
Seeing that nothing he said could make her stay, James felt anger rising inside him.
"Don't think your two kids can really get into Funshine Preschool!" James suddenly spoke, his voice cold. "One of that preschool's admission requirements is that children must have both parents and come from a harmonious family. Those two bastards of yours have unknown origins and definitely don't meet their requirements. Even if you got them in now through some special connections, they'll definitely be kicked out eventually."
James spoke without restraint, and these words successfully stopped Emily in her tracks.