"What a coincidence, Miss Taylor."
Emma Johnson rose to her feet and extended her hand to the woman with practiced politeness. Internally, she marveled once again at the creator's handiwork. Though this woman lacked the milky-white skin of a porcelain doll, her sizzling figure was enough to make any man's head turn. Her face was exquisitely beautiful, with a pair of slightly upturned single eyelids that seemed to perpetually carry a tiny hook—cold and seductive all at once.
Even now, Emma still hadn't received a clear answer from Liam about his interest in Kennedy. Sure, Kennedy was an illegitimate daughter, but she was now one of the legal heirs of Oasis Holdings.
Given her status, she was clearly a better match for Liam than Emma herself. So when Emma saw Kennedy, ripples of unease stirred in her heart.
Still, she maintained her composure, treating Kennedy with the same courtesy as always.
"I didn't expect to run into Mrs. Williams here. But what happened to you? It looks like you were seriously injured?"
Kennedy noticed the wound on Emma's forehead and the white gauze wrapped around her hands. Emma felt a bit embarrassed, wanting to say that it only looked worse than it actually was.
"I just hurt myself by accident. It's nothing serious."
Emma's smile looked painfully forced.
"Well, that's good to hear. I have other things to attend to, so I'll be going now. Please send my regards to President Williams."
Kennedy said her goodbyes to Emma and left. Emma wanted her gone as soon as possible. Facing this sharp-browed woman always made her feel uncomfortable.
"Okay, goodbye."
Once Kennedy was out of sight, Olivia couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.
"I thought it was someone important. Turns out it's just the illegitimate daughter of Oasis Holdings."
"I don't know why, but even though she seems polite, I just don't like her."
Mia frowned as she spoke. As a woman, her intuition told her that this woman wasn't as friendly toward her friend Emma as she appeared. Especially when she mentioned sending her regards to President Williams before leaving. That was too much.
It was as if she was on familiar terms with Liam.
"Emma, you need to keep a close eye on your husband. There are too many women like Kennedy around him. You can't let your guard down."
Olivia said worriedly to Emma.
"I know. Let's eat. I'm hungry."
Emma thought to herself, You have no idea that Kennedy was the one Liam sought out. Her relationship with him runs much deeper than anyone realizes.
At that moment, Kennedy had reached the entrance. She thought for a moment, then took out her phone to call Daniel.
"What made you remember to call me, my dear little aunt?"
Daniel's voice on the other end of the line was cold and sarcastic, but Kennedy didn't mind. She just smiled slowly.
"Do you know who I ran into at The Waterfront today? I didn't expect Mrs. Liam Williams to be injured. I have no idea what happened. But I think she's been in the spotlight these past few days, so no matter what kind of accident happens, it shouldn't be surprising."
"What do you mean? Emma is hurt?"
Daniel's voice was filled with surprise. Kennedy didn't respond further; she simply hung up. She knew Daniel would be here soon. She quietly watched the paparazzi lurking nearby with their cameras. Once Daniel showed up, the scandal about Mrs. Williams would definitely heat up.
Emma remembered that before she could finish her dinner at The Waterfront, a security guard outside the private room came in and whispered something to Mia. Mia's face changed when she heard it.
"What's wrong?"
Olivia asked curiously.
Mia looked at Emma with a serious expression, then spoke to the confused Emma.
"Emma, I'm afraid you can't leave through the main entrance."
"Why?"
Emma didn't understand.
"Daniel showed up here for some reason. There are a lot of paparazzi outside waiting to photograph you. I know Daniel has always had his eye on you. If the paparazzi catch you two meeting, I'm afraid you'll be caught up in another cheating scandal. At that point, even if you jumped into the Yellow River, you wouldn't be able to wash yourself clean."
As Mia finished speaking, she ordered the security guard to stop Daniel at the door, telling him that Emma had never come to The Waterfront. At such a sensitive time, Emma couldn't afford any more gossip.
"How did Daniel end up here?"
Emma looked surprised. She really couldn't understand what was going on.
"Who else do you think could have told him besides Kennedy? I told you that woman didn't seem nice at all. She must be jealous of your identity as Mrs. Williams, and she wants to use this opportunity to step on you. Then, by the way, she'll also set up her nephew, who's competing with her for the inheritance. It's a perfect two-birds-with-one-stone move. What a vicious woman."
Olivia sneered coldly, more determined than ever to go back and try to persuade Ethan to cancel the cooperation with Oasis Holdings. A woman with such a malicious mind—if you worked with her, you might lose twenty years of your life.
Thinking about it, there was only one possibility. Emma sighed deeply. Although she knew the woman wasn't simple, she hadn't expected her to greet her politely and then turn around to deal with her.
Maybe Kennedy thought she was too clever for anyone to find out. Or maybe she was too eager to step on Emma and didn't think that as long as they thought about it, they could infer whether it was her or not from the timing.
Emma didn't meet Daniel at the door. Instead, Mia led her out through the kitchen's back entrance. A scandal was finally avoided, and the paparazzi didn't get their shots.
When she returned to Liam's company, she was carrying a lot of anger. Liam hadn't come back yet, so she went to lie down in the inner room, planning to rest. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep.
Maybe it was because she had barely slept last night. Or maybe it was because she felt relaxed now that Mia was handling things.
When Liam returned to the company, he saw that Emma hadn't even taken off her high heels and hadn't covered herself with the quilt. She was just lying on the bed, fast asleep. A cold smile unconsciously curled on his lips. Then, for the first time, the president, who had always been rebellious and indifferent, did something he had never done in his life.
He slowly crouched down, took off her shoes, and placed them aside.