The driver sent Emma to this place one day before her birthday. There was a 500-square-meter quadrangle courtyard which was surrounded by four buildings on all four sides. Bodyguards lived in two buildings outside and Mr. Alberton's wives and two sons lived in the building inside.
Emma stood at the intersection and waited since Bernice would come later.
Before Bernice arrived, Emma could feel that people crossing the road stare at her with a frightened look ever since she stood there.
Hunter's car finally stopped and then Riley came down from the backseat. Emma nodded at them and said courteously, "Good evening, Ms. Riley, Hunter."
Riley was nearly fifty years old, and she was the oldest among Mr. Alberton's wives. Therefore, she was really obsessed with skin care. She basically went to the beauty center every day. For example, if she had pimples, she would definitely go to consult the expert to see if she needed to pop the pimples or just ignored them. If she had to get rid of pimples immediately, she would like to know when she should do it.
Riley lifted her chin and then smiled as if she realized something. "Well, it's your birthday tomorrow, isn't it? How time flies! You are already eighteen years old. You are a young lady now." Riley looked at her carefully and said, "You really look like Master."
That word did not sound like a compliment. It was uncommon for someone to say that a woman looked like a man unless that man was delicate and pretty. As for Mr. Alberton, he looked quite strong and tough. Riley actually mocked that Emma was ugly by saying that she looked like her dad.
"Thank you, Riley. I will never forget your kindness." Emma said coldly.
Riley was dissatisfied with Emma's attitudes and then just went away unhappily as she said some dirty words, "You son of bitch!"
Emma stood there as if she didn't hear anything at all. Perhaps she had heard about those unpleasant words for so many times that she could barely feel or do anything now.
Hunter looked at her and asked, "Why are you standing here?"
"I am waiting for someone." She just said a few words.
Hunter waved his hand to the driver and asked him to drive the car away. Then, he stood beside her and smoked a cigarette.
It seemed that he wanted to wait with her.
"It's not safe here lately." He seemed to be explaining.
Emma sneered inside herself. The most unsafe place was the house she was about to go in later.
Of course, she didn't say anything. She already knew what to say and what not to say in her family. She also understood when to be gentle so as to gain the most from the family or when to present herself so as to get a little admiration for Bernice and gain recognition from Mr. Alberton.
Suddenly, a middle-aged woman nervously came to Hunter and knelt down. "Mr. Hunter, would you please forgive him for what he did? He knows he made a huge mistake! Please let him go!"
Hunter looked impatient because he was disturbed. He waved his hand and then a few bodyguards rushed out, grabbing the woman's hands and dragging her out.
The woman cried and shouted. Suddenly, she saw Emma beside her and immediately crawled forward and cried, "Miss Emma, I know that you are a kind lady. Please save my son! Please save him! Save him ... He was just careless! He didn't mean to do anything bad!"
Emma used to see people like this woman in the quadrangle courtyard, in the arena and in the horse farm. Where there were the Albertons, there would be people from all walks of life kneeling down, crying and begging for mercy. But what they did was useless. Some people even committed suicide on the spot.
Emma became indifferent now.
Bernice always said that she should pretend to be scared and cover her eyes like a girl. Then Mr. Alberton would see her as a girl and tried to make her happy.
However, Emma could not do it. Ever since she remembered things when she was three years old, everything seemed to be bloody around her.
Everyone in this family was ruthless.
"You crazy murderers! You will be punished! You will be punished! The Albertons will definitely be punished!"
The woman was dragged away by a bodyguard with her mouth covered.
Emma gave no response.
Hunter beside her looked at her and smiled, "Of all the siblings, I like you the most. If you weren't a girl, I might not be the next successor."
"Hunter, you shouldn't say something like this." Emma said softly.
"How dare his son spat on my favorite leather shoes! I just cut out his tongue and didn't even kill him. I am not doing something bad, right?"
As the lights lit up, Emma still remembered the cold and scary look of that young man. He was like a wolf preparing to take on bigger prey.
"You don't have to worry about that woman's crazy words." Thinking that she was afraid of the woman's curse, he kindly comforted Emma, "I will take care of everything. There is no need for you to worry about that."
Emma stopped talking.
That was how she got along with her siblings for those years. She didn't know how to pretend to be soft and pitiful as Bernice taught her.
"Have you met someone you like?" Hunter smoked another cigarette. He said casually and arrogantly. "We can give them a lot of money for the wedding."
He sounded more like forcing the boy to marry Emma.
Emma shook her head, "No."
"Then you can just listen to the elderly in our family and go on a blind date." He flicked the ashes from his cigarettes and said, "A woman should get married and have children at an appropriate age. Don't worry, I will help you find a good man from a wealthy family. He definitely won't dare do anything bad to you."
Emma wanted to laugh. She seemed to see that the Albertons threatened a simple and honest man and ordered him to take good care of Emma instead of making her feel upset.
"You would be highly respected once you give birth to a child." He patted her on her shoulder and said, "No one will dare say anything about your background in the future. You can be married into the purple."
A child?
Riley did have her own children.
Mr. Alberton still married another three wives including Bernice.
However, Mr. Alberton already had four kids.
As a matter of fact, marriage was not about whether a woman had her own children or not. What mattered was the man. A man would never be faithful to one woman.
Never.
...
"Where are you going?" Bernice went out, but she also wanted to see Mr. Alberton. She said to her in a hurry, "Today is your birthday. You should come back and spend more time with your father to make him happy."
Emma said coldly, "I'm drunk. I want to go out for a walk."
"Fine. Remember to come back soon." Bernice hurriedly went inside again.
Everyone in the quadrangle courtyard was celebrating her birthday party. However, the birthday girl quietly walked out of the back door alone. She wanted to go to the bar, but the owner of the bar knew that she was Mr. Alberton's daughter. She just wanted a moment of silence and stayed alone for a while.
A bodyguard secretly followed Emma after she went out. Emma was talented in getting rid of people and ditched that guy half an hour later. When she stopped, she found herself standing in front of a bus.
She didn't even look at the final stop of the bus before getting on in cheongsam.
It was dark and the bus was full of busy and exhausted people. They looked at the girl in cheongsam and showed some curiosity. Some men even dared stare at her slender fair legs.
The makeup artist did a fashionable and vintage makeup on her because it was her birthday party. She looked quite unique when wearing a cheongsam and putting on a cold look.
The people on the bus did not recognize her. Perhaps it was too dark, or perhaps she was exceptionally different today.
In short, apart from the man who wanted to chat with her had his wrist broken by her, the trip today was the quietest she had ever had.
Along the way, it was all darkness. The bus would sometimes pass by a bright area and then stopped with people getting on and off. The conductor shouted loudly...
The bus finally arrived at the final stop.
When Emma got off the bus, she looked at the landmark saying "Welcome to City Y."
No one knew her here. She went to the mall and bought herself a hat. She was like an innocent little girl who walked and danced from time to time in the night. She sometimes turned around as if she was dancing with the night.
She did everything she wanted to do ever since she was born.
She squatted on the roadside like a homeless person, said dirty words to drunk people who accidentally ran into her and she also ran away without paying for the food she bought.
The wind blew through her long hair, and she laughed while running into a bar where she met another man.
This was the first time for the bartender to see a young girl wearing a cheongsam coming to the bar. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Miss, you seem to be new here. You look fashionable."
Emma ignored him, ordered a glass of wine, and found somewhere to sit down.
It seemed to be a secret place where she could quietly look at others without being noticed.
"I've liked her for many years! I want to marry her and live with her for the rest of my life. Why doesn't she like me? Why?" A man's voice came from behind. That voice was filled with unspeakable sorrow and sadness.
She seemed to be moved by that man and wept her tears like Bernice did, "Why doesn't he love me more?"
Women wanted love, but men only wanted sex.
A man could never be faithful to a woman. A man could fall in love with many people. A poor woman could only have a part of the man she loved.
She laughed at herself and took a sip of the wine.. That wine was so strong that she felt uncomfortable.