That was the first time Emily walked into the Jackson’s mansion after the old madam had passed away. The old master had concluded that the old madam’s death was purely accidental. Hence, Emily’s appearance did not stir up much ripple even though some servants were surprised to see her.
Sarah took her to the backyard. From the buggy, she spotted the rock garden at first glance. The lake was filled, and there were newly planted flowers and trees on it. It would take years for it to look lusher, but it had looked completely different. The person might have left, but the heart would never forget.
“Okay, I have brought you here. Would you see Manson now?”
Sarah was extremely concerned about her son. She wished that Emily would go to Manson immediately. Emily withdrew her gaze from the filled pond, and she loosened her grip.
She said, “Okay.”
The buggy turned around and headed toward the Tamron Pavilion, where Manson lived.
The man had been drunk for two days. Sarah did not mind that because the old master had been away for two days.
“Where is the second young master?” Sarah asked as they walked into the house.
The maid immediately replied, “In his room.”
Sarah glanced at Emily before she led her upstairs. Emily ignored the maid’s quizzical looks and followed the older woman.
Sarah opened the door to Manson’s room. Emily could smell alcohol the moment the door was opened. It was so strong that one could get drunk by the mere scent. Emily did not believe that Manson was drunk because of her. For someone like him, women were no different than a change of clothes. He was only upset that he could not get her.
Sarah walked in and saw Manson on the bed. None of the maids had dared to approach him for the last two days. He was either drunk or asleep. He drifted off to sleep when he was drunk, and he would continue to drink once he woke up. He had utterly slipped into decadence!
Everyone thought that Second Young Master Jackson was so depressed that he did not even turn up at work because Eldest Young Master Jackson had taken over as Jackson Corporation’s new CEO. The news had traveled far and wide. Perhaps even the old master knew about it, too.
Sarah felt helpless, but she walked toward her son and tried to take the bottle away. Her action awakened Manson, and he snatched the bottle back and lifted it to drink.
However, the wine bottle was already emptied. He tipped the bottle, but there was not a drop of wine in it. He got angry.
“What are you doing over there? Bring me more wine!”
Sarah forcefully took the empty wine bottle from his hand and chucked it aside.
“Son, look who’s here?”
“No! Just bring me more wine!” Manson’s voice was hoarse, his hair was messy, and his face was covered with beard stubble.
That was the first time Emily saw him in such a miserable state. It seemed as if Eldest Young Master Jackson’s appointment as the new CEO was a hard blow. However, she did not feel anything when she saw him in such a bitter state because she had no affection for Manson. On the other hand, Sarah was heartbroken. She felt even more depressed after she saw Emily’s lukewarm attitude. She knew she should not expect much from Emily.
Sarah nudged Manson and softly asked, “Manson, didn’t you say that you wanted to see Emily? I brought her here, look.”
“Emily…?” Manson opened his eyes and looked at the direction that Sarah pointed.
The girl at the door wore a plain white dress. Her long hair hung behind her head, and her face was bright, fair, fresh, delicate, and flawless.
“Angel…” Manson had slept for a couple of hours, so he had slowly recovered from his drunken state even though he had drunk a lot before that. It seemed as if he had sobered when he saw Emily. He immediately got up and walked toward Emily.
Sarah sighed. It looked like Manson really liked Emily very much, and it was like Sarah was not even there. How pitiful was that? It looked like the son was no longer close to the mother after he had grown up and started his own life.
Manson went to Emily and reached out to touch her. Emily took a step back and stared at him with a look of disgust. “Don’t touch me. You’re dirty.”
Manson stopped abruptly. He looked down at himself and saw stains of red wine on his clothes. Suddenly, he felt too uncomfortable to stand in front of Emily. He did not know what to do. He had wanted to touch her, but she thought he was dirty…
” Manson, you are really… dirty.”
When Sarah noticed that his son was sober, she hurried toward him and said with a smile, “Go take a shower first, don’t turn the lady off.”
“Take a shower…” It appeared that Manson was not fully awake yet. He looked at Sarah, and then at Emily. He wanted to move toward Emily, but the young lady immediately took a step back to put their distance further apart. Manson could not bear to see his miserable self anymore.
“Okay, I… will take a shower, but…”
He looked at Emily. He hesitated as if he was very uneasy. Sarah knew what was on his mind and said reassuringly, “I will help you look after her. She will not leave, but if you do not clean up, she might be shunned by your dreadful odor.”
“I… I’ll clean up immediately! Wait for me!”
Manson had never been so nervous. He took a sniff of himself; they were right; he was stinky! He had not taken a shower for the past two days. How could he meet anyone in that state? Besides, that person was his angel! That would not work! Manson immediately went to the bathroom.
Before he closed the door, he reminded Sarah. “Mom, please… stay with her.”
“I know, son. I’ll take care of her. Go take a shower.”
Fortunately, Manson had already napped before Emily’s arrival. Otherwise, Sarah would be worried about him taking a bath while he was still drunk. After Manson went into the bathroom, Sarah got the maids in and cleaned the room as quickly as possible. The bed sheets and quilt were changed into fresh ones.
Even though Emily was unsure about Sarah’s personality, it looked like she was a dedicated mother who loved her son unconditionally. She had brought Emily to see Manson so that he would feel better. It did not seem like she had ulterior motives in mind.
“You saw him. He would not listen to anyone except you.”
After she instructed the maids to clean up the room, Sarah went to Emily and pleaded, “Emily, can you please say something good to him later?”
“I can’t promise to be with him.” Even though she was touched by the motherly love that Sarah had displayed, Emily stood firm by her principal.
“I know.” Sarah nodded and explained, “I was just hoping that you could find a way to cheer him up; he is now…”
She glanced at the direction of the bathroom with sorrowful eyes.
“The old master and Rupert have been away for two days. They haven’t seen him like this. If they were to see it, the old master… he would be upset.”
“What about the conditions?” Emily was still a little cold.
Sarah did not blame Emily’s indifference. After her terrible experience, it was natural for her to be wary and hold her guards up against anybody. If Emily remained sweet and innocent, then she was an ignorant fool. Sarah exhaled and met Emily’s gaze.
“As long as you can give him some motivation, you can enter the old madam’s room whenever you want.”