He felt guilty for taking advantage of her innocent past self, so he kept thinking of ways to make it up to her.
"Daughter, I know you're too proud to accept the company he offered you. But now that you've lost your job, there's no way you can go back to your old company and be a supervisor again. Someday you'll remarry, and a woman marrying for the second time should have more assets to her name. Of course, these are just my thoughts. Whether you take them or not is entirely up to you."
Emma's mother spoke with brutal honesty. She had to consider her daughter's future plans, so she couldn't help but offer a few words of advice.
"Mom, actually, Mia and I opened a branch of The Waterfront together. The annual income is pretty decent. So I won't be taking Liam's company."
Emma looked at her mother with a gentle smile. Her voice was soft but carried a firm resolve. When Mrs. Johnson heard that her daughter's livelihood was secure, she made up her mind and stopped persuading her. After all, she wasn't the kind of person who would sacrifice principles for profit. As long as her daughter could live without worries, she would feel at peace.
Emma stared at the contract, lost in thought. She felt she still needed to see Liam one last time. Just once, to end things properly.
Emma arranged to meet Liam at a French restaurant they had visited before. When she arrived, the place was empty. Only Liam sat there alone. Emma guessed he must have booked the entire restaurant.
Well, at least this way their conversation wouldn't be overheard. No reporters would catch wind of it and fabricate stories. That would have been a headache for her.
Liam looked at Emma, who stood before him. His thin lips parted slightly.
"Emma."
He spoke only her name, then fell silent, unsure what else to say. It was Emma who broke the silence first.
She placed the contract in front of him.
"I don't have much ability, so earning back that thirty million would be very difficult for me. Since you want to wipe the slate clean, go ahead. But I don't want your company. It was part of our bet, yes, but such a large corporation... if it fell into my hands, it wouldn't be fair to the employees."
"Don't worry. I'll send someone to help you manage the business. You won't have to put much effort into it."
Liam looked at her gently and said.
"Liam, we're divorced now. You don't need to interfere in my affairs anymore. So I won't accept your help."
Emma's voice was as light as a feather, her eyes as calm as a mirror lake without a single ripple. Her gaze was dark and silent for a moment.
"Right now, I just want to live my life quietly. From now on, let's keep our paths separate. Don't call me again. Let's both be well."
After saying this, Emma didn't touch the food in front of her. She simply stood up, turned around, and left.
"Emma, I won't give up on you. The divorce was just to end our wrong beginning. But I will make you come back to me."
The man's magnetic voice rang out slowly. Emma's body stiffened for a moment. But the next second, she walked out of the restaurant without looking back.
Liam remained seated, swirling his wine glass. His eyes were as deep as an ancient pool.
No one knew what was on his mind at that moment.
When Emma got home, Liam's words still echoed in her ears. They clung to her like a devil whispering, making it impossible for her to focus on anything.
Don't think about it. It's over. There's nothing between us anymore.
Emma comforted herself and lay down on the bed. She tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep.
A few days later, something that should have remained a secret was suddenly exposed by several media outlets. They revealed that the president of Pinnacle Corporation had divorced his wife.
Moreover, they reported that the president's wife had been involved with international criminals. The president himself had personally taken her to the police station for questioning. All the details listed were so specific that they were hard to doubt. In an instant, it became the biggest news in the city.
When Emma saw the scandal, she immediately thought of one person. Besides her, she couldn't imagine anyone else who would leak this to the media and manipulate them so thoroughly.
She didn't understand why, even after divorcing Liam, that person still wouldn't let her go. Did they think they could get Liam this way?
Emma found it unbelievable. But she had been through big storms before, so this kind of scandal wasn't a huge blow to her. However, it made Mia and Olivia furious.
"Who could be so hateful? The court already ruled that Emma is innocent. How dare the media write such nonsense?"
Olivia said indignantly.
"Emma, don't worry. Ethan said he's contacted several media outlets he knows. Tomorrow, they'll publish a rebuttal to clear your name."
At the moment, Olivia had returned to the company to continue working as Ethan's assistant. Ethan was now trying his best to please Olivia. When this incident with Emma came up, he naturally jumped at the chance to win Olivia's favor. After all, Olivia cared deeply about Emma.
If the incident could be resolved, Olivia might finally give him a kind look at the office. God knew Ethan hadn't seen Olivia smile in days.
Well, it wasn't easy being a boss just to please his own assistant.
"Scandals? They can write whatever they want. It doesn't matter to me. Anyway, I've been blackened like this more than once. But one thing they wrote is true—Liam and I are divorced. I wonder if Pinnacle Corporation's stock will fluctuate now."
Emma didn't seem to care much about the scandal. Now she didn't have to face the media, and she didn't have to worry about her reputation affecting Pinnacle Corporation's image.
"You're divorced from that bastard, and you're still worried about his company's stock? In my opinion, it would be better if it dropped a few hundred million."
Olivia said.
Emma sighed. At least she had worked at Pinnacle Corporation. Several projects there had her hard work invested in them. It wasn't because of Liam.
At Pinnacle Corporation.
Christopher Martin looked at the man sitting in the chair. The air pressure around him was so low that Christopher couldn't help but feel a chill.