Chapter 36 The One I Pursue
The smile on Lillian's face gradually faded, her eyes filled with worry. "Yeah, this is the first time I've seen him like this."
Hearing this, Emily lowered her eyes, her fingers gripping the spoon tightly as an indescribable bitterness welled up in her heart.
Of course she knew what it was about—Grace must have stirred up trouble again.
But in front of her parents, she could only force herself to stay calm, pulling out a strained smile. "It's probably just something with a company project. He's been really busy lately. He squeezed out time to come today. It's fine, Mom and Dad, let's keep eating."
She couldn't even convince herself with those words.
Maybe it was the early pregnancy—her emotions and hormones were unstable. Her nose stung badly, and she almost couldn't hold back her tears.
"Emmie, you..." They say mothers and daughters are connected at heart. Lillian was about to press further.
"Don't worry, Lillian. Mr. Baker runs the Baker Corporation—he really is swamped." Matthew smoothed things over.
His gaze fell on Emily's pale face. "You're tired today too. Let me drive you home later."
Emily shook her head, forcing down the bitterness in her heart. "Thanks Matthew, but I can get home on my own."
Then she forced out another smile. "Dad, Mom, don't overthink it. Alex will call me when he's done, and I'll let you know then."
Though worried, the Andrews knew not to pry further. "Alex is great in every way, just a bit too cold."
To this, Emily could only smile weakly.
When it was time to leave, Matthew caught up with her. "Emmie, let me drive you. I'm worried about you in this state."
Emily pulled her cardigan tighter and laughed. "It's fine, I called a car. It's only 5 minutes away. Matthew, thanks for coming to see my dad today."
Matthew smiled gently. "No need to be so formal with me. Be careful on the way home, and call me if anything comes up."
As they spoke, the car arrived.
After saying goodbye, Emily got in alone and headed back to the old mansion.
She leaned against the car window, watching the scenery fly by in reverse, unable to hold back her grievance and sadness any longer. Tears fell silently.
What was she even doing this for?
Three years, and all she got in return was his repeated favoritism and hurt.
Even on the day her father's name was finally cleared—a day that should have been joyful—he could leave without hesitation for another woman.
She was really tired, too tired to even argue anymore.
When she returned to the Baker family mansion, it was already past nine.
The old house was quiet. The old lady had gone to bed.
Emily didn't want to go to the second-floor bedroom she shared with Alex, so she went straight to sit on the sofa.
In this huge house, there wasn't a single room that belonged to her alone.
Before she knew it, she slowly drifted off to sleep.
At eleven, Alex came home.
As soon as he stepped into the living room, he saw the figure curled up on the sofa, slender and fragile.
Emily's brows were slightly furrowed, as if she wasn't sleeping peacefully.
Alex raised his hand to unbutton his suit jacket and pressed his brow. "Emily, get up and go sleep upstairs."
But she was sleeping deeply and didn't respond.
Alex paused, looking at that fair, delicate face. His heart inexplicably softened, and he walked over quietly, watching her sleep.
After a moment of silence, he bent down and scooped Emily up in his arms.
Emily was sleeping so deeply that even when he picked her up, she only murmured unconsciously, "Honey..."
Alex froze. His heart felt like something had gently bumped against it. He looked down at her, but she showed no signs of waking.
She just found a comfortable position in his arms and continued sleeping.
Alex tightened his arms around her. "If you were this obedient when awake, we might have already..."
Suddenly, he stopped mid-sentence and said nothing more.
At this moment, all that remained was a heart full of complicated emotions.
Back in the room, Alex carried her to bed.
The soft light fell on her face, outlining her delicate features. Her long, curled lashes were distinct, so beautiful she looked like a Barbie doll.
Alex's Adam's apple bobbed. He tried to resist but couldn't hold back. He leaned down and kissed those lips, lingering and exploring, easily parting her teeth. His eyes churned with a possessiveness even he hadn't noticed.
The woman's natural scent drifted over. Alex's breathing grew heavier, and he momentarily lost control of the force of his kiss.
Emily was kissed awake.
She suddenly sensed something was wrong and snapped her eyes open to find Alex's face right in front of hers. "Alex, what are you doing! Taking advantage of me while I'm sleeping?"
Alex was suddenly pushed back a bit. He pressed his tongue against his cheek and laughed mockingly. "What's the rush? It's not like we haven't kissed before."
With that, he leaned in to kiss her again, but this time it was brief.
Emily exploded. "Alex, you're shameless!"
Before she could get really angry, Alex let her go. "Alright, time to sleep."
With that, he lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms.
Emily struggled a few times. "Who wants to sleep in your arms? Let go!"
But he held her so tightly she couldn't break free. Angry and annoyed, she said through gritted teeth, "Alex, what's wrong with you? You just left without a second thought for Grace, and now you're pretending to be what?"
Emily's voice was ice-cold.
Alex narrowed his eyes, resting his chin on top of her head. "What, jealous?"
When Emily heard this, the fire in her heart burned even hotter. "Me, jealous of you? That's hilarious."
"Then stop asking." Alex ended the conversation with one sentence.
Emily was furious. Why should she?
She struggled a few more times to no avail and simply gave up—she was too lazy to move anyway. "Hey, coaxing this one and that one—you're pretty good at time management, aren't you?"
Alex reached out and pinched the soft flesh at her waist. "If you don't want to sleep, we can do something else."
His lowered voice carried a hint of invisible danger.
Emily fell silent.
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
After a few minutes, Emily smiled wickedly. "I'm actually curious—back then, who chased who between you two?"
Actually, she'd been holding these words in for three years but never had the chance to ask.
Today she finally couldn't help but speak up.
"I chased her."
His tone was frank.
He admitted it quite readily.
Emily laughed bitterly.
But those few simple words were like a heavy hammer smashing into her heart, spreading dense, intricate pain.
Yeah, she should have known all along.
Someone as proud as Alex—if he wasn't willing, who could make him act this way?
A pent-up anger stuck in her chest. Emily said nothing more and closed her eyes, but a tear slid down.
Then what did all those times she chased after Alex count for?