Daniel massaged his furrowed mid-brow in frustration. “Shit!” he hissed in a low voice, expressing his frustration.
The incident did not go unnoticed by the woman. She continued to watch the two of them with confusion, curious about Daniel and Emily’s relationship. The woman’s gaze was full of question marks, trying to figure out what was really going on between them.
Meanwhile, Emily moved quickly towards the elevator. In a hurry, she pressed the button of the floor number she wanted to go to. Not long after, the elevator arrived at the floor. With hurried steps, Emily entered her hotel room, hoping to calm down.
“Why should I interfere with his life? What he said is true. We’re not close enough to meddle in each other’s personal affairs,” Emily muttered in a voice full of regret, realizing her mistake in interfering with Daniel’s problems.
“But every word that comes out of his mouth is so rude and heartless. Should I just resign from his company?” said Emily, feeling confused and hurt by Daniel’s treatment.
When she recalled Daniel’s words about her ex-boyfriend, Emily couldn’t hold back her tears that flowed again. “I have to forget about Ethan. Maybe he’s laughing with his friends right now, while I still keep crying, remembering him like this. I’m really stupid,” Emily muttered.
After a while, the bell from her room rang.
“Who?” came Emily’s voice from inside, but no one answered her.
Emily opened the door to her room and was surprised to see Daniel, who looked so cold.
“Want a drink?” Daniel showed her the bottle of wine the hotel manager had given them earlier.
“I can’t drink,” Emily replied briefly. When she recalled the incident at the restaurant, she was still very upset with Daniel, but she tried to keep her expression.
“Alright then,” Daniel said and quickly transferred the bag of food that had been in his hand to Emily’s hand.
“This is your food that you didn’t finish earlier,” Daniel said. After that, he was about to leave Emily, but when Daniel was about to leave, Emily stopped him.
“Wait a minute, sir,” Emily called, making Daniel turn to her.
“Maybe I can try some of that drink,” Emily continued.
After Emily finished eating, she went to Daniel’s room to enjoy the wine Daniel had offered her earlier.
“Thank you for the meal,” Emily said.
“Mmm, sit down,” Daniel ordered.
Daniel helped Emily pour the red wine into a glass. As he poured, he explained, “To enjoy wine, first gently smell the aroma. Then, take a few sips, letting the flavor spread on your tongue.”
Emily listened carefully, as this was her first experience of drinking wine. She followed Daniel’s instructions carefully, smelling the wine before taking a small sip.
Daniel took out his cell phone and showed Emily a photo. Emily looked at the photo attentively. The man seen in the photo had a face full of fine wrinkles. His hair was completely white. There was a strong presence and confidence radiating from the man. Despite his advanced age, he still exuded the aura of a leader.
“He is Grandpa. His name is Jake Winston. He is the owner and founder of W Company.”
Emily took Daniel’s cell phone and watched him closely.
Daniel continued, “Grandpa has four children. My father’s name is David Winston, he was the first child. Then there’s my aunt Sophia Winston. She’s the second child. The third child is Robert Winston, and the last one is Michael Winston.”
“You already know my two uncles, Robert and Michael. They are managers in our company.”
As he continued his explanation, Daniel took his cell phone from Emily’s hand and showed her a photo of his phone. “And this is a photo of my aunt, Sophia Winston,” Daniel said while showing a photo of a middle-aged woman who still radiated beauty despite her age. Emily looked on in awe, mesmerized by the elegance that radiated from Sophia Winston’s face.
Truly a family born from perfect genes. They are handsome, beautiful, and also smart, Emily thought.
“Emily,” Daniel’s call broke her reverie.
“Yes, sir,” Emily replied quickly.
“Are you listening to me?” Daniel asked.
“I am, sir,” Emily replied.
“What about the photos of your parents? I think I should know more about them too, don’t you?” asked Emily curiously.
Daniel was silent for a moment, a hidden sadness in his eyes.
“You don’t need to know about my parents,” Daniel replied, taking a sip of wine from his glass.
“Why, sir?” asked Emily cautiously, trying to understand what Daniel meant.
“They’re dead,” Daniel explained briefly.
Emily was surprised to hear Daniel’s confession. Although she had been Daniel’s secretary for a long time, she knew little about her boss’s personal life. All this time, she only felt that Daniel’s life seemed perfect, but she didn’t realize that there were wounds and losses hidden by her boss.
“I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t know that. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” Emily said in a soft voice, full of regret.
Daniel looked at Emily with a gaze that turned cold and sharp. “Don’t look at me with that pitiful look. I don’t enjoy being pitied,” he said in a firm voice.
“So-sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable,” Emily said.
“What about you? I’d also like to know more about you.”
“Eh? I-it’s… nothing special about me, sir,” Emily replied hesitantly.
“Can I ask you something?” asked Daniel, making Emily confused and turn to him.
“Ask what?” asked Emily curiously.
“I want to know about the cut on your left breast. What happened to it?” Daniel asked.
Emily was silent, surprised by Daniel’s question. “Did you see it?” she asked hoarsely, looking down, embarrassed that Daniel seemed to have paid such close attention to her body.
“I didn’t intend to look, but the scar is quite conspicuous,” Daniel replied, trying to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.
For a moment, the room was eerily silent. Emily felt time seem to stop for a moment, swallowing the words Daniel had just spoken. She felt her heart racing, searching for the right words to reply.
“The scar…” Emily tried to explain about the scar line on her left chest, but Daniel quickly cut off her sentence.
“If you’re not comfortable talking about it, we should forget it,” Daniel cut her off.
“No, sir. I don’t mind,” Emily said hesitantly, biting her lip for a moment before continuing. “Actually, those scars are from an operation I had when I was a child. I had a heart defect that required the surgery,” Emily explained carefully.
“My body was really weak when I was little, but luckily I could get through all that and now I’m fine,” Emily added.
“I see.”
They were both silent for a moment, not knowing what else to say. But then Daniel expressed his feelings.
“I don’t mean to reopen your old wounds. But, as you know, I need to know more about you,” Daniel said with a sharp gaze, looking at Emily.
“Yes sir, I understand,” Emily replied in a soft voice.
“I have nothing special at my disposal. So, there’s not much you can learn about me, not much to notice. I don’t have any friends or any skills to be proud of. I just have a dad who is nice and always takes care of me,” Emily explained.
“Can you promise me something?” Emily asked in a hopeful voice.
Daniel was curious about Emily’s request and asked, “What is it?”
Emily bit her lip for a moment before making a careful request. “Can you please take care of Dad when I’m not by his side?” Emily’s voice was full of deep anxiety and worry.
Daniel looked at Emily with a sharp gaze, trying to understand the reason behind her request. “Why should I do that for you? Looking after him is not my responsibility,” she replied.
Daniel pondered for a moment, seeing the concern on Emily’s face. “Is he sick?” he asked in a slightly sharp voice.
Emily shook her head slowly in response to Daniel’s question.
“If he’s not sick, I’m sure he can take care of himself,” Daniel replied in a slightly indifferent tone.
They enjoyed the wine together until Emily felt drunk and eventually fell asleep. Meanwhile, Daniel stayed awake, staring at Emily coldly.
Memories of the past came back to haunt her when Richard, her personal assistant, told her, “She is the child we are looking for,” as he handed her a picture of Emily.
“Her name is Emily. Apparently, she works as an employee in our company,” Richard explained.
Daniel stared coldly at the picture of Emily in front of him. “Give her the secretary position. I need to keep her close to me,” Daniel explained.
“Yes, sir.”
Daniel snapped out of his reverie and sat down next to Emily, who looked drunk and asleep. “I should have let you die back then,” he recalled the moment Emily drowned in the river.
“But I couldn’t because your soul was in my body,” Daniel muttered, his hands clenched so tightly, holding back the waves of emotions that shook his body.