Liam Williams?
The moment she heard that name and the thug mention money, Emma Johnson immediately understood.
Any activity involving money had to be connected to her and Liam.
It seemed like...
What happened yesterday wasn't a coincidence.
The car behind her kept honking, urging her to move. Emma started her engine again and drove home quickly.
She had initially thought Liam's approach was part of some scheme, but considering he used to be a soldier and wanted to crack down on criminals, using her that way was somewhat justifiable. She hadn't blamed him too much, but she couldn't let such a relationship continue.
She never expected Liam to be a repeat offender.
Using the same tricks again after tricking her into marriage the first time—it was shameful.
What upset Emma even more was her own stupidity. She had almost felt grateful to him for saving her. Recently, she had been quite polite to him.
If she had known he was that kind of person, she would have wanted to kick him off the mountain today.
She had almost been fooled twice. She couldn't help scolding herself for being foolish. Fortunately, she had accidentally run into those thugs today; otherwise, she would have remained in the dark forever.
But she couldn't stop thinking about what to do next.
After all, he was still Charlie's father. Even though she didn't want to communicate with Liam, he would definitely come to pick up Charlie every week.
"What's wrong, sweetie? You don't look well. Is there too much work at the company?" Sophia Johnson asked as Emma walked into the porch. She couldn't help but worry.
Emma shook her head gently. "I'm fine. Maybe I'm just not in a good state. I'll be okay after some rest."
"That's good. Dinner is ready. Let's eat first." Sophia said as she walked toward the table.
Emma glanced at the table. It was indeed a rich and nutritious meal.
But she had already eaten out, and now she was in a bad mood. She couldn't eat anything.
Thinking about eating out, she realized she had forgotten to call home to say she was sorry.
"Mom, I've already eaten. You go ahead." With that, Emma went back to her room.
That evening, Liam called again, but Emma never answered.
Charlie called Sophia and said he wanted to talk to his mother. As soon as the phone was handed to Emma, the other end changed hands.
Hearing Liam's voice, Emma hung up immediately.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" Sophia asked, noticing Emma's behavior.
Emma shook her head gently. "I'm fine. I just don't want to talk to him. I don't want any contact with him except about Charlie."
When Emma said that, Sophia immediately understood. The "him" she referred to was Liam.
"Okay, if you don't want to talk to him, just ignore him. Five years have passed. We can continue to ignore him." Sophia looked at her daughter with concern, leaving everything up to her.
Knowing Emma wouldn't answer his calls, Liam didn't call again. He just couldn't understand why things had changed so suddenly when they had been fine before.
After tossing and turning for half the night, Liam sat up and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. Looking at the name in his contacts, he couldn't help but send a text message.
"What's wrong? What happened to you?" After typing, Liam deleted the words and dropped the phone. He didn't understand why she was unhappy or why she wouldn't answer his calls.
And this unhappiness was clearly because of him.
After thinking it over, Liam picked up his phone again and moved his fingertips gracefully across the screen.
"Emma, you can tell me anything. Don't keep things bottled up. If you don't want to talk now, we can talk face to face when I drop Charlie off."
After typing, Liam worried he would delete it again, so he pressed send decisively.
On the other side, Emma hadn't fallen asleep yet. She hadn't suffered from insomnia in a long time, but tonight, sleep was hard to come by.
Looking at that short message, her heart was a mix of emotions.
Five years later, Liam was still thinking about her.
Emma knew that besides Charlie, there must be other reasons.
After so many years, she had let go of the initial excitement and disappointment and had thought things through clearly. Maybe he had come to her with a plot and a purpose at first, but every move and every rare smile afterward was enough to prove that this man had her in his heart.
But she could never accept such a beginning. If there was always a gap between them, she would rather never start.
A broken mirror could still reflect images, but it would never look the same. No matter how beautiful the image, it would always be incomplete.
She didn't want that, so she had left so decisively.
The feelings she wouldn't accept back then had matured a lot over the years. What's more, after what Liam did this time, she would never accept him again.
Maybe he was too anxious and used impulsive means, but she would never forgive him.
She knew she still loved this man, but they could never be together again.
She would never be able to love anyone else in her life.
But she didn't regret it. She had no regrets.
For Emma, having Charlie was enough.
She would rather never have the perfect love.
...
Liam called Sophia and said that Henry Williams couldn't bear to let Charlie go, so he delayed the night and would drop Charlie off at the same time as last time.
That morning, Emma went to the company.
She didn't want any contact with Liam, especially face-to-face. The less, the better.
When Liam arrived, he only saw Sophia and James Johnson waiting downstairs. Emma was nowhere to be seen.
Liam knew Emma's personality. Her ignoring him for the past two days proved she wouldn't see him now. She wouldn't come down to meet Charlie.
But Liam couldn't figure out why Emma had suddenly become like this. They had been fine when they went hiking that day.
When Charlie got home and didn't see Emma, he was very disappointed. His little head hung down, and he looked quite upset.