"I'm going to take it back to my parents' place. I can't exactly keep it at the office forever."
Emma Johnson answered Emilia Clark with a smile. Emilia caught the subtle tension in Emma's brief words. Her eyes flickered, but she didn't press further.
She simply smiled and walked Emma to the elevator. The moment the doors slid shut, Emilia lowered her hand. A hint of thought crossed her slightly downcast eyes.
"Why did you bring a cat home?"
Emma's mother, Sophia, saw the little white cat in Emma's arms. Though she liked it, she asked in surprise. She'd never mentioned wanting a cat. Her daughter surely hadn't bought one on a whim.
"I'm keeping it. I've had it for a while. It's just that it's not convenient to keep it there anymore. A few people don't like cats, and I don't want to make things awkward, so I brought it back. Mom, you'll help me take care of it, won't you?"
Emma said coaxingly, not mentioning Amelia White. She didn't want her mother to worry about her.
Sophia didn't suspect anything. She just tapped Emma's forehead with her finger.
"You know your in-laws don't like cats, and they prefer them even less. You think you're still living at home, where you can do whatever you want. You can't be so willful, you understand?"
Though Sophia was scolding her, Emma knew her mother was always thinking about her.
"I know. In short, Little White is in your hands now. I'll make time to come see it at noon later."
Emma looked reluctantly at the little cat. Little White was still curious about the unfamiliar surroundings, unaware that it wouldn't see Emma often in the future. It just hopped around the house, full of excitement.
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of this little thing."
Sophia smiled and agreed, then prepared a big table of Emma's favorite dishes.
Emma thought that ever since Amelia White had come back, her favorite dishes were all on the table. She couldn't help feeling that her family loved her the most. Only when she'd been frightened outside would they prepare her favorite food. Usually, it was just one or two dishes. They never filled the whole table like they did when Amelia was around.
So, looking at the food her mother had prepared, Emma ate more than usual.
She didn't put down her chopsticks until she couldn't eat another bite.
"Look at you, it's like you haven't eaten in days. Your husband's food must be more exquisite and delicious than what we have at home. Do you have to eat like this every time?"
Though Sophia was scolding her, her eyes held a contented smile. No mother would hate seeing her child enjoy her cooking. It was a mother's greatest sense of satisfaction and achievement.
"No matter how exquisite it is, it's not as good as Mom's cooking."
Besides, she never felt at ease at Liam's house. But she didn't tell her mother that, mainly because she was afraid of worrying her.
It was time to go back to work in the afternoon. Emma wanted to stay a little longer. But Sophia still shooed her out, saying that even if she worked at her husband's company, she couldn't slack off. After all, so many employees were watching. She had to set an example. She couldn't disgrace Liam.
Emma was very helpless. She really wanted to stay home and have a good afternoon nap in her familiar bed. But last night, she'd been so upset about Little White that she hadn't slept well all night. And now her mother was thinking about Liam, which gave Emma the illusion that Liam was her mother's own son, and she was the one who'd been adopted.
Ah, maybe in her mother's eyes, Liam was the perfect son-in-law, never picky. Besides, in front of her parents, Liam had always performed very well. No wonder her mother always thought about him.
Emma had no choice but to drive away and return to the company. But Liam didn't ask why she was back so late. After all, Emma hadn't been home for some time. He thought she would come back in the afternoon, just before leaving work. It was beyond his expectations that she would return so early.
After Emma came back, she didn't work. Instead, she went to the inner room to rest. She was so sleepy that she fell asleep immediately. When she opened her eyes again, it was already dark outside the window.
She looked at her watch. It was past the time to leave work. She thought Liam would have gone home by himself. So she quickly turned over and got out of bed. When she came to the office, she found Liam still busy at his desk.
"Awake?"
Liam's voice sounded faint.
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
Emma walked up to Liam, thinking that she was late going back and would delay dinner. She didn't know what the old man would say.
"I wasn't finished with my work anyway."
That was the explanation Liam gave Emma. But in truth, when he'd opened the door and seen Emma lying in bed with pink cheeks, he couldn't bear to wake her up. He also knew that Emma had tossed and turned in bed last night, though her movements were very light. But after all, two people were lying in the same bed, how could he not know? He just pretended not to.
So in the end, he gently closed the door and didn't call Emma to get up.
"No, we must be late. Dinner has already started by now. I hope the old man and Amelia didn't wait for us to eat. Otherwise, by now, the old man will be angry."
Emma said with some chagrin.
Liam had already gotten up. He raised his slender, beautiful hand and naturally smoothed Emma's hair. Then he slowly spoke.
"Don't worry. I already called the old man and told him we wouldn't be back for dinner tonight. Ethan said that a new Italian restaurant just opened on Gaoxin Road is very good. The clam chowder there is delicious. I'll take you to try it."
Emma looked at Liam in surprise. After thinking about it, she nodded. That was fine.
So they put on their coats and left the company.
...
Emilia Clark finished her routine check-up at Brookhaven General Hospital. After looking at the time, she came to Elijah Clark's office. Sure enough, she hadn't remembered wrong. Today was Elijah's shift. So he would be in the hospital tonight.
"Brother Elijah, are you busy?"
The door to Elijah's office was open. Emilia knocked on the door and asked carefully.
"No, come in. Have you finished your check-up?"
Elijah looked at Emilia, a faint smile hanging on his face, a hint of concern in his voice.