Chapter 5

For a few seconds, the room went quiet.

Verena was the first to break the silence. "Emily, you made it! How's your leg doing? Come on, have a seat, quick." She fussed over her, guiding Emily toward a chair with exaggerated enthusiasm.

As soon as Emily sat down, Jayden ran over from Amber, shooting her a glance.

"Mom, what happened to your leg?" Jayden asked.

"Just a little accident," Emily replied.

Jayden hesitated for a second in front of her, then turned and ran back to Amber. Amber crouched down, ruffled his hair affectionately, and said softly, "Jayden, be good. Your mom needs to rest. Let's not bother her, okay?"

Emily sat in her chair, watching the scene unfold. People around her were whispering. Their eyes felt like tiny needles pricking her skin.

"Look at Ms. Hardy. She's doing such a great job with the kid," Janet whispered to her husband, making sure Emily could hear every word. "But somebody is always threatening divorce."

At dinner, everyone gathered around the big round table. Emily was seated by the door. Amber sat to Noah's right, with Jayden squeezed in between them.

Bruce sat at the head of the table, his face grim, but he didn't say a word.

Halfway through dinner, Noah's second uncle, Jeremy Oliver, spoke up. "Noah, I heard you finally closed that new energy project? Congratulations."

"Yeah," Noah replied, not even looking up as he served some food onto Amber's plate.

His second aunt, Rosa Crane, leaned in. "I heard the project almost fell through at first. How did you manage to pull it off in the end?"

Amber spoke up, her voice gentle and just the right amount of humble. "I accompanied Mr. Noah Oliver to the client's office three times, went through all their concerns one by one, and sorted everything out."

Emily's hand paused mid-air, her spoon hovering over her plate.

Three months ago, the CEO of the client company had come to visit the Oliver family. Noah wasn't around that day, so Emily ended up hosting him herself.

They spent the whole afternoon talking, and she offered three suggestions to improve the proposal. The very next day, he called back, saying he was open to negotiations.

She glanced at Noah, who was listening to Amber, nodding every now and then.

Rosa smiled and said, "Amber, you're really impressive. No wonder Noah relies on you so much."

Amber smiled modestly. "Oh, it's all thanks to Mr. Noah Oliver's decisions. I'm here to help out."

Emily lowered her head and quietly finished her meal. She didn't argue or explain herself.

Bruce watched her from across the table, something flickering in his cloudy eyes. He set down his spoon, picked up his cup, and took a sip, saying nothing.

After dinner, Emily sat alone on a stone bench in the courtyard. The night breeze was a bit chilly, so she pulled her coat tighter around herself.

She heard footsteps behind her. It was Derek Clayton, the Oliver family's longtime butler, coming over with a cup of hot chocolate.

"Mrs. Oliver, Mr. Bruce Oliver asked me to bring you some drink," Derek said.

"Thank you, Derek," Emily replied.

Derek set the cup down and lingered for a moment. He said quietly, "Mrs. Oliver, I saw what happened at dinner, and so did Mr. Bruce Oliver."

Emily cupped the cup in her hands, letting the warmth seep into her fingers. "It's fine. It's almost over anyway."

Derek opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he sighed and turned to head back inside.

Emily finished her drink alone. The magnolia tree in the courtyard was in full bloom, its fragrance so strong it was almost overwhelming. She'd sat under this tree so many nights before. But not anymore.

Just as she was about to get up, her phone buzzed. It was a text from an unknown number.

The message said: [Funds have arrived.]

Emily glanced at it, then deleted the message. Leaning on her crutches, she headed back to the living room to say goodbye to Bruce.

*****

A week later, Dorothy finally threw the agreement back at Emily. She didn't bother handing it to Emily. She tossed it onto the table in front of Emily.

That afternoon, Emily had gotten back from her follow-up at the hospital. As soon as she walked in, she saw Dorothy sitting in the living room. The agreement was sitting there, slapped onto the coffee table.

"Sign it," Dorothy said, crossing her legs with a smug, victorious look on her face. "Bruce said he'll respect your decision. But there's one condition."

Emily asked, her voice steady, "What condition?"

Dorothy replied, "You can get divorced, but you have to wait until after the Oliver Group's shareholders' meeting next month. Noah's position can't have any problems."

Emily pressed, "How long?"

"Twenty days," Dorothy said, almost smug.

Emily stared at the agreement. There was a faint brown mark on the cover, like someone had set their coffee cup on it.

"Okay," Emily said.