Hearing the housemaid’s words brought Emily back to the memories of that night, where she saw Daniel smoking in front of her for the first time.
Emily took a deep breath, her lips curving in a bitter smile as she said, “There’s no way we can be reconciled.”
Finally, their steps led them to the luxurious dining room inside Daniel’s residence.
“Madam, please wait for a moment. We will prepare the meal for you soon,” the maid said in a soft voice, her eyes reflecting unwavering humility and dedication.
“Very well,” Emily replied in a soft voice as she sat in the grand dining room, waiting patiently.
It didn’t take long for several maids to meticulously place the delicious dishes on the table, creating a harmony of tantalizing aromas in the elegant room.
“Please eat, madam,” said Daniel’s grandfather’s trusted maid before excusing herself from Emily’s presence.
“Just a moment,” Emily exclaimed, calling back the maid before she could leave.
“What’s wrong, madam?” the maid asked with concern.
“Would you mind accompanying me to eat here?” asked Emily.
The assistant seemed to hesitate for a moment, but finally nodded gently and stood by Emily’s side.
“Please sit down, aren’t you tired of standing like that and watching me eat?” asked Emily with a warm smile, looking at her.
“But madam…” the housemaid was about to object, but was immediately cut off by Emily.
“It’s okay. Just sit down,” Emily said in a soft but firm voice.
Finally the maid agreed as she nodded and sat beside Emily, voicing her unspoken gratitude.
“Aren’t you hungry? This food is so much, I can share it with you,” Emily said.
“No need, madam. You can just eat,” refused the maid firmly.
“What’s your name?” asked Emily with genuine curiosity, trying to strengthen the relationship with the maid.
“My name is Maria, madam,” the maid replied and was met with only a nod and a warm smile from Emily.
“Madam, you are very kind and beautiful. I’m sure the Young Master still holds hope that you will return to him,” Maria said, regretting that the relationship had soured between them.
Upon hearing Maria’s words, Emily’s expression turned sad. “You are wrong. I never had a place in his heart from the start because I…” Emily didn’t continue her words to Maria, but inwardly thought ‘Because I am the daughter of the murderer of her parents.’
“The Elder Master must have hoped that Madam and the Young Master’s household would not end like this. I have worked alongside the Elder Master for a long time. I know that Young Master is suffering greatly from the loss of all his loved ones. Even the murderer of the Elder Master hasn’t been caught until now, it must be very upsetting for him at this moment,” Maria said in an understanding voice.
Upon hearing Maria’s words, Emily was startled and immediately stopped eating, the expression on her face reflecting deep shock.
“What do you mean, Grandpa was killed?” asked Emily with a face full of confusion, trying to confirm Maria’s words.
“Does Madam not know about this matter?” asked Maria, showing astonishment at Emily’s ignorance of this incident.
Emily shook her head. “I didn’t know about this. Daniel never mentioned it to me either.”
Emily was shocked to hear this fact. All this time, Daniel had always hidden everything from her, making her feel sad and disappointed for never being considered by Daniel.
“Please tell me everything,” Emily commanded with deep curiosity.
Maria was surprised to hear that Emily did not know about this yet. However, she seemed hesitant to explain this truth to Emily.
“I won’t say that I know this from you,” Emily assured Maria.
Maria nodded, then finally decided to tell Emily everything. She revealed that she had also accidentally discovered this when the detective’s arrived at Daniel’s residence a few years ago. Emily listened to every word spoken by Maria with mixed feelings of sadness and surprise, not expecting that Daniel’s grandfather would passed away under such circumstances.
However, Emily was certain that the perpetrator in this incident was not related to her biological father, as the skeleton of her biological father’s body had been discovered in Thailand. His remains were repatriated to New York a few years ago.
Despite being shocked by this revelation, Emily remained strong and organized her father’s funeral in New York.
“I’m sorry, Emily, for keeping the fact that I’m not your biological father,” Fred said in a regretful voice that still rings clearly in her mind.
At that time, Emily was unable to cry at her own biological father’s funeral. It could be because she didn’t know him since childhood or because she realized that her biological father was the murderer of Daniel’s parents. All those thoughts and feelings raged in her heart and mind, preventing her from shedding tears at the funeral.
On the way home from Daniel’s house, Emily continued to ponder the information she had received from Daniel’s housemaid. She recalled that Daniel had never held her accountable for her biological father’s role in his parents’ death. Shortly after, the taxi Emily was in arrived at Grace’s school.
“Just a moment, sir,” Emily said to the taxi driver before stepping out of the car.
“Yes, ma’am,” the taxi driver replied.
“Mom!” Grace exclaimed upon seeing Emily arriving to pick her up from school.
“Why are you so late today, Mom?” she asked.
“I’m sorry. Let’s go home,” Emily invited, receiving only a nod from Grace in response.
On the way home, Grace smiled cheerfully while recounting her school activities. Meanwhile, Emily’s mind was preoccupied with the problems she was facing. Her gaze was distant as she watched Grace enthusiastically sharing her story.
“Mom,” Grace called out, gently shaking Emily’s arm.
“Yes, dear. What’s the matter?” asked Emily.
“Are you listening to me?” Grace inquired, her expression curious.
“Of course I was listening, sweetheart,” Emily replied with a smile. “Mom’s just feeling a bit dizzy, that’s why I’m a little unfocused.”
“Are you sick?” asked Grace, to which which Emily responded with a shake of her head.
“No, sweetheart. Just a bit dizzy,” Emily replied with a smile.
Later that evening, as Emily was tucking Grace into bed, her phone rang. Emily’s eyes were fixed on the phone screen, which displayed the name ‘Richard’.
“Em, I’m in front of your house. I want to return your car. Your car is already fixed,” Richard said.
Emily lightly smacked her forehead, realizing that her car was still with Richard. “I had forgotten. I’m coming out to see you,” she said.
After ending the call, Emily walked out of Grace’s room. In the living room, she saw Fred engrossed in a video call with his out-of-town girlfriend.
“Em,” Fred stopped the conversation with his girlfriend, his eyes then meeting Emily who had just come out of Grace’s room.
“Just continue your conversation. I won’t interrupt. I’ll out in a minute,” Emily said with a small smile on her face.
“Wait a minute, Em. Don’t you want to see my girlfriend?” asked Fred with excitement.
“Come here,” Fred continued, inviting Emily to come closer.
“I want to introduce you to my daughter,” Fred said proudly to his girlfriend.
“Hello Emily,” greeted the female voice on the video call warmly. Emily saw a middle-aged woman who looked quite beautiful for her age. She had a warm smile that radiated tenderness.
“Hello,” Emily said with a smile.
“Your daughter is very beautiful, Fred,” the woman said admiringly.
“You are also very beautiful. Hurry up and get married. I can’t wait to have a mom,” Emily said in a cheerful tone, making the woman laugh warmly.
“I can’t wait to get home and see you guys,” the woman said enthusiastically.
“I’m sorry. But I have to go out to meet my friend. Please continue your conversation again. Bye,” Emily said as she waved her hand in front of the camera, then gave the phone back to Fred.
“You’re leaving?” asked Fred, a little surprised.
“Yes, Dad. I’ll go first,” said Emily with a smile on her face.
After Emily left the house, she met Richard who was waiting in front of her car.
“Sorry. Has it been a long wait?” asked Emily.
“It’s okay. Here are your car keys,” said Richard while giving Emily the car keys.
“Thank you, Richard. Let me drive you home,” said Emily.
“No need, Em,” Richard replied.
“I just happened to have something to talk to you about,” Emily said.