Chapter 101
“Now that Emily has Bob backing her up, and she’s actually working. What if we’re just misjudging her?” Lydia lowered her head, feigning uncertainty. She let out a soft sigh.
Lydia said, “Maybe I’m just overthinking it. Emily probably isn’t that kind of person. It’s really wrong of me to suspect her like this.”
Lydia’s eyes welled up again. “Lucas,” she said in a trembling voice, “maybe I should apologize to Emily. If I’ve truly misjudged her, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep a wink tonight.”
Lucas looked at her helplessly. “Lydia, how can you be so kind-hearted? It’s that scheming Emily who should be losing sleep, not you.”
His eyes blazed with fury. “Since she likes to play the victim while working,” he sneered, “let her see what real hardship is like for those who actually have to scrape by.”
Lydia put on an innocent, anxious face, but her hand, hidden at her side, was clenched so tightly her nails nearly drew blood.
‘Why does it feel like the Bennett family’s attitude toward Emily has started to change recently?’ Lydia thought uneasily.
Since Bob already knew about Emily’s part-time job, and with his backing, she didn’t have to worry so much about Charles finding out.
Also, she no longer had to deal with Xavier, Emily, aside from work and visiting Charles at the hospital, finally had more time to return to her little apartment.
Whether Emily came home or not, Austin would cook dinner for her every night. Afterward, he’d stay with her while she painted and help her create and upload videos to her channel.
Austin’s presence brought a new warmth and life to the little apartment, subtly giving Emily a faint sense of belonging.
Although Emily remained wary of Austin, she couldn’t deny that for the first time, she felt like someone was actually waiting for her.
‘That feeling made me think maybe I haven’t been completely abandoned by the world after all,’ Emily thought.
But it seemed fate just loved to mess with Emily. But just as Emily was settling into this comfortable routine, trouble struck at the shop where she worked.
First, someone reported fire safety violations at the shop. Then came reports of food hygiene issues, followed by allegations of tax irregularities.
Even though everything in the shop was legal and compliant, with constant inspections, the business simply
couldn’t survive.
The harassment was so blatant that anyone could tell someone was pulling strings behind the scenes. Yet the boss was completely at a loss. He just couldn’t figure out who he might have crossed.
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Chapter 101
Just as the boss was at his wits’ end, someone came forward with a message. They demanded he fire Emily without paying her a single cent or they’d make life impossible for his whole family in Cloudridge.
The boss was a genuinely kind-hearted man. He simply couldn’t bring himself to fire Emily without cause.
He’d rather shut down the shop than stand by and watch a young girl get targeted and bullied over and over right before his eyes. It was a matter of principle, not just business.
But he was just a regular guy. He could afford to lose his shop, but his wife would lose her job, his child would be expelled from school, and even his in-laws had faced repeated threats and warnings.
No matter how kind-hearted he was, he simply couldn’t risk his family’s future. Left with no other choice, the boss, heavy with guilt, called Emily into the back kitchen to break the news to her.
Emily had sensed from the start that this was all aimed at her. ‘After all,’ she thought, ‘the boss is genuinely kind, and for someone to go after not just him but his family, they must have some real influence in Cloudridge.
‘Yvonne was the first person I suspected. But knowing her personality, if she just wanted the boss to fire me, she wouldn’t bother with something so elaborate.
‘But if it wasn’t Yvonne, who else would go to such lengths just to get at me?’ Emily wondered. Lost in thought, she suddenly felt a thick roll of cash being pressed into her hand.
Chapter 102
