Chapter 50 Meeting Eileen

Chapter 50 Meeting Eileen

Emily felt someone's gaze lingering on her from nearby. Curious, she looked up and locked eyes with a woman dressed simply yet elegantly, who carried an air of calm grace.

The woman appeared to be in her forties, with a subtle pride in her expression that wasn't overbearing. Her confidence seemed genuine rather than put on for show.

When her calm gaze swept over, Emily felt an inexplicable sensation, as if the woman was sizing her up.

The look wasn't offensive, but it made Emily feel strangely nervous.

Noticing her gaze, Eileen stopped walking but said nothing.

"What's wrong?" Noah finally noticed Emily's reaction. Following her gaze, he spotted the figure in the distance and raised his eyebrows in mild surprise.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

Emily was surprised—it was Noah's mother. That explained the particular way she'd been looking at her.

"I'm just browsing around."

Eileen nodded slightly. Emily quickly greeted her, but Eileen just gave a cool nod in return, barely acknowledging the greeting.

Emily sighed inwardly. Her reputation lately had been terrible—not only had she cut ties with her family over that jerk Adam, but recently rumors had spread about her fooling around with multiple men.

Since this was Noah's mother, it was understandable that she wouldn't think highly of her.

"Mom, Emily has been saying she wants to visit you at home, but she just got back not long ago and has been weak. She's been recovering."

"Is that so? I heard Ms. Hart was previously involved with the Blake Group..."

Before Eileen could finish, Noah interrupted, "Mom, let's not bring up the past. I'm completely satisfied as long as Emily is well."

"What's done is done—it's all water under the bridge. Why dwell on it?"

Noah frowned, his eyes showing some dissatisfaction with Eileen. Eileen was almost amused by her frustration.

This was her own son, actually lecturing her over another woman.

Emily was a bit stunned too. She'd been mentally preparing herself, thinking about how to explain her situation to Eileen, but Noah had cut her off directly.

His protectiveness warmed her heart—he really was such a gentleman, and so gentle.

"Fine, I wasn't really saying anything anyway."

Eileen sighed. What could she say? He was her own son, after all.

Noah smiled. He knew Eileen would understand, though he had gotten a bit worked up just now because he was afraid she might bring up things that would upset Emily.

"Ms. Hart, this is our first meeting, and I don't really know you, though I've heard some rumors. These things don't matter much to me, since my son has already chosen you."

"My only thought is that I hope you'll treat Noah well."

Emily nodded. "Mrs. Stone, don't worry, I understand. And you don't need to be so formal—just call me Emily."

"Alright then. When you have time, come home with Noah for a visit. I know those rumors are mostly false, and I haven't taken them to heart. But I hope that after you marry Noah, you'll completely leave the past behind, be devoted to Noah, stay with him properly, and never get involved with anyone irrelevant again. Do you understand?"

When mentioning this, Eileen's tone grew colder and her expression sharper.

Even though Eileen had agreed to Noah marrying Emily, she wasn't about to back down easily.

So before the two even got married, she'd decided to make her position clear and give Emily a good talking-to, making sure she remembered what she could and couldn't do.

"Mrs. Stone, don't worry, I'll remember everything you've said."

Emily nodded gently. She didn't feel offended because if she were Noah's mother, she'd definitely be cautious about her son getting involved with a girl like this too.

This had nothing to do with prejudice—it was purely a mother's love for her child.

However, Noah frowned slightly. Hearing Eileen lecture Emily like that made him uncomfortable.

He liked Emily so much, treasuring her like a precious gem in his heart. How could he tolerate anyone treating her this way?

Even if it was his mother, he didn't want Emily to feel wronged.

Eileen clearly knew it was all a misunderstanding, yet she still used those harsh words to warn Emily. It was going too far.

His expression turned cold as he looked at Eileen. "Mom, don't you think what you're saying is a bit inappropriate?"

Eileen raised her eyebrows, curious to see what foolish thing Noah would do next. He was already feeling sorry for her after just a few words of criticism? What a waste raising this son had been!

"Noah, it's okay."

Emily quickly reached out to stop him. That one "Noah" instantly extinguished the fire in his heart and even made his ears feel hot.

This seemed to be the first time Emily had called him by his name. Did this mean Emily was ready to open her heart and try to get closer to him?

"I understand what Mrs. Stone means. There's no malice in her words—it's just a simple reminder. If I put myself in her shoes, if I had a son, I'd definitely want him to find a good girl who would be devoted to him and take care of him. So Mrs. Stone hasn't done anything wrong."

"I've made many mistakes in the past and hurt my family. I was always selfishly thinking I could hurt the people closest to me however I wanted because they'd never leave anyway. But they get sad too, they feel disappointed, even let down."

"So I think we should never lose our temper with our family members easily. They're the people who love us most, and everything they think and do centers around us. They would never mean to harm us."

Noah understood what Emily meant and pressed his lips together slightly.

He'd just been too concerned about Emily and had unconsciously ignored Eileen's feelings. If he'd actually said those things, it might have really hurt Eileen.

"Mom, I was too impulsive just now." After recognizing his mistake, Noah apologized promptly, without any pretense.

Eileen smiled, her impression of Emily improving considerably.

"You're my son—how could I hold it against you?"

Eileen's mood lightened considerably. It seemed this Emily wasn't like the rumors suggested—spoiled, willful, and rude. Maybe she really had come to her senses. Either way, in Eileen's eyes now, Emily was sensible, and she and Noah were well-matched.

At least the Hart family was respectable. When the two kids got together in the future, she could help them out properly. They'd surely be happy together.