Chapter 108
No one could have imagined that a grown man would dare to so proudly boast about being a kept man right there
on the street.
“You… You…” Lucas glared at him, completely dumbfounded and unable to string together a coherent sentence for a long moment.
When he came to his senses, Lucas demanded in shock, “What did you just call her?”
Lucas thought, ‘That name… Since we were kids, I was the only one who could call her that!’
Austin said with shameless conviction, “Of course, I called her dear Emily. What, are you going deaf already at your age?”
“You-” Lucas’s face flushed red with anger. He turned to Emily, his voice tight with anger, and demanded, “Who the hell is he? What gives him the right to call you that?”
“My business has nothing to do with you, Lucas.” Her demeanor still frosty, Emily turned to Austin, motioned for him to follow, and made him leave.
“Don’t you dare leave.” Lucas lunged forward and seized Emily’s hand, his bloodshot eyes glistening with unshed
tears.
Lucas asked, “Tell me, who the hell is he? What gives him the right to call you ‘dear Emily”?”
Lucas’s voice softened, a wounded note creeping into it. “But you said I was the only one who could call you that.” His pitiful state sent a pang of bittersweetness through Emily’s heart.
Ever since they were kids, whenever Lucas turned on that pleading look and called her “dear Emily” in that soft, coaxing voice, Emily could never refuse him, no matter what he asked.
And every time, she simply couldn’t say no to anything Lucas wanted. Yet at that moment, Emily withdrew her hand with icy indifference.
“Lucas, you’ve got the wrong person. Your dear sister is standing right over there.” With that, Emily shot a meaningful glance at Lydia, who had been standing silently since getting out of the car.
She let out a cold laugh. “Lucas, if you’ve forgotten, I’d be happy to refresh your memory.
“You were the one who told me to my face that you didn’t want a wicked sister like me, that Lydia was the only sister you recognized.
“You ordered me out of the Bennett family and told me never to call myself Bennett again, because I was nothing but bad luck and a disgrace to you.”
With each icy, deliberate word Emily spoke, Lucas’s face grew paler and paler. Clearly, the memory of his own cruel words came rushing back to him. Lydia’s heart tightened as she watched guilt creep onto Lucas’s face.
Lydia quickly stepped forward, her eyes glistening with tears as she looked at Emily. “Emily, please don’t be angry. It’s all my fault.
1/2
Chapter 108
“Lucas couldn’t bear to see me being bullied, so he blurted out those words in a fit of anger. If you have to blame someone, blame me.”
Tears streamed down Lydia’s face as she sobbed. “If only I hadn’t come back, then you wouldn’t have argued with the family or done all those terrible things. I never should have returned.”
Hearing that, Lucas seemed to snap back to reality and quickly retreated to Lydia’s side. “Lydia,” he said softly, “how could any of this possibly be your fault?
“Lydia, you suffered for eighteen years out there. The Bennett family’s privileged life was always meant for you, but someone usurped your place and enjoyed eighteen years of luxury in your stead.”
When Lucas looked at Emily again, all traces of guilt had vanished from his eyes, replaced by simmering anger. “Emily, if you’re angry about what I said, that’s on you.
“If you hadn’t kept competing with Lydia and picking on her over and over, how could I have blurted out those angry words? When it comes down to it, this is all your fault.”
Hearing his words, Emily wasn’t the least bit surprised. Perhaps because she’d long since stopped expecting anything from him, that dull ache in her chest was more resignation than sorrow.
Before Emily could say a word, Austin cut in with feigned innocence, “Emily, if you’re mad, just blame me. But don’t take it out on this rude-looking jerk over here.”
With that one line, Austin instantly had all eyes on him.
