Jaquan put down his hand awkwardly. He walked a few steps and squatted down in front of Stony, asking, "Are you going to school?"
"No, I go to school at 8:30. I'm going running now." Stony smiled at him, "I need to do exercise, because I will protect Mom after growing up."
'Your mother doesn't need any protection at all.' Jaquan said to himself inside. Then he looked up and glanced at Emma, who was looking at Stony gently with a caring aura.
"Bye." Emma helped Stony with his coat, and then got up and closed the door, shutting Jaquan outside.
"..."
Jaquan was so angry that he smashed the steering wheel after getting back to his car. Damn! It had been years since he had encountered such a difficult woman. How could such an ordinary woman talk to him like this?
Then he got a call from Arabella. He exhaled before answering the call, "Hello?"
"Vincent is hosting a banquet tonight. Shall I go?" Arabella asked, sounding struggling.
Jaquan checked the calendar and asked in confusion, "A banquet for what?"
"To celebrate the butler's birthday."
"..."
When did a butler's birthday party deserve so much attention?
Jaquan didn't say anything. He began to think about Vincent's motives behind this party. Randy and Vincent were the smartest among the fellow guys. Trevor was an exception, of course.
Arabella repeated the question, "Shall I go?"
"Go if you want." Jaquan looked at his wristwatch and started the car. He saw a small blister on the back of his hand and gritted his teeth.
Arabella asked, "Is she going?"
Jaquan paused for a moment before finally figuring out her purpose. He said in a low voice, "I don't know."
"I want her to go." Arabella said softly.
"Why?"
"I want to know her, and what Vincent likes about her."
After Jaquan hanged up the phone, he smashed the steering wheel again.
If there was right and wrong about love, he could talk about it with someone else. But now he could do nothing but hurt himself.
**
Emily woke up in the morning and was told by Susan that the Britts had been invited by the Scavos to the banquet. Elsie and Beverly were prohibited from going out. So either Eliot or Maury would go, together with their female companion.
Emily suddenly remembered that Vincent had told her last night, "I'll send someone to pick you up tomorrow night."
Susan prepared several long dresses and gowns, asking, "Miss Emily, which one do you like?"
"The white one."
Susan took out the white dress and said, "Miss Emily, your skin is white, you look good in any one of them."
Emily stared at herself in the mirror and saw the bruise on her leg. She then said, "The black one is better."
Susan nodded and smiled. "Not bad. In the black dress, you will look mature and graceful."
Emily grinned slightly. Unfortunately, she found that ever since that nightmare, she was not innocent and happy anymore. She became indifferent, cold and no longer familiar with herself.
She couldn't even laugh from the bottom of heart.
Emily went downstairs for breakfast, not seeing Elsie and Beverly. She was told that they didn't come out from their rooms in the morning. Susan got Emily breakfast, after which, Emily went to the garden to count ants with Harold.
The butler and Susan looked at Emily in the hall and sighed, "Miss Emily becomes even more beautiful."
"She is just a kid." The butler shook his head. "What if Miss Emily could recover from the illness!"
But no major hospital could cure her. So Susan couldn't say anything in response. She just looked at Emily and Harold from afar and asked, "What do you think they were talking about?"
"Ants. Miss Emily can look at ants for an hour."
Susan sighed again. Then she went into the kitchen to clean the dishes. The butler sighed as he went into the warehouse.
After Emily saw the butler and Susan disappeared, she looked up at the balcony. After confirming that there was no one around, she whispered, "I'll go to the Scavo's tonight. He would ask me to stay there. I don't know the reason, but I won't be back for about a month or two."
Harold held an ant in his palm and handed it to Emily, "OK."
Emily used a twig to take the ant over, putting it on the ground. "Please take care of Sydnee. She may need your help from time to time."
"OK."
After they finished speaking, Emily and Harold stood up. He gently said, "Miss Emily."
Emily turned around and said, "Yes?"
Harold said seriously, "Take care of yourself."
Emily nodded at him, "I will."
In Elsie's room on the second floor.
"Mom, I haven't gone shopping for almost a month! I'm going crazy!"
Beverly was smearing her neck. After hearing Elsie, she stopped and didn't say anything.
She looked at Elsie and hesitated for a while, and then suggested, "How about we..."
Before Beverly could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Elsie, "Mom! I got a message from that person! He asked us to do something for him, and will pay us five million! Dad would be proud of us if we make it!"
Beverly put away the cream and walked to Elsie's bed. "Don't let them know about the money."
Elsie asked in confusion, "Why?"
"He is mean with you, and doesn't deserve your help." Beverly asked.
"But..."
"Let's figure out what that person wants us to do first." Beverly said.
Elsie nodded and stared at the phone. She checked the message, with her brows further furrowing.
Beverly asked, "What's wrong?"
"She asked me to take out the subsidiary agreement from my brother's contract and throw it away." Elsie exhaled, "Mom, I can't do this; otherwise, I'll be beaten to death by my brother!"
Beverly took her phone away and read the message word by word. She could see nothing but the five million.
"I agree with you."
How could she not ask for something as a return after being treated that way by Maury?
Besides, Noah was in need of investment. This money came just in time.
After lunch, Emily painted in her room. The painting under her bed was too big. She hadn't have it framed until last night.
She was going to send it to Vincent as a present.
Recalling what Vincent said the night before yesterday, she smiled. Vincent was nothing like what the rumors said about him. The ring on her neck was even warmer, and she touched it.
She thought silently, "Vincent doesn't know that she's complaining about him, right?"