Chapter 414
Emily once didn’t want to bother with the Bennett family, but she’d changed her mind. After work that day, Emily stopped avoiding Emma and took the initiative to approach her.
Emma had expected to be ignored again, so she never expected Emily to come up to her out of the blue.
After a moment of stunned silence, Emma stood up, twisting her fingers nervously, looking both awkward and on edge. “Emily…”
Emily’s expression was calm. “Mrs. Bennett, haven’t you been wanting to see me? Well, here I am. What do you want to say?”
Since it was just after work, the place was crowded with people coming and going. When they saw Emma and Emily standing together, almost everyone couldn’t help but gossip.
Some pretended to just walk by, others acted like they were chatting with friends, but all of them were watching and listening in, eager to catch every bit of drama.
Normally, Emma hated having all eyes on her, especially when it was just a bunch of regular company staff watching her every move. But since Emily was finally willing to talk to her, nothing else mattered to Emma anymore.
“Emily, you’re here. Does this mean you’d forgiven me?” Emma asked, her voice trembling with hope. As she spoke, she tried to take Emily’s hand in excitement, but Emily dodged her touch.
Emily’s tone was icy. “Is that all you wanted to say, Mrs. Bennett?”
Emma was surprised by Emily’s attitude, her expression wounded. “Emily, are you still blaming me?
“It was my fault before, but I was led astray by others. I didn’t do all those things to hurt you out of my own will. I want to make it up to you. Can you give Mom a chance to be forgiven?”
Emma sounded truly sincere, as if she understood her mistakes. Emily could tell there was real sincerity in Emma’s words. But just because she was sorry didn’t mean Emily had to forgive her.
After Emma finished, Emily spoke up, “If you want my forgiveness, Mrs. Bennett, then start by donating every penny you have. No more home-cooked meals for you, only your old clothes from now on.
“Every holiday, you have to get gifts for everyone in the family, and those gifts can’t be any cheaper than what you used to give. If they are, everyone in the family will gang up on you and call you names.
“If you’re hungry, you can’t tell anyone. If you get hurt, you have to handle it all by yourself, without anyone knowing. Otherwise, they’ll say you’re just pretending to get pity.
“Then send yourself off to a correctional facility, cut off from the outside world. Fight for every bite of food, get bullied nonstop, day in and day out. Even if you feel like dying, you still have to survive.
“If you can make it through two years of that, Mrs. Bennett, then come find me and ask for forgiveness. Maybe then I’ll
consider it.”
Emma was frozen in place, her face turning ghostly pale. For a long moment, she couldn’t get a single word out. She had no idea Emily had suffered so much pain and injustice.
Emma opened her mouth; but after a long struggle, she forced out, “Why did you never tell me? If you had just said something.
“And if I had, would you have believed me, Mrs. Bennett?” Emily cut her off. “I’ve told you the same thing over and over, but
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did you ever believe me? Not even once. No, you never did. The only one you ever believed was Lydia.
“Even when I showed you hard evidence to prove I was innocent, it still couldn’t compare to a single tear from Lydia. She cries once, and you’d rather see me bleed just to make it up to her.
