Emma Johnson felt like a fish sizzling in a pan, tossed and turned by Liam Williams until the sky was almost light. Only when her voice went hoarse did Liam finally let her go.
By then, Emma had no strength left in her.
Before she drifted into a deep, exhausted sleep, she thought bitterly: Liam always looked so proper in his suits, so civilized. But once he got her into bed, he turned into a beast. Couldn't he be a little less wild?
She honestly felt that if he kept this up every time, she wouldn't be able to handle it. At this rate, she'd be dead before long.
Liam leaned down and pressed a kiss to Emma's forehead. Her body was covered with marks he had left, but he still felt it wasn't enough. When he took her, he'd thought more than once how nice it would be to have a chain to keep her locked by his side forever.
That way, she'd never have a chance to contact that fox hunter again.
"Emma," he whispered in the cold morning air, letting out a deep sigh. "What am I going to do with you?"
Her phone rang several times before she finally forced her eyes open and dragged herself out of bed.
If it hadn't been for Emilia Clark's name flashing on the screen, she would have smashed the phone against the wall, no matter what time it was.
"Sister Wei, you scared me to death!" Emilia's worried voice came through. "You didn't answer for so long. I thought something had happened to you!"
It seemed Emilia was still haunted by what had happened last time. Whenever something was off, she immediately feared the worst for Emma. That made Emma feel a little guilty.
She remembered she was supposed to take Emilia to work at Pinnacle Corporation this morning. But she hadn't woken up until almost noon. This was all Liam's fault. Why hadn't he woken her up? Had he forgotten he'd promised to help her with this?
Emma ran her fingers through her messy hair, made an appointment with Emilia, and then rushed to get ready. She grabbed the keys Liam had given her and headed downstairs. Soon, she found her new car—a white BMW.
Having a car made things much easier. Emma drove to Emilia's place and picked her up, then headed to Pinnacle Corporation. Emilia looked nervous, clutching a thick resume and asking Emma to look it over.
Emma told her the resume didn't really matter. To be honest, Emilia was getting in through the back door. Since that was the case, it didn't matter how she performed in the interview. In the end, she'd get the job anyway.
With Emma's reassurance, Emilia seemed to calm down a little.
"Oh! Sister Wei, you have a big bruise on your neck. It's all purple," Emilia suddenly pointed out.
Emma felt her face flush. She hadn't noticed it when she washed her face this morning, since it was on the back of her neck. Emilia handed her a small mirror, and sure enough, the mark was very obvious.
"It's a mosquito bite," Emma said, pulling her collar up higher to cover it.
"A mosquito bite? This time of year? It's almost winter," Emilia said skeptically.
"Of course. And it was a big one," Emma replied, getting better at lying the more she did it.
"Xiaowei, when you get home, you should buy some bug spray. Spray every corner of the room carefully. Otherwise, you won't get rid of it, and it'll keep biting you," Emilia advised seriously.
Emma felt a little embarrassed but agreed anyway.
In the top-floor office of Pinnacle Corporation, Christopher Martin was giving his report to Liam Williams. He noticed the president didn't look very happy. So he unconsciously changed his tone. When he left the office, he couldn't help glancing back at the man behind the desk.
He saw the president take something off his ear—something that looked like an earpiece. He held it between two fingers as if it were something hateful, as if he might crush it at any moment.
Emma hadn't expected that the person interviewing Emilia would be Amelia White. She knew Amelia had started working at Pinnacle, but she hadn't expected her to be assigned to the human resources department. Maybe this was the best place for her to gain experience. Still, Emma thought Amelia would be more suited to the fashion or entertainment divisions.
But then she thought about how often Amelia would get to see Liam, and she understood. Amelia had probably asked to work here just to be close to him. She'd probably be happiest as his personal assistant.
"Sister Xiaoyue, I'm so glad you're the one interviewing me. I feel much more at ease now," Emilia said, her face relaxing.
"My brother told me, so I volunteered," Amelia said with a kind smile, taking Emilia's hand. "Charlene, I'm really happy you're coming to work at Pinnacle. Now I'll have company every day. It's rare to find someone I get along with so well."
Amelia completely ignored Emma, treating her like she wasn't even there.
Emma didn't mind. She was actually relieved. Since Amelia liked Emilia, she wouldn't cause any trouble for her. That meant Emilia could work here smoothly.
That was one less thing for Emma to worry about.
Even though Amelia was chatting with Emilia, she kept glancing at Emma out of the corner of her eye. She expected Emma to look humiliated or angry at being ignored. But instead, Emma sat there happily drinking tea, even taking her cup to the window to look at the scenery outside.
She looked like she was on vacation. Did she have to be so comfortable?
But that wasn't what made Amelia most angry. When she saw the purple mark on the back of Emma's neck, she could barely hide her jealousy. She gripped Emilia's hand without realizing it.
Emilia winced in pain and let out a small cry. That finally snapped Amelia out of her jealous rage.
She forced herself to apologize to Emilia and tried to act normal again.
"I remember you studied accounting," Amelia said. "It just so happens that Sister Zhang from the accounting department resigned because she's pregnant. What a coincidence. I'll take you to get familiar with everything now, and you can start work tomorrow."