Chapter 90
The instant the message flashed open, Austin was momentarily stunned. He turned to Emily, who was tending to his wounds, and murmured, “Emily…”
Emily looked up, her gaze falling on the message displayed on the phone screen. Her eyes flickered slightly as she lifted her hand, smeared with medicine and blood. “Austin, can you tap it open for me?”
Austin paused, his smile widening. He tapped on the voice message, and suddenly a man’s gentle voice came through. “Emily, my dad’s birthday is on the 3rd of next month.
“You’ve always wanted to meet my parents, haven’t you? I’d love to introduce you to them properly then. Would you give me this chance? There’s something really important I want to tell you on that special day.”
The man’s gentle tone and suggestive words felt like a deliberate hint at something unspoken.
Austin’s smile froze abruptly, a dark glint flickering through his usually clear eyes.
Emily didn’t notice Austin’s reaction, lost in thought as she stared at the message from Xavier.
She’d asked several times to meet Xavier’s parents, James and Sofia, before, but Xavier always made excuses. At that moment, out of the blue, he was the one bringing it up himself.
Emily couldn’t shake the feeling that this birthday party invitation was anything but innocent.
Emily thought, ‘I’m fully aware of what this means, but I have to meet Xavier’s parents no matter what.’
“Reply to him for me, just tell him I’ll be there.” With that, she returned to diligently tending to her wounds, as if the message held no particular significance.
Austin replied as Emily instructed, only then noticing her WhatsApp held just one contact: [Xavier,] the very person who had just messaged. Austin turned to Emily and asked, “Emily, who’s this Xavier guy?”
Emily kept tending to her wounds, answering offhandedly, “The only son of the Jenkins family. Loaded, that’s all.”
Austin had never heard of the Jenkins family from Cloudridge. Still, judging by that guy’s smarmy words just now, he was definitely no good.
Austin frowned. “He sounds like bad news, Emily. Don’t let him fool you.”
Emily chuckled at his words. “He’s way richer than me, so why can’t I be the one scamming him?”
“No way.” Austin shook his head instantly. “That’s not you at all, Emily.”
Emily’s hands paused momentarily as she tended to the wounds. She looked up into his clear, honest eyes. “You’ve never met Xavier, and we barely know each other. Why do you trust me so much?”
Austin’s eyes were filled with sincerity as he said, “Because I don’t just see with my eyes. I see with my heart, too.”
Emily couldn’t tell how much of what Austin said was true, but she couldn’t deny that, in that moment, she was genuinely touched.
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Chapter 90
When people learned Emily was getting close to Xavier, everyone assumed she was just a gold-digger trying to marry into the Jenkins family, and even Andrew, her childhood friend, thought so.
But Austin, who’d barely known her for a few days, trusted her completely.
Emily lowered her lashes, blinking rapidly as she tried to get away the moisture gathering in her eyes. She said, “You’re putting me on a pedestal. Maybe I really am just a gold-digger.”
Emily thought, ‘At least being a gold-digger is far better than clinging to that illusory family affection.’
Noticing the sudden coldness in Emily’s voice, Austin wisely dropped the subject.
Although Austin tried to hide it, the undeniable fact was that his wounds had split open.
Emily finished applying the medicine with a frown, then reminded him, “Stay still until your wounds heal. I’ll tidy up when I get back from work.”
Austin chuckled at her words. He tilted his head, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Emily. “Emily, does that mean you want to keep me?”
Austin’s eyes were pure and innocent like a child’s, a stark contrast to his battered body.
