Chapter 78
After such a long time apart, Rodolfo had fully recovered.
He'd just been discharged from the hospital yesterday, and today he couldn't wait to come see Emily.
"Emily, are you home?"
At the familiar voice, Emily's heart tightened. She quickly covered her mouth, afraid she might cry out involuntarily.
At the same time, Emily let go and took a step back, trying hard not to make any sound.
She was truly shocked inside. Of course, Emily was happy that Rodolfo had been discharged, but the fact that he could find this place was completely unexpected.
"Emily, are you home?"
Rodolfo knocked gently on the door.
Emily kept her hand firmly over her mouth, not daring to make a sound.
She would never forget why she moved, why she quit her job at the funeral home. She had already decided back then that she could never drag Rodolfo down again.
If she went out now and someone was watching her from the shadows, Sophia would find out, and wouldn't that put Rodolfo in danger again?
Since she had already decided to cut ties with Rodolfo completely, she couldn't let the tragedy repeat itself, or all her efforts would be wasted.
Rodolfo called out several times, but there wasn't a sound from inside. Disappointment flashed in his eyes. It seemed Emily wasn't home.
During his hospital stay, he had recovered well and had seen the variety show Emily participated in. He was very happy for Emily, so after being discharged, he wanted to come check on how Emily was doing and see if there was anything he could help with.
But he hadn't expected to come at a bad time - Emily wasn't home.
Rodolfo sighed deeply and shook his head. He put down the things he'd brought and was about to leave, but when he turned around, he froze. There was a bicycle in the yard - Emily's bicycle.
Emily used to ride this bike to work at the funeral home. Rodolfo recognized it, which meant Emily was home.
Rodolfo looked at the door, the disappointment in his eyes growing heavier. Emily didn't want to see him. He stared at that tightly closed door, while Emily was also watching him through it.
"I'm sorry."
Emily murmured in her heart: "I can't meet with you, can't bring you any more trouble. If possible, just pretend you never had me as your apprentice."
This was Emily's truest feeling.
Many things in life are beyond one's control, and all you can do is accept them. Sophia was so crazy - just because she had a grudge against her, Sophia not only bullied Rodolfo, but Nina couldn't escape.
Emily didn't dare think about what would happen if Rodolfo suffered another disaster because of her next time.
Sophia was just too much! And she couldn't give Sophia another chance to harm the people around her.
However, Rodolfo didn't leave. Instead, he suddenly walked back and stood at the door, continuing to look inside, but he couldn't see anything.
He sighed softly, "Emily, I know you're inside, and I know why you don't want to see me."
"Don't worry, I won't blame you. I also know the reason you're doing all this. Honestly, seeing that you're safe, I'm really happy for you."
"Since we won't have a chance to meet again, you must take good care of yourself. Don't make me worry."
He straightened his clothes and smiled reassuringly at the peephole.
"Seeing that you and the children are doing well puts my mind at ease. You don't need to feel guilty. You haven't dragged me down at all, and I've never blamed you. You must take good care of yourself from now on, okay?"
Like a father, he went on and on giving instructions about many things, covering every detail, afraid Emily wouldn't listen.
Emily really wanted to speak, but she held back, saying "I'm sorry" over and over in her heart.
Rodolfo didn't stay long. Seeing that Emily really had no intention of coming out, he shook his head and had to leave.
Emily couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears fell.
All of this was because of Sophia. If it weren't for Sophia, she wouldn't have to be so restricted and careful, but now she couldn't do anything except endure for the time being.
Only after Rodolfo left, when Emily heard no more sounds outside, did she carefully open the door a crack.
Rodolfo had indeed left. It was quiet outside, with the children's toys scattered on the ground. Emily's heart felt even worse seeing this.
"I'm sorry..."
Emily leaned against the door frame, sobbing uncontrollably.
William came out from inside just in time to see this scene and hurried over, "What happened?"
Emily ignored him, just kept her head down, and cried.
William's expression changed. "Did Sophia come?"
"No."
Emily finally spoke, took a deep breath, wiped her tears, and pulled herself together. "Rodolfo was just here."
She briefly explained what happened in just a few sentences, her tone flat, but William could feel how upset Emily was inside.
"Actually, you don't have to do this."
William pointed out a different path to Emily, "You don't need to be afraid of Sophia. She's too busy with her own troubles now to have time to bother you."
"You could put this aside and secretly meet with Rodolfo. Nothing would happen."
"No need, I don't want to take that risk."
Emily shook her head, "When I decided to quit the funeral home, I had already thought it through. I won't go back."
"As for Sophia, I know how crazy she is. I also know that when she finds out Rodolfo and I are still in contact, she'll definitely go after Rodolfo again. That's just how vicious she is. I look down on her from the bottom of my heart."
Emily clenched her fists, her face cold, "All the troubles she's facing now are her karma, but I can't let my guard down."
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."
Emily gave William a slight smile, "I still need to cook. Why did you come out?"
"It's nothing."
William shook his head, thinking about other things.
Emily turned and left. William returned to sit on the sofa, his expression very serious.
Sophia was indeed too crazy.
Emily wasn't afraid of Sophia herself, but was afraid of Sophia targeting the people around her.
Like Rodolfo - he hadn't done anything to anyone, yet got beaten up for no reason. Luckily, Sophia didn't make things worse and spared Rodolfo's life.
If Sophia had been a bit more ruthless, it would be hard to say whether Rodolfo would still be alive now. No wonder Emily was so scared.
But what William had wanted to say just now was that he wanted to protect Emily, protect everyone around her and her children, but when the words reached his lips, William stopped.
With his abilities, protecting Emily wouldn't be difficult, but the problem was that he was about to return to the Brown family, and after going back, no one knew what would happen.