Chapter 103
Even through the phone, Emily could easily picture the slightly proud look on Austin’s face as he said that. A smile tugged at her lips, but her mind grew sharper.
Even after all this time spent with Austin, Emily realized that, apart from that initial, simple self-introduction, they still knew almost nothing about each other.
Emily said, her voice heavy, “Austin, trouble just seems to follow me everywhere, and there might be even more coming.”
Emily’s voice was laced with suppressed emotion. “So, the further away from me you stay, the better, for your own good.”
She was no longer the naive Emily she used to be. Even though Austin was keeping something from her, she could clearly sense his genuine sincerity and growing reliance on her during their time together.
Austin understood what she meant and chuckled over the phone. “I’ve got my own troubles too, but you still saved me, didn’t you?”
Austin thought, ‘If I were the type to shy away from trouble, I wouldn’t have chosen to go back to that family in the first place.
Neither of them said much, but in that moment, the invisible barrier between them seemed to melt away considerably.
As he hung up, Austin’s face still wore that bright, sunny smile. But within that smile, something darker lurked.
‘I was planning to wait until my injuries healed before making my next move, Austin thought to himself. ‘But it looks like I’ll have to act sooner than planned.’
“All set?” the boss’s voice suddenly cut in.
Austin turned around, his dimpled smile making him look every bit the sunny, carefree college student he seemed, still bright-eyed and untouched by the world. “All done. Thanks, sir.”
A smile still lingered on Emily’s face as she hung up the phone, her grip on it unconsciously tightening. She thought, ‘Turns out, besides Charles and Jackson, there is someone else who would stand by me unwaveringly.’
But her good mood didn’t last long. Suddenly, Lucas appeared and demanded, “Who were you just talking to on the phone?” His face was stern, his tone laced with a subtle, almost imperceptible hint of jealousy.
Lucas realized he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d seen Emily smile like that.
What infuriated Lucas even more was how, the moment Emily turned at the sound of his voice, her bright smile instantly froze into an icy mask.
His temper flared up instantly. “I thought you didn’t have a phone. Where’d you get the money for it? Was it Xavier who gave it to you?
“Wait, Xavier doesn’t even have anything to do with you anymore. So, was it that guy you were just on the phone with? Are you seeing him or something?”
1/2
Lucas fired off a barrage of accusatory questions at Emily as if he had already convicted her in his mind.
Lucas sneered, “Are you that desperate for cash? Can’t wheedle any more money out of your family, so now you’re just throwing yourself at men? How did I never realize you were such a materialistic gold-digger?”
Emily’s rare good mood was instantly shattered, her expression darkening visibly. “I never coveted the Bennett family’s money. Where I get my money from is none of your business, Mr. Lucas Bennett.”
“How dare you actually admit it?” Lucas’s anger flared even hotter. “First, you staged your own kidnapping, then played the victim by working some dead-end job, and when none of your schemes worked, you started throwing yourself at men.
“And to think Lydia even believed she’d wronged you, she was so guilt-ridden she couldn’t even sleep, and kept begging me not to take it out on that shop owner’s family, who were clearly in on your little act. Otherwise, I would’ve-”
Emily demanded, “How did you even know about my part-time job?” Emily, who had been about to ignore him and walk away, froze mid-step. She lifted her head, her gaze icy.
Lucas mistook her reaction for embarrassment at being exposed, a smug grin spreading across his face. “Did you really think your pathetic little schemes could fool me?
“Pretending to suffer at some dead-end job just to win our sympathy? Let me show you what it really means to make a fool of yourself.”
Emily’s gaze turned icy, her eyes burning with fury. “So, it was you who targeted the boss’s shop and threatened his family behind the scenes? And every job I found that lasted no more than three days was because of you, too?”
