"If you go through with this, won't it affect her standing at Oasis Holdings?"
Though Emma Johnson was thrilled, she couldn't help voicing her concern to Liam Williams. She knew all too well how precarious a woman's position could be in such cutthroat corporate battles.
"She's sharp. Even without Pinnacle Corporation backing her, she'd carve out a place for herself in the Taylor family. It'll just make inheriting the company harder for her."
Liam didn't spare a second thought for the pawn he was sacrificing. The memory of what Kennedy Taylor had done at noon was still fresh, and he didn't hesitate for a moment.
To him, this punishment was lenient. After all, the plan hadn't succeeded. Otherwise, he would have sent Kennedy packing back to the States.
Forging documents to prove Kennedy wasn't old Mr. Taylor's illegitimate daughter? That was child's play for Liam.
A flicker of complexity crossed Emma's eyes. She hadn't expected Liam to go this far for her.
Thinking back to the insincere words she'd spoken that morning, she felt a pang of regret for the first time.
But no matter what, she wouldn't apologize to Liam.
Dinner was pleasant. Emma felt like Liam truly saw her as a patient in need of care. He cut her steak into bite-sized pieces and handed them to her one by one. She found it ridiculous—her hands were wrapped in gauze, sure, but they weren't immobile. She could move them just fine.
Liam knew some medical basics. Couldn't he see that?
Despite her silent complaints, Emma enjoyed this meal more than she had in a long time.
That evening, when they returned to Sunrise Manor, Amelia White immediately rushed over and linked her arm through Liam's.
"Brother, why didn't you and sister-in-law come back for dinner? Dad and Benjamin were so bored. I specially asked the kitchen to prepare a feast for you."
Amelia tugged at Liam's arm, then suddenly noticed the gauze wrapped around Emma's hands.
"What happened to your hands, sister-in-law?"
Amelia's eyes widened in surprise.
"Your sister-in-law got scalded yesterday, too."
Before Emma could speak, Liam answered for her. He had originally wanted to vent his anger at Emma for scalding Amelia last night, but Benjamin had stopped him. Now that Emma had burned herself, it was truly an accident.
Though Benjamin's impression of Emma had soured because of Amelia's incident, he could still see that she wasn't the type to hurt others and herself.
"Sister-in-law, why didn't you say anything yesterday? Is it serious? I was so emotional that I didn't even notice."
A dark glint flashed in Amelia's eyes as she spoke, her tone laced with remorse.
"It's not your fault. It's really nothing. Your brother insisted on wrapping it in gauze. I can take it off in two days. It doesn't affect my life at all."
To ease Amelia's worry, Emma tried to comfort her.
"That's a relief."
Amelia's face broke into a smile again.
After going upstairs and returning to their room, Emma wanted to take a bath. But looking at her gauze-wrapped hands, she felt a bit troubled.
"What's wrong?"
Liam had changed into his pajamas and came over to her. He looked at her, then at her hands, and asked.
"I want to take a bath, but it's too inconvenient with the gauze. Forget it, I'll ask Charlotte to find me some plastic gloves."
Emma didn't think much of it. When Liam asked, she answered. Then she got up to call for Charlotte.
"Have you forgotten about me?"
Liam grabbed Emma's arm and looked at her, a smile dancing in his eyes.
Emma stared back at him, wide-eyed. Was this guy offering to bathe her?
"Don't joke like that, Liam. I can manage. Go to your study and do your work."
Emma tried to push him away.
The next moment, he picked her up. Looking at her flushed face, a cold, charming smile curled at the corner of Liam's lips.
Then he said, his voice low and husky, "I've seen every part of you. We're husband and wife. It's only natural for me to bathe you."
"We're just a contractual couple. The contract doesn't say you have to help me take a bath."
Emma blurted out, flustered.
"Really? The contract also didn't say we should sleep together, but we've done that. So don't worry about what's written on that piece of paper."
Liam didn't care about her words and carried her into the bathroom.
Forty minutes later, when Liam fished Emma out of the bath, she was as red as a boiled shrimp. The man in front of her, on the other hand, seemed completely unfazed. She couldn't help telling herself that this was the last time. She would never let Liam do this again. God knows, when his hand touched her skin, it felt like it was on fire, almost burning her whole body.
She didn't dare to play with fire anymore.
When Liam put the bathrobe on Emma, she immediately ran out of the bathroom, jumped into bed, and refused to come out. Liam smiled, knowing this little woman was embarrassed.
Although he wanted her badly at that moment, he was afraid that her hand would get wet and the wound would worsen, so he held back.
He let her off the hook today.
That night, instead of going to the study, Liam went back to the bedroom and lay on the same bed as Emma. Late at night, a slender figure stood in the corridor, staring at Liam's dark study. Their lips tightened, and their hands clenched into fists, almost breaking their nails. After a while, they slowly left, disappearing into the moonlit corridor.
The next day, when Emma got up, she didn't see Amelia in the living room.
"Where's Amelia?"
She asked curiously. In the past, Amelia would have been sitting here.
"Amelia has a cold. She's lying in bed now."
Henry Williams said to Emma. Upon hearing this, Emma skipped breakfast and went upstairs with Liam to Amelia's room to see her.
At that moment, Benjamin was already in Amelia's bedroom. He was looking at Amelia, who had a wet towel on her head, lying on her back on the bed, her eyes closed in pain.
She didn't look well.