Liam didn't answer Emma. He just stared at her, his dark eyes boring into hers as if trying to see straight into her soul.
The standoff was broken by a knock on the door.
"Dinner's ready."
The sound made Emma flinch. Her face went pale as she looked at Liam.
"Relax. Since I came here, I don't plan on letting your parents know what's going on between us."
His words were like a tranquilizer, calming her nerves just a little.
Lunch was a painful affair. Emma forced herself to eat every dish Liam put in her bowl, but the food tasted like cardboard. Her mother's cooking was usually delicious, but today she couldn't enjoy a single bite.
What should have been a warm family meal felt like torture.
As soon as the meal ended, Emma rushed to say she had work at the office. Liam didn't try to stay. They left together.
Emma's mother watched them go with a puzzled expression.
"Honey, don't you think something's off? Emma didn't look right."
Even though Emma had tried to act normal, she'd let something slip. Her mother just couldn't figure out what, so she assumed it was a marital spat.
"Liam seemed off too. Did you notice how guilty he looked when he glanced at our daughter? I'm worried they had a fight, but it's not our place to interfere. Every couple has their ups and downs. Give it a few days, it'll blow over. Let's just pretend we didn't notice."
Emma's father poured himself a cup of green tea and tried to reassure his wife.
She nodded in agreement.
Neither of them knew that this time, the rift between their daughter and son-in-law ran so deep it had become an unbreakable knot. A few days wouldn't fix it.
"Dad, why won't big brother come home? I know I messed up, but moving out is too much."
At Sunrise Manor, Amelia wiped her tears and looked at Henry. Seeing his daughter's remorse, Henry couldn't bring himself to scold her anymore.
He'd found out what she did that day, and he knew she was wrong. But since she didn't know the real reason, she'd naturally had some wrong ideas about Emma. So she'd happily let her friends move Emma's things out.
"Well, there's nothing we can do now. Your sister-in-law's things are gone. Your brother can't bear to face that empty bedroom. Give him some time. He'll come around eventually. It's not entirely your fault."
Henry could only comfort Amelia this way. She frowned when she heard him still call Emma his sister-in-law, but she kept her mouth shut.
She'd rather her brother punish her again than move out of Sunrise Manor where she couldn't even see him. She'd gone to his company at noon today, but the front desk had clearly passed on his message—he refused to see her.
If he wasn't furious, he wouldn't refuse to even look at her.
Last time, he'd sent her to Switzerland, but at least he'd arranged for someone to take care of her. Now, she was being treated like she didn't exist.
Amelia was genuinely scared.
If this meant her brother would stay away from Emma forever, then being ignored for a while would be worth it. But if Emma and her brother got back together, Emma would never like her. And her brother might ignore her forever.
This couldn't go on.
Amelia felt a sense of crisis.
Even though the divorce wasn't finalized yet, Emma planned to move out of Mia's place. She couldn't stay with her best friend forever.
Mia kept saying it was fine, especially since Emma had just recovered and couldn't go back to her parents. She was worried about Emma.
But Emma insisted. She knew she had to take this step. She couldn't rely on others forever, or she'd never be able to stand on her own.
Mia gave in and helped her pack. Emma rented a one-bedroom apartment not far from her branch at The Waterfront. It was only sixty square meters, but it was enough for her.
As she unpacked, Emma saw the box with the diamond ring. She regretted being so flustered that day that she'd forgotten to give it back to Liam. It was like a hot potato now. She couldn't throw it away. Finally, she decided to give it to her lawyer and have him return it to Liam.
When Liam sat in his office and saw the ring the lawyer had delivered, he wasn't surprised. Emma was straightforward. Even if she couldn't face him, she'd return the ring.
He remembered how firmly she'd spoken to him downstairs at her parents' house. Her words were cold and heartless, but he'd brought this on himself. Liam couldn't help regretting that if he'd been more careful, he might have found evidence of her innocence.
But even so, the original purpose of their marriage couldn't be hidden.
For the first time, Liam felt powerless. Keeping this marriage together was so hard.
Moving into her new apartment, Emma started learning to take care of herself. She thought it would be good to learn how to cook. At least she wouldn't have to ruin her stomach with instant noodles.
But she hadn't had much appetite lately because of everything going on. She wasn't eating on time, so her stomach had become weak. When she sat down to dinner that evening, looking at her two simple dishes, she couldn't help covering her mouth and running to the bathroom to throw up. Even drinking water was hard.
She was afraid to eat anything that night. The next day, she still had no appetite. At noon, when she went to The Waterfront branch to check on business, the chef made her a full table of food. But Emma only liked the appetizing sweet and sour crispy radish. She ate a whole dish and then had two more. When the chef saw how much she liked it, he specially packed a jar for her to take home.