Chapter 15: Without You, There's No Wedding

Emma subtly sidestepped.

If it were her master asking her to kneel, she would undoubtedly do so without hesitation. However, she would never do it for this group of people who were selfish and immoral.

Joey was shaking with anger. "You disobedient girl, how dare you dodge!"

Emma looked at him as if he were a fool. "Should I not dodge and let you hit me?"

She glanced at Zoe and said to Joey, "Do you really believe her? Do you think your son is innocent? If so, why does he have so many indecent photos on his phone? Furthermore, if I was unlucky, he would have taken nude pictures of me by now. If Austin was just trying to scare me, why did the police believe me and directly arrest him? Or is it that your family doesn't care about the police and thinks they're biased in helping me, putting the law in second place?"

The last sentence was said loudly enough for passersby to hear again. Even the police couldn't stand it and stepped forward to speak. "Austin Smith is suspected of kidnapping and insulting Emma. There are also humiliating videos and photos of other women on his phone. The situation is severe. Miss Smith is just a victim."

Both Joey and Karla's faces were grim. They knew what their son had done.

Emma took advantage of the chaos and left. As she left the police station, she bumped into James.

The sky outside was already dark. James leaned against the car, staring at the sky. The stars reflected in his eyes were particularly bright, making it hard to look away.

As if sensing her gaze, James looked over, and the stars in his eyes turned into her.

Emma's heart skipped a beat inexplicably, suddenly feeling that marrying such a beautiful man wouldn't be a bad idea.

James walked over, his gentle gaze sweeping over her, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Emma nodded, then she didn't know what else to say.

Even if James was somewhat disreputable, he probably knew that Emma had asked Zoe to marry him instead. His mood was somewhat affected.

For a moment, the two fell into silence.

James pursed his lips, his eyes dark and uncertain, his tone calm. "If you don't want to marry me, you can say so. I will help you resolve everything."

Emma really wanted to say that she had decided to let Zoe marry him instead, but in the eyes of others, she was the stand-in for Zoe marrying James. Now, it had become the opposite, which was that Zoe was her stand-in.

It was as if no one wanted to marry James.

However, Emma suddenly felt that James was not bad.

At that moment, her phone rang. It was her master calling.

She looked at James. “I have to answer this.”

Her master rarely called her, and every time he did, it was for something important.

As soon as she answered, her master's hearty laughter came through. "How's it going? Are you satisfied with the husband I found for you?"

Emma said, "The Smith family wants Zoe to marry him. I can't do it."

As soon as she finished speaking, Manfred became angry. "You arranged for them to do that, right? Why are you so unwilling to marry James?"

Emma glanced at James not far away, who seemed to still be waiting for her.

She steadied her mind and said slowly, "Master, he and I are strangers, and it's the Smith family's decision to have Zoe marry him. I can't change it..."

"Even so, you still have to change it!" The usually kind Manfred was now full of anger and impatience. "If you don't marry him, don't ever see me again."

"Why do you insist on me marrying him, Master?" Emma's heart ached, and she couldn't help but ask.

When the Smith family members said such things, she would be indifferent, but she couldn't do the same to her master.

Manfred was the one who took her in, providing her with delicious food since she was little. He treated her like his own daughter, intervening in nothing except forbidding her from leaving the mountain. He even taught her many skills.

Otherwise, Emma wouldn't have agreed to marry James in the first place.

At first, she thought Manfred just wanted her to fulfill the marriage contract between the Smith and the Anderson families. She thought that after solving this problem, Manfred would let her go back. She didn't expect him to insist on her marrying James. Emma didn’t understand why.

The voice from the other end of the line became much calmer, seemingly a bit helpless. "Just follow the path I've set for you. James will be a good match for you. As long as you marry him, after a year, if you still don't like him, I will allow you to divorce. Is that okay?"

Emma's eyes finally brightened, and she smiled softly. "Okay! Master, you must keep your word!"

Emma couldn't accept spending the rest of her life with someone she didn't love, but she could accept it for a year.

After hanging up the phone, Emma felt pleased. She walked up to James, who clearly wasn't in a good mood. "Mr. Anderson, see you at the wedding tomorrow."

James's gaze remained dim, but there was a hint of sarcasm in his lips. "Without you, there's no wedding."

Emma didn't understand why James wanted to marry her. Maybe he had never seen anyone pretty before, but to be fair, he was quite good to her.

Emma said, "No, it's our wedding. I've decided to marry you. Is that okay?"

"Of course!" James's eyes lit up instantly. Emma couldn't help but look at his eyes a few more times. They were really beautiful.

Her heart skipped a beat. She quickly shifted her gaze and continued to maintain her composure. "But I have a condition."

"Okay, I promise!" James nodded without any hesitation.

Emma smiled. "Don't you want to know what the condition is? What if it's unreasonable?"

James looked at her seriously. "All my property is in your hands. That card has all my savings, 400 million."

Emma certainly remembered the bank card he gave her. She had never used it and thought there were only twenty thousand inside.

Four hundred million was more than the value of all the assets of the Smith family combined.

"How did you get so much?" This time, Emma was shocked. She knew that the Anderson family gave James money every month, but she didn't know there was so much. It was said that James often spent a lot of money treating others to drinks.

James's lips curled up slightly. "It's okay. Wife, don't worry. I can afford you. Whatever condition you have, I will try my best to fulfill it."

He called her wife again.

Emma didn't resist much this time. After all, the wedding was tomorrow.

Moreover, Emma directly stated the one-year agreement. "After a year, we'll divorce. If you agree, then we'll get married."

James's eyes darkened again, showing the same expression as before.

Emma felt like a scumbag.

He gave her everything, yet she planned to divorce him in a year, not even mentioning the possibility of falling in love with him.

Emma closed her eyes and made up her mind. She couldn't waste time on a romantic relationship.

Moreover, this marriage was not about love. She wanted freedom of choice.

If James didn't accept, even if her master pressured her again, Emma wouldn't agree.