The first time, it was Daniel Taylor who set up the meeting. He never showed.
What happened next?
He hurt Emma Johnson, claimed he mistook her for someone else, and then—inexplicably—she ended up married to Liam Williams!
The second time they met, he bumped into someone without a second thought. Emma stepped in to help.
After that, she ran into Emilia Clark and nearly lost her life.
And now, she was meeting him here, at The Waterfront?
"Why you again? What are you doing here?" Emma demanded this time.
The pain on her forehead made her voice sharp. She wasn't gentle at all. She practically shouted.
"Daniel Taylor, why are you everywhere? Every time I run into you, something terrible happens!"
"You say that like this place belongs to you. If you can be here, why can't I?"
"I... I don't want to talk to you..." Emma shot him a glare, walked to the water dispenser, grabbed a cup of hot water, and sat down on the black sofa.
Daniel had come to The Waterfront tonight to have dinner with a few important clients from his company. During the meal, he'd taken a phone call and stepped into the lounge.
Who would have thought he'd run into her here?
Daniel slipped his phone into his pocket, grabbed a cup of coffee, and sat across from Emma. "I heard you're getting married. Congratulations, Miss Johnson..."
"Thank you. I think you should mind your own business. You're not welcome here." Emma hated men like him—arrogant, self-righteous, and offering empty blessings she didn't need to hear.
"Oh, I didn't expect Miss Johnson to be so hot-tempered. You're about to get married. Keeping that straight face all the time will give you wrinkles. That won't look good." Daniel just wanted to tease her on a whim.
So he stood up and sat down next to Emma. The position felt a bit awkward, so Daniel simply stretched out his arm, resting his right hand on the back of the sofa behind her.
Wasn't this posture a little too intimate?
Emma shot him an impatient look and moved to the side, as if remembering something.
"By the way, if you have time, go see Emilia Clark. She talks about you all the time... she wants to meet you."
"I'm not some love expert. Plenty of people want to see me. Besides, I don't have the time to care about other people's business." Mentioning Emilia, Daniel's face turned cold.
She was just a girl he'd met once.
He didn't care about people like that.
"Well, I said... why are you so cold-blooded? You could at least treat her like a little sister and go see her. If other girls like you, aren't you happy?"
"Ha, lots of people like me. I'm not some Casanova. I can't be kind to everyone."
Daniel's sexy voice paused after saying that. He looked up at Emma again, thoughtfully. "But I'm very interested in you. To be honest, I'm curious. What does Liam see in you?"
In his opinion, Emma was just like any other ordinary girl.
But he really hadn't expected Liam to marry her.
Did this woman have some special way of handling Liam's complicated life?
With that, Daniel couldn't help but study the girl in front of him.
Fair, delicate skin, bright black eyes, and waist-length hair... She was kind of beautiful.
She looked good.
Just a little fierce. He wondered if Liam's life at home was very difficult?
Thinking about that, a smirk curled on Daniel's handsome face. "I just took a closer look and realized you're actually pretty. If I hadn't stood you up back then, maybe you and I would be married by now?"
Wasn't that joke going a bit too far?
Emma looked at him with disdain. "You... you'd have a better chance of dreaming. It's better if you never show up in front of me again."
Daniel hadn't planned to do anything to her, but her words annoyed him.
He gently raised his hand and grabbed Emma's slender fingers. With a strong pull, she lost her balance and fell straight into his arms.
Emma couldn't believe Daniel would do something so shameless. She tried to push him away.
But she couldn't match his strength.
"Daniel Taylor, I'm warning you, don't mess around. You know my husband is Liam Williams. Be careful, or he'll tear you apart."
"Let him come. I'm telling you, Emma Johnson, others might be afraid of him, but I'm not. You should call him to help you now. But I'm worried that by the time he gets here, you'll already be under me..." Daniel didn't care what Liam would do to him.
Yes, he admitted the Williams family had status and power in City A. But so what?
The Taylor family wasn't weak either. As long as they opened up the foreign market.
He and Liam—who was stronger, who was weaker—wasn't certain yet.
Daniel whistled softly in her ear, his sexy, flirtatious eyes fixed on the woman in his arms.
Liam's woman? Hah!
"Daniel Taylor, you'd better let me go, or I'll be rude to you!" Emma was furious.
What the hell was going on?
Why were men these days like this?
Couldn't they just talk peacefully?
Hearing what Emma said, Daniel was genuinely curious. She couldn't even protect herself right now.
How could she say that without shame?
What did she mean, be rude to him?
"I'm so scared. Miss Johnson, please forgive me..." Daniel knew she couldn't do anything to him, but he said it deliberately, just to annoy her.
As he spoke, he tightened his grip. Emma felt like her whole body was pressed against his chest.
"Let me go! Daniel Taylor, I'm warning you for the last time. Don't blame me for being rude to you..."
"I really want to see what you can do to me." Daniel said those words with a wicked grin, showing his white, neat teeth.
Before he finished speaking, Emma lifted her foot and stomped hard on Daniel's shoe.
It was hard to imagine the pain from her thin heel digging into his foot.
What kind of agony would that be?
A scream echoed through the large lounge.
While he howled in pain, Emma nimbly pushed his body away, stepped back two steps to the door, and looked at Daniel triumphantly. "How does that feel, comfortable? Do you think girls wear high heels just to look good? They're more than enough to deal with arrogant bastards like you."