Florence sighed, turned Emma’s face towards Patrick, and said, “Look, Emmie, this handsome boy is about to become your family. Don’t tell me you won’t find love, at least he has accepted you as part of his family. Even if you can’t be partners, you can be family. In this world, even a beggar will find love, not to mention a smart and beautiful sixteen-year-old girl like you. Emmie, trust me, you just need confidence.”
Emma sighed. Her head was firmly held by Florence, and she couldn’t move. “I’m not sure, Florrie. I can’t even love myself. I don’t know what charm I have to attract others. You know, I haven’t even found my own wolf. I’m very ordinary. I don’t have the ability to attract a partner.”
Florence often felt a headache about her friend’s self-rejection. Since she had known Emma, she had persistently told her the same thing “You are beautiful and talented. Your only flaw is that you are too independent. Men might be afraid of this type of woman. But this can’t be considered a flaw. After all, a new era has come. Men also need to learn to accept that women have power, rather than blindly liking delicate and weak girls. So, this can’t actually be considered a flaw.”
But Emma always seemed to forget after listening. Whenever Florence wanted to introduce her to a suitable boy, not necessarily for romance, just to be friends, Emma always seemed on edge. As a result, Florence had gone through several boyfriends, but there had been no progress with Emma.
“Emmie,” she drew out the end of her name, “even if you didn’t receive love from your father, and Amy Aunt didn’t provide you with enough security, at least after I met you, I gave you enough love as a friend, right? Now, are you even questioning my love for you?”
Emma fell silent.
“When you need me, I will be by your side. I won’t refuse any help you ask for, and even if I’m curious, I will restrain myself from asking questions. Emmie, one can’t be too greedy. Compared to those who truly have nothing, you are far from being in that situation. You have a home, family, and friends. How could someone without charm have a friend who loves her?”
Emma felt like she was indirectly praising herself as an amazing friend. But at the same time, she really appreciated Florence. It was Florence who taught her to love herself, bit by bit showing her the beauty of her own world, letting her understand that she was not the only one blooming in the mud.
They both were.
“I know, I love you too, Florrie.”
Florence then let her go. “That’s more like it. So, when do you plan to leave with them?”
Emma frowned, “Why are you bringing this up again, Florrie? I’m not leaving. I don’t want to leave you guys. You are my family.”
Florence shrugged, “That’s true, but you can’t take care of yourself, and I can’t take care of you. We both know that.”
“I know,” Emma was stubborn, “I know, but I can’t convince myself. I hate him. I don’t want him taking care of me; it makes me feel disgusted.”
Florence felt that Emma was being too obstinate. “It won’t be long before you come of age. You’re putting heavy chains on yourself, Emmie, and that’s a mistake.”
Emma thought, she knew she was wrong. Her mother, Patrick, and now Florence, everyone was trying to remind her that only her father could give her a better life. But when she needed a better life, her father was never there.
She still couldn’t shake off the resentment towards her father, which made her feel like a worm.
“You need to talk to Edward,” Florence sighed, “or maybe even your future brother can help.” She gestured with her chin towards Patrick, who was sitting in the corner reading a book. Emma rolled her eyes. Oh boy.
“Good heavens, I don’t know what to talk to him about. We just talked a few days ago, and I told him I was willing to go, but then I changed my mind. Do I look like a fickle and ungrateful brat? I don’t want to go.”
“You have to go,” Florence said, “You need to see the world outside. At least one of us should have the chance to see what the world is like.”
With that, Emma’s refusal had reached its limit. She could only reluctantly walk over to Patrick, who was reading with his head down. Suddenly, he felt a shadow blocking the light of his book.
“What’s wrong?” He looked up and saw Emma, who still had three hours left in her shift, standing next tohim. “You’re finished for the day?”
“Yes, Florrie said she would take care of the rest of my tasks today. She told me to take a break.”
Patrick stood up. “You have good friends here.”
“Yes, she’s also my family.”
In these few days, Patrick felt that his impression of Emma had grown. She was intelligent and sensitive, but at the same time, she was insecure and timid. The absence of her father and her mother’s neglect made her not believe that she deserved a better life. Most of the time, she lived numbly, just working to survive.
But occasionally, when she emerged from that almost lifeless existence, she was full of vitality and wisdom. Her words were thought-provoking, her actions were lively and playful, and she could also show a lovely expression like any other girl.
No matter how much you annoyed her, as long as you didn’t show aggression, she was always willing to smile and let things pass. If you accidentally crossed her bottom line, she would show you a sharp and intimidating look, but if you immediately admitted your mistake, she would return to being kind to you.
Patrick concluded she was extremely sensitive to kindness. Even if the world showed her only deep malice, as long as you gave her any kindness, she was willing to give you back far more beauty than you gave her.
Such qualities were rare, he thought. In this era, people had become selfish and self-serving, no longer considering the relationship between the collective and the individual, not wanting to be bound to the collective, only considering whether their interests would be harmed. Even the Silver Moon Pack, which had always emphasized unity as its creed, was now unable to avoid the contempt of the young towards the community. They were more focused on what they could gain from the community rather than what they could do for the community’s development.
Excessive emphasis on democracy had not forced a reasonable supervision of the system, but had instead fostered an atmosphere of extreme self-interest.
Luna, he suddenly thought of this word. His mother always wanted him to find a suitable Luna. So, he wondered, did Emma qualify as someone who could lead the whole pack?
But it seemed too early to talk about these things now. He also wanted to wait until the gift of the moon goddess appeared. Emma was only sixteen years old, and before finding a partner, she needed to focus on her studies.
“Have you decided whether or not to leave the Blue Halo Pack?” he asked Emma.
Emma nodded. “I’m sorry, I know I told you I had made up my mind, but in the end, I changed it.”
“That’s okay,” Patrick knew this wasn’t just her own idea, but also had the influence of her mother. “It’s not your fault. I apologize to you. My mother has a bad attitude, and I hope you can forgive her unreasonable behavior.”