It was a good deal to buy it just once. Liam Williams felt like he was being treated as her personal nanny, expected to buy it for her every single day.
"I'll allow you to go out every afternoon."
Just as Emma Johnson was about to ignore him and head to the TV, Liam's cool voice dropped another heavy temptation behind her.
This time, Emma couldn't calmly refuse. If she could go out every afternoon, she'd be willing to wait not just half an hour, but even a whole hour.
"Fine, deal."
Emma didn't want Liam to see her excitement. Her face remained flat and indifferent, even though she was practically dancing on the inside.
Liam looked at Emma, who was trying to hide her happy smile behind a mask of indifference. The curve of his lips softened.
He couldn't help reaching out to ruffle the soft black hair on top of her head, messing up her neatly tied ponytail.
"I'm not a child. Why are you messing up my hair?"
Emma glared at him angrily.
Liam thought to himself, What's the difference between you and a child right now? But he didn't say it out loud, afraid she might actually explode.
Seeing that the food on the table hadn't been touched, Benjamin Williams asked if Amelia White had returned.
"Miss Amelia came back while you and the young master were in the training room," Housekeeper Oliver White told him.
Benjamin got up and went to Amelia's room, but he didn't find her there. When he thought of the place Amelia was most likely to go, he went up to the next floor. As expected, in the room filled with books, Amelia was leaning against the window, sitting quietly. An open box rested on her knees. The red scarf inside the box made him fall silent again.
He watched Amelia take out the red scarf and gaze at it attentively, as if it were the most precious treasure in the world, something incredibly valuable.
But it was just a red scarf.
Benjamin knew, however, that it meant something entirely different to Amelia.
When Amelia was just a little girl, her father died, and her mother passed away from illness. She was brought to the Williams family by the old patriarch. Although Benjamin had liked this new sister, who was as delicate and beautiful as a Barbie doll, from the very beginning, Amelia only ever wanted to stick to their eldest brother.
Their eldest brother had always been very cold. At first, Amelia thought he hated her. Until one time, their school organized an outing. On the way, Amelia accidentally scraped her hand on a branch and got hurt. It was their eldest brother who cleaned the wound for her.
Because the school doctor wasn't available at the time, their eldest brother temporarily wrapped the red scarf around Amelia's hand and personally carried her back to the camp. Amelia kept the red scarf from that day on and never returned it to him. Even the bloodstains on the scarf hadn't been washed off, as if they could prove that the two of them could be together.
Eight years ago, it was because he discovered this secret that he almost hurt Amelia out of control.
Benjamin left the room silently. His reluctance grew stronger and stronger. He found himself losing the patience to wait. Their eldest brother already had a sister-in-law, but Amelia was still thinking about him.
Only by defeating his eldest brother and surpassing him could Amelia truly see him.
Suddenly, Benjamin began to crave victory. He didn't want to silently guard her anymore. He wanted to possess Amelia completely—body and soul—and make her his own.
"Vivi, you're here! I thought your husband would lock you up at home and keep you from seeing anyone."
When Olivia Davis saw Emma Johnson coming to visit her, she was moved to tears.
"You must have been having a good time lately. I think you've put on a little weight," Emma said to Olivia with a smile.
"What? I've really gained weight? Ah! That bastard Ethan Davis is too insidious!"
Olivia heard Emma's words and immediately exaggeratedly pinched her own waist.
"No wonder I think this skirt is a little tight."
"What's wrong with him? What I meant was, you've gained weight because you're happy. Is he giving you a hard time again?" Emma looked at Olivia suspiciously.
"Of course he is. He told me that because I made him lose his girlfriend, he's going to make me go out to dinner with him every night. And he gets upset if I don't eat enough. Do you think he's crazy? If he doesn't have a girl, why does he need me to accompany him? It's obvious he's trying to make trouble for me. He clearly knows that the most important thing for a woman is her figure. He must be using this to attack me. It's so sinister!"
Olivia huffed and chewed on the matcha cake Emma had brought, as if she wasn't eating cake, but Ethan Davis himself.
"No, actually, I think you look better with a little more meat. Really," Emma said.
Emma hadn't expected Ethan to make Olivia accompany him to dinner. Could it be that he was interested in her? But since he hadn't said anything yet, and he clearly hadn't realized it himself, Emma didn't want to say too much.
It seemed that when she went back tonight, she would ask Liam about Ethan. If he was a playboy, she would have to warn Olivia. She didn't want her best friend to get hurt. Although Olivia had a quiet personality, she wouldn't let herself be taken advantage of easily.
But obviously, when it came to Ethan, Olivia had a kind of "dumb person eating Coptis" feeling—unable to express her bitterness.
Ah, maybe Ethan was the biggest opponent in Olivia's life.
What a happy couple.
"Forget about him. It's rare to have some free time. By the way, did you watch the news?" Olivia suddenly put on a gossipy look and asked Emma mysteriously.
"I only watch fashion shows and movies at home, not the news. Why? What's the big deal?" Emma looked puzzled.
"Of course there is. I still remember you telling me that Daniel Taylor used to be your blind date. He's made a name for himself these days."
"He's already famous, the prince of Oasis Holdings. What's so strange about that?"
"Of course it's strange. Although Oasis Holdings is famous, it's obviously much worse than Pinnacle Corporation and Dawson Group. He's not qualified to focus all the media on himself. But the day before yesterday, he hurt a woman while sleeping with her at The Velvet Rose nightclub, and she was admitted to the hospital. The woman wanted to sue him. It only became a big deal when she made a fuss, and the media broke the story. Now the media is all talking about whether such a successor is qualified to take over Oasis Holdings. They're all saying that Oasis Holdings is afraid it will fall into the hands of the third generation. The stock of Oasis Holdings has dropped a lot in the past two days."
Emma's eyes widened. She hadn't expected that after just a few days of being cooped up at home, she would hear about such a scandal, and the target was Daniel Taylor.
But was it just a coincidence in timing?