Some household assistants followed Daniel’s orders, leaving the two of them alone.
Fred, still burning with rage, immediately grabbed Daniel’s collar, his fist was clenched tightly, ready to strike again. But when his eyes met Daniel’s calm gaze, his anger seemed to fade. He released Daniel’s collar, his hand slightly pushing him away.
“Let’s go to my study,” Daniel said, trying to stand and lead Fred to his workspace.
“I raised Emily with love,” Fred said, his voice trembling with emotion, as they stood in Daniel’s study, his eyes filled with sadness. “Even though I am not her biological father, Emily is still my daughter. I will never allow anyone to hurt her.”
“I already knew from Emily about the death of your parents,” Fred said, his voice heavy. “I don’t know if Thomas was capable of such a heinous act, but Emily is completely unaware. Why did you do this to her?” he asked, his voice full of disappointment, his eyes filled with pain.
“If you want to seek revenge for the death of your parents, seek that revenge on me. Kill me,” Fred said, but Daniel remained silent and did not answer.
“It’s my fault,” Fred sighed, his voice filled with regret. “I should have been able to stop Thomas. I should have been more sensitive when he asked me to take care of Emily. I should have investigated his request more thoroughly,” Fred rubbed his face roughly, trying to hide the sorrow that enveloped him.
“Emily is now pregnant with your child,” Fred whispered. “Are you willing to leave her? Don’t you love her?”
“I love her very much. That’s why I can’t let that terrible incident happen to her again,” Daniel said, his eyes focused on a point on the wall. He recalled the events when Emily’s soul was trapped in his body and she fell into a coma.
“What do you mean?” Fred asked, his face etched with confusion.
Daniel took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before telling Fred everything, starting from the beginning of their body swap, when Emily’s soul was trapped in his comatose body, to his dream of meeting Emily’s biological father’s spirit.
“Do you expect me to believe all this nonsense?” Fred asked, his voice sounding cynical.
“I know that everything I’ve said counds crazy, but I’m telling the truth,” Daniel explained seriously.
Daniel’s serious expression and his past behavior inclined Fred to believe the strange things. Daniel also explained when he was in Emily’s body and lived under the same roof with Fred, how Fred usually acted at home, and what he did to convince him.
“How do you know all of this?” Fred asked.
However, before Daniel could answer, Sean’s voice interrupted their conversation from behind the door. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I accidentally overheard everything.”
The air in the room thickened with disappointment and disbelief as Fred recounted the events from a few years ago to Emily.
“You all knew this, but no one told me?” Emily said, her voice trembling.
“Emily, if what Daniel said is true, I would never agree to you two being together again even though I still can’t believe in something as absurd as that,” Fred said.
“So he left me, not because he didn’t love me, but to protect me?” Emily asked, and Fred nodded.
“And the person who swapped our souls is my biological father?” Emily asked, tears streaming down her face, her voice whispering with pain.
“Thomas did it to protect you, Em,” Fred replied. He couldn’t hide his pain seeing Emily hurt.
“Why is fate so unfair to us, Dad? Does that mean if I choose to be with Daniel, I will die?” Emily asked miserably, her voice trembling, full of despair. She felt trapped in a cruel twist of fate, where she had no choice but to accept the bitter reality.
Fred fell silent for a moment, his eyes looking at Emily with pity. “Forget about Daniel,” he said. “I don’t want to lose my daughter. Remember, Grace is still young and needs you as her mother. If your destinies cannot be together, never defy them.”
“But how did my biological father know my destiny?” Emily asked.
“Maybe it was a power God gave your father’s spirit to make things right for you,” Fred answered.
After talking to Fred, Emily entered her daughter’s room and saw Grace sleeping soundly. Her heart felt heavy as she saw her daughter’s innocent face dreaming. She gently stroked her daughter’s hair and kissed her forehead with love.
“Your father left us not because he didn’t love us. He did it because he didn’t want Mom to leave this world,” Emily said, her voice trembling, full of sadness. Tears streamed down her face as she felt so hurt and helpless facing the bitter reality she had just learned.
“Why does fate have to be so cruel to us?” Emily murmured, her voice soft, full of despair.
***
Meanwhile, after the birthday party ended, Alice visited a nightclub, already seeming drunk from drinking too much. A sense of emptiness and loneliness enveloped her heart. She took out her phone, trying to contact Daniel, but he didn’t answer, no matter how many times she called.
“Today should have been a happy day for me. But why did it turn out to be the saddest day for me?” Alice muttered.
She then searched for Richard’s number, hoping he could inform Daniel about her current situation.
“Hello,” Richard greeted from the other end of the phone, but suddenly a man approached Alice.
“Hello, beautiful lady. Are you alone? Want some company?” the man asked, his voice sounding seductive.
“Go away. I don’t need company,” Alice said, already looking drunk.
Richard, hearing the man’s voice and asked, “Where are you?”
“Hello,” Alice finally greeted, her voice sounding weak and full of sadness.
“Where are you?” Richard asked again, his voice sounding slightly worried.
“I…” before Alice could answer Richard’s question, her phone was suddenly snatched by the man.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Alice asked angrily.
The man then disconnected the call between Alice and Richard, then took a seat next to her. “I just turned off your phone call, beautiful lady. Let me accompany you tonight.”
“Don’t you dare mess with me. I already have a boyfriend,” Alice said, her voice sounding slightly firm.
“But why did you come alone and not with your boyfriend?” the man asked.
“Because…” Alice stopped her words and smiled ruefully.
“Because why?” the man asked, his voice sounding curious.
“Because he’s busy,” Alice finally answered, her voice sounding lighthearted, full of sadness. Alice poured more alcohol from the bottle into her glass, trying to drown herself in hard liquor.
“Here, let me pour it for you,” the man offered.
The sudden disconnection of the phone call and the man’s voice on the other end made Richard feel worried. He immediately searched for Daniel’s number and called him, but Daniel didn’t pick up his phone. Finally, Richard decided to find out Alice’s whereabouts himself.
“I told you I don’t need your company. Go away,” Alice said coldly, her eyes looking at the man with displeasure.
“Okay, if that’s the case,” the man replied resignedly.
The man took a seat next to Alice and didn’t disturb her anymore. But he kept glancing at Alice who kept drinking alcohol from her glass. Slowly his eyes roamed over Alice’s body, observing from top to bottom with an inexplicable desire.