Female Novel
Chapter 71
Chapter 71Emma consoled Cerys gently, “We can‘t change a lot of things about the family we‘re born into. Theonly thing we can change is ourselves.”She was not in any way better off when it came to her family either.While her deceased mother had loved her, cared for her, and protected her, Simon and Steven hadalways treated her terribly.It hurt her at first, but once she found out the reason for this, she no longer held any expectations.Cerys nodded wistfully. “You‘re right. We can only work on ourselves.”“I have sworn that if I ever have children in the future, I would never treat them differently simplybecause of their gender:Unfortunately, she didn‘t think she would ever bear a child in this life.She was unwilling to go through ten months of agony, along with the pain of childbirth, if the child didnot belong to the man she loved.A woman like her, with her kind of background, could not become the wife of the man she loved with allher heart.Emma and Cerys continued to chat for a bit, but at last, Cerys got up to leave. “I need to head back tothe office now. Make yourself at home.”“I‘ll prepare a delicious feast for you as thanks for all your help,” Emma declared.“You like spicy food, right? Shall I make some beef chili, jalapeno poppers, and other stuff like that?”Cerys had no idea that limma knew her preference for spicy food. She exclaimed in joy, “That‘s great! Ihaven‘t had a proper meal in such a long time.”Her job as Trevor‘s secretary was indeed a prestigious and high–paying one, but it also came with itsown challenges. Rarely did a day go by without her working overtime, and she ate all her meals at herdesk.“But can you cat spicy food?” Cerys expressed her concern.She knew that Trevor did not touch spicy food at all due to his sensitive stomach. After three years withhim, Emma might have developed a low tolerance for spice too.
However, Emma grinned and said, “Of course. I love eating spicy food.”Cerys was surprised to hear that. “In that case, when you were still with Mr. BatesonEmma waved her hand almost as if she was mocking her past self. “I eat spicy food by myself or whenI go out with Susanna. I only avoided it at home.”“I stopped myself from enjoying all the things I liked for a man who didn‘t love me at all. Don‘t you thinkI was such a fool back then?” Emma added.Cerys did not know what to say.There was nothing she could say.Once Cerys had left for the office, Emma unpacked her things and settled into the guest room beforegiving Susanna a call.When Susanna heard about the incident with Simon, she growled, “That b*stard! Does he want to takeanother beating from me?”Emma had maintained excellent grades in college and would always receive a financial stipend everysemester for her academic achicvements. Every single time, Simon would come to either force her ortry to persuade her into handing that money over to him.One time, Susanna was so pissed off that she dragged Simon off to a secluded corner and beat himup.Susanna was good with her fists and not one to hold back at all, so Simon ended up being bedriddenfor quite some time. Ever since then, he came looking for Emma a lot less frequently.Emma knew that Susanna was worried about her, but she said, “Violence won‘t solve this problem.”“Just move in with me then. The security at my place is very tight. Simon won‘t be able to find his wayin,” Susanna said.“You‘re going to spend most of your time cooped up at home working on your scripts anyway. He‘ll stoponce he realizes he can‘t get to you.” 1Till send the keys to you at once, so you should move out of Cerys place as soon as possible. Younever know what Trevor‘s intentions are.” Susanna was a woman of action; once she made up hermind, she would get right to it.novelbin
Emma hurriedly stopped her. “Don‘t send it through the mail. It would be very troublesome if it got lostsomehow.”“It‘ll be finc. I‘m only staying for a couple of days.” She did not share Susanna‘s concerns aboutTrevor‘s intentions.Why would he bother with his ex–wife?Susanna asked in concern, “What do you plan to do now?”“I can’t keep hiding from them. I‘ll see what they plan on doing next. Worse comes to worst, I‘ll justhave to lay the cards on the table and cut off all ties with them.”Susanna was filled with wrath at the thought of how despicable Simon and Steven were. “How can twogrown men that are fully capable of working spend all day demanding money from someone elseinstead? How shameless are they anyway?”“If they had just put in a little more effort, my mother wouldn‘t have vexed herself to death,” Emma saidmorosely.Her mother died from illness, but her illness had been caused by prolonged stress and negativity. Shehad spent many years of her life drowning in frustration, anger, sorrow, and depression, and all of itstemmed from the lazy and greedy father and son duo.A strong–minded woman like her died from anger and heartbreak after encountering a husband and ason like that.After ending the call with Susanna, Emma collected her thoughts and calmed herself down beforethrowing herself back into her writingWomen should not rely on men for anything. A woman‘s career was her best reliance.She was determined to focus on her career and earn her own money so that she could support herselfwithout having to worry about anything.For dinner, Emma prepared beef chili, jalapeno poppers, and a pot of hearty chicken soup. She madesure every dish was nutritious and cooked to perfection as she wanted to convey her gratitude forCerys‘ help.
After setting the table, Emma sat down in the living room to watch some television while she waited forCerys to come home from work.After a long wait, Cerys called her and said apologetically, “Emma, I‘m swamped with work right now,so I won‘t be able to head home for dinner.”Emma felt sympathetic toward Cerys for being caught up with work, but she did not know what to do asshe eyed the feast on the dining table.It was impossible for her to finish all that food alone, and even if she packed theHALLAleftovers into the fridge, the food would not taste as good the next day either.Therefore, after giving it some thought, she suggested, “Why don‘t I drop some food off for you? I madetoo much anyway.”It was only a ten–minute walk from Cerys‘ apartment to Bateson Tower. She could do with a walkanyway.“Really?” Cerys was thrilled to hear that. “That‘s a great idea!”“My mouth was watering when I saw all those pictures you sent me of the food. You‘re so thoughtful foroffering to bring some over to me.”“There‘s too much food anyway. I won‘t be able to finish it by myself.” After a moment, Emma asked, “IsCyrus also working late?”“Yeah, both of us are,” Cerys replied.“I‘ll pack enough for you and Cyrus then.”Cerys stilled for a moment before saying, “Okay, thank you…”If she and Cyrus were both staying late at work, naturally, it meant that Trevor was too, but Emma onlyasked about Cyrus without mentioning Trevor at all. Emma showed even less concern for Trevor thanshe did for Cyrus.Cerys and Cyrus were both working in Trevor‘s office right now, so when Cerys ended the call withEmma, she glanced over at Trevor before saying to Cyrus, “You only need to order dinner for Mr.Bateson!
Both Trevor and Cyrus looked over at her in puzzlement. With great difficulty, she explained, “Emmamade dinner tonight, and she said she‘s dropping it off later for Cyrus and me.”She looked over at Trevor and quickly added, “The dishes she prepared are all spicy, so it won‘t besuitable for you.”Trevor snorted at that. He found it entirely plausible that Emma had done it on purpose just so he couldnot eat what she prepared.