"Why is he here? I don't recall seeing him this afternoon."
Emma Johnson's impression of Daniel Taylor wasn't great. After watching the news about him, her opinion had only worsened.
"A friend mentioned seeing you here, so I thought I'd come check. I didn't expect to actually find you."
Daniel approached Emma and spoke to her. Emma noticed a man and a woman walking toward Daniel from a short distance away—likely his friends.
"You're here too?"
Emma looked suspiciously at Daniel's overcoat. He was still carrying the chill from outside, which confused her a bit.
"No, I have a villa nearby—just resting here. A friend called to say the villa's power suddenly went out. I was worried you'd freeze tonight, so I wanted to come and take you to my place to rest. What do you think?"
Although Daniel spoke in a consultative tone, his eyes were filled with determination. It seemed he was giving her no real choice but to sleep at his villa for the night.
No one knew where the main wire had burned out. They hadn't found it yet. And the lounge was only so big. If the electricity couldn't be fixed by nightfall, everyone would have to sleep here—which would be terribly inconvenient. But going back to the rooms meant freezing all night.
Emma couldn't afford to catch a cold. Whenever she did, she'd be unconscious for at least two or three days. It was hard on her.
Even so, Emma didn't want to go to Daniel's villa. After hearing his suggestion, she didn't answer him immediately.
"Sister Emma, look—more and more people are coming to the lounge. You're the president's wife of Pinnacle Corporation. Do you really want to spend the night here with all these people? If someone snaps a photo with their phone and posts it online, it won't just affect you—it'll affect the president too."
Emilia Clark saw the refusal on Emma's face and whispered in her ear.
Sure enough, when she said that, Emma's expression wavered. She didn't want to implicate Liam. Last time, a scandal had shaken Pinnacle Corporation's stock. She didn't want that to happen again.
"What do you think?"
Emma looked at Mia Lewis and Olivia Davis, asking for their opinions. They were all together. If they didn't want to go, she wouldn't go alone.
But before they could speak, Mia spotted the man in the blue coat at the entrance of the lounge.
"It's Elijah."
Mia pointed toward the door. Emma stood up. At that moment, Elijah Clark was scanning the room, searching for them. When he saw Emma waving, a gentle smile unconsciously appeared in his eyes.
Daniel was surprised to see Elijah approach, especially since Emma's attitude toward Elijah was far more intimate than toward him. A hint of displeasure crept into his heart.
"I was worried you'd come and not find us. But it's a shame you didn't arrive at a better time. The wire broke tonight, so everyone has to wait in the lounge."
Mia looked at Elijah and spoke to him.
"The wire broke?"
Elijah hadn't expected such a major mistake at a place as big as Maple Ridge Hot Springs & Resort.
"They say the line might have burned out, cutting power to the entire resort. Only this lounge has backup power. But it won't be fixed anytime soon tonight. So we're planning to go to Master Daniel's villa now. Brother Elijah, you should come with us."
Emilia took over Elijah's words without asking for Emma's consent at all, directly agreeing to Daniel's proposal. Olivia frowned slightly, looked at the thin Emilia, and pursed her lips.
"That's right. Let's all come to my place for the night. I'll see you around tomorrow. It's only ten minutes away—very close. There's no way so many people can squeeze in here for the night."
Although Daniel had a bad impression of Elijah, as long as it meant Emma would come to his place, he didn't mind having more people. He immediately followed Emilia's words.
Elijah looked at Daniel, who seemed overly eager, and his eyes grew a little sharp. But he looked around at the crowd and knew there was no other choice. They couldn't go back tonight.
"Emma, what do you think?"
Elijah still planned to ask Emma's opinion. After discussing it with Mia and Olivia, Emma nodded in agreement. They had no other option.
"Olivia, what's wrong with you? I noticed you seemed a little unhappy earlier?"
Mia followed in Elijah's car with Olivia, while Elijah followed Daniel's car.
"I don't know why. I just don't like Emilia. I always feel like there's something off about her."
"Really? I don't like or dislike her, but I haven't noticed anything unpleasant about her."
Mia said, a little confused.
"I don't know why. She looks pitiful, but I always feel like her eyes aren't quite simple. Maybe it's just my own feeling. You know, it's not always easy to see people clearly."
Olivia shrugged, offering a kind of self-explanation. Mia was also a little aware that Emilia's arbitrary decision earlier had been unpleasant. But aside from that, they had no other choice. Maybe she just couldn't accept Emilia's calm and hot-tempered nature.
"Brother Elijah, I didn't expect you to be here. I didn't believe it when Mia told me."
Elijah's car carried Emma and Emilia. Emilia sat alone in the back seat, her voice carrying a hint of pleasure.
"I wanted to come out and relax too. But I didn't expect things to turn out this way."
"Still, that young Master Daniel is really kind-hearted. If it weren't for him, none of us would know what to do tonight. Don't you think so, Sister Emma?"
Emma just gave a light response. She was a little surprised by Emilia's attitude. After all, the accident involving Emilia's mother was related to Daniel. No matter how good Daniel was now, Emilia shouldn't have forgotten the past so quickly.
Perhaps she was being too petty. Someone as kind as Emilia might have chosen to forgive. After all, her mother was fine now.