Emma returned from the farmers' market and immediately started cooking. She prepared four dishes and a soup for Elijah. She watched him finish every bite with her own eyes before she felt at ease enough to leave.
Before heading out, she reminded him to reheat the leftovers for dinner. She also promised to visit him again tomorrow.
Elijah personally walked Emma to the door. He stood there, watching her car until it disappeared from view. Only then did he reluctantly close the door and go back inside.
Liam hadn't actually gone to meet any client. That was just an excuse he'd given Emma. Right now, he was at the police station with Captain Reed, analyzing the arms trafficking case from a few days ago.
"Our man was discovered this time. He didn't make it. So we couldn't get the intel in time. I heard the volume of this arms deal is huge. It's infuriating."
Captain Reed thought about how they'd failed to intercept the shipment. He had no idea where a small-scale war might break out now. The thought of innocent people dying because of it weighed heavily on him.
"It's not your fault. You couldn't have known. We need to be more careful with our undercover arrangements. The other side is too cunning."
Liam tried to comfort Captain Reed, then shared the new plan he'd just come up with. By the time he left the station and returned to the office, Emma was already back.
She was busy preparing materials for his afternoon meeting. She'd gone to set everything up in the conference room first. When she stepped out of the office, she coughed a little, still feeling the chill from earlier.
"Is Sister Emma catching a cold too?"
Liam overheard Emilia muttering under her breath as he was about to leave. He stopped and turned to look at her.
"What do you mean, 'too'?"
Emilia seemed startled that Liam had suddenly spoken. She froze for a moment before carefully answering, her voice hesitant.
"Didn't Sister Emma tell you? Brother Elijah is sick. He's at home right now. Sister Emma went to see him at noon."
Liam's face darkened instantly.
She went to see Elijah?
When Liam walked into the conference room, Emma was placing documents in front of his seat. He watched her, hoping she would tell him about it herself. Maybe then his heart wouldn't ache so much.
He tried to rationalize it. After all, Elijah was sick. As a close friend, it was only natural for Emma to check on him. But the meeting started, and Liam never heard Emma mention that she'd gone to see Elijah at noon.
Truth be told, even if she had told him, he still wouldn't have been happy.
Throughout the meeting, he was distracted. When they got back to the office, his eyes kept drifting toward Emma, who was bent over her desk, working on a proposal.
Several times, he wanted to say something. But each time, he held back.
He just couldn't bring himself to ask.
On the way home that evening, they passed a yarn shop. Emma suddenly asked Liam to stop the car. She got out and went inside. It took her over ten minutes to come back out. Liam saw the balls of yarn in her hand and couldn't help asking what she planned to do with them.
"Just something to pass the time."
That's what Emma said. But Liam couldn't stop himself from thinking about Elijah. Was she planning to knit him a sweater? After all, Emilia had said Elijah had a cold.
A flicker of anger showed in Liam's eyes, but he didn't take it out on Emma.
Instead, he stayed silent. He pretended nothing was wrong and drove them back to Sunrise Manor without a word.
Emma breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Liam hadn't pressed her further. She wouldn't have known how to answer. She was never good at lying.
Once they were home, Emma's attention turned to the little white cat. The cat was being especially affectionate, rubbing against her and purring. It made Emma smile brightly.
Liam watched the woman's radiant smile and couldn't help but sigh. He tried to comfort himself. At least she was his wife now. At least she lived with him. At least, in this moment, she belonged to him.
That would have to be enough.
Liam kept his suspicions to himself. He told himself he wouldn't ask Emma about it, but that didn't mean he wouldn't investigate. So the next day, he lied to Emma, saying he had to go meet a client. Instead, he drove his car and waited not far from the company. When Emma's white BMW emerged from the underground garage, he followed her all the way to Elijah's house.
He watched her go to the market to buy groceries. Then he watched her drive back to Elijah's place. He waited for an hour until she came out. Elijah stood at the door, watching until Emma's car was completely out of sight before turning back inside.
So she would cook for him, but not for me. Liam couldn't help but laugh bitterly at himself. He should have known from the start. In Emma's heart, he would never be first.
No matter how close they had become, a woman's heart was never easy to grasp.
Elijah was about to go back to his bedroom to rest when the doorbell rang. He was a little confused. Maybe Emma had forgotten something and come back. The thought made him happy, so he hurried to open the door.
But when he opened it and saw the man standing there, he was stunned for a moment. When he recovered, his usually elegant face twisted into a cold smile.
"I didn't expect you to show up at my door. That's a rare sight."
There was a clear note of sarcasm in Elijah's voice as he looked at the handsome, iceberg-like man in front of him.
"If it weren't for Emma, do you think I'd be here?"
Liam's voice was cold. He looked at Elijah's face and confirmed that he really was sick. The anger in his chest only burned hotter.
"What? Are you planning to come here and interrogate me?"
"I'm not here to interrogate you. I just heard that Dr. Clark was ill. I thought I'd come by and show my concern. After all, you're a good friend of Emma's. As her husband, how could I ignore that?"
When Liam said the word "friend," he practically bit it out. And those were the two words Elijah hated the most. Because he never wanted to be just Emma's friend. What he wanted was to be her lover.
The cruelest part was that this dream would never come true.
"Thank you so much. But I wonder why you didn't come with Emma? She just left. By the way, her cooking is amazing. I'm lucky she made me those dishes. I'm sure they'll help me get over this cold in no time."
Elijah's eyes were full of provocation as he smiled at Liam.