Everyone in the Jackson family knew that the old madam doted on Emily. Even when she was warded in the hospital, she had insisted on seeing the ugly woman and no one else. No one knew her reason for that, but they suspected that Emily might be related to her. However, it was merely speculation and nothing more. After all, there was nothing suspicious about Emily’s birth; she had a name, a family name, and a recorded place of birth.
Perhaps the old madam had loved Emily like her own because the girl was Eldest Young Master Jackson’s fiancée. However, the old madam had not said a word about him when she was sick. Instead, it was his fiancée’s name that she had often muttered. So, that was not a convincing argument.
That was why everyone was surprised that the old madam had seemed to favor Wendy in just a few days. Well, as the saying went, ‘every dog has its days.’ Even Manson was confused with that little twist to the situation. Was he happy about it? Well, there seemed to be no reason why he would be delighted about that. If Eldest Young Master Jackson had not arrived when he did that night, she would have met her doom. That man had always spelled disaster for her.
“What’s so funny?” she asked plainly. It was as if she did not mind Manson’s mockery.
“Isn’t it funny?” Manson stared at her.
He hated her face; it was the face that tormented his mind all the time. Manson wondered if he was sick, perhaps he was quite ill. Emily glanced at him briefly before she turned to leave. Manson frowned at her actions; he was upset that the girl was always rude to him.
He caught up to her, and coldly said, “Do you really think that Hunter treats you well?”
Emily did not give him a response, and she went on her way. She did not feel safe around that man, so she did not want to be alone with him.
Behind her, Manson gloomily said, “Hunter took a gorgeous girl from the auction at Paradise Island. Did you know about that?”
Emily was stunned; she stopped and turned to look at him. Why would she panic? Had she actually thought that she would be in danger around Manson? He did not even know she was the girl on the island! She was only an ugly girl with freckles; why would she be in danger around him? Manson would never touch a girl as ugly as her. She was very safe, indeed.
She felt like laughing out loud. That guy had wanted to embarrass her, but he did not even know that she was the girl that Eldest Young Master Jackson had snatched from his arms. How ridiculous was that?
“Second Young Master Jackson, what the hell are you saying?”
“Well, Hunter has another woman behind your back. When you disappeared, and no one knew whether you were alive or dead, your fiancé brought a girl home with him for a good time.”
Manson kept his eyes on her face as he wanted to capture all her micro-expressions. She should feel shocked or sad or even betrayed. However, it did not look as if she felt anything at all. How could she be so calm?
“Are you not upset? When you were in trouble, your man was with another woman! Emily, are you even alive right now? How can you be so calm?”
“If I am not alive right now, Second Young Master Mu, then are you talking to a walking corpse?”
Emily was amused. She had been in a bad mood, but the guy had appeared and took away her pain and discomfort. She did not understand why Manson would always try to find fault with her.
“Well, I am sad to hear that Eldest Young Master Jackson has another woman. However, I am only a weak woman. It’s not like I can stop him, right?”
Hence, it was meaningless even if she were to find out about it as she would not have been able to do anything to stop it.
For someone as formidable as Eldest Young Master Jackson, it was his discretion to have other women than herself.
Did Manson really think that she could prevent that from happening?
Emily said that so that Manson would leave her alone. She had wanted to get away from that place as soon as she could. However, she did not expect to feel so disheartened when she said that out loud. They were husband and wife; it was a pity that they had such a massive difference in their statuses. Eldest Young Master Jackson had power, money, and good looks. If he wanted to have an affair, she could not have done anything about it, even if she were to go to court. There was a massive gap between her and Hunter.
She had had to live in fear after she married such an outstanding man. She did not look forward to such a life at all. Therefore, she knew that they would not have a happy ending to their relationship.
Manson noticed the dark look on Emily’s face. He thought that he would be happy if she were in distress. However, there was no delight when he saw the bleakness in her eyes. He even felt bad for her. No! How could he pity that woman? He must be out of his mind!
Emily turned around and left the garden. Manson watched her back as she went further away. Should he follow her and continue to mock her? Hunter had taken his angel, it only seemed fair that he returned the favor to his woman.
Nonetheless, he did not say anything mean when he caught up to her. Instead, he asked, “How did you find your way back?”
He had not heard anything about that, so he did not know how Hunter rescued her.
Emily replied casually, “I crawled back on my own.”
It sounded like sarcasm. Had she not returned on the same night that Hunter took his angel from him?
Manson was a little upset with her answer. “Was it not Hunter who saved you?”
Emily sneered. “Didn’t you say that he was having a good time with another girl? Where would he find the time to save me?”
“He…” Manson squeezed his palm tightly.
He felt terrible when he thought about how Hunter was with another girl while Emily tried to survive the open sea by herself. He hated his older brother!
“Hey!” he called out when he realized that Emily had ignored him.
The girl walked ahead without any reaction at all. Her eyes were on the beautiful skies ahead of her. It seemed like she had a lot of questions on her mind. The old madam had looked at her in disgust, had she not? Had she seen that wrongly? The old madam who had loved her in her past life seemed to hate her because of Wendy. It only took a small misunderstanding for the old madam to revoke her love for Emily. The girl finally realized that illusions could always blind hearts, and that little fact had saddened her.
Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain as her feet kicked something hard. She lost her balance and stumbled forward.
“Look out!” The man behind her pulled Emily into his arms in an attempt to break the fall.
Their bodies had entangled in that process. Manson’s heart twisted when Emily looked up at him. Why did he save her? He did not push her away when he caught her. Instead, he had subconsciously tightened his arms around her to pull her into an embrace. His action started Emily, and she pressed her hands against his chest in an attempt to push him away.
At that split second moment, a low voice suddenly echoes, “What’s going on here?”