Chapter 47

John was already fuming, but as he saw the man's face, his anger morphed into pure shock. He was totally frozen.

"Mr.Smith?"

He had imagined a million scenarios, even thinking the roses were part of some drama Emily cooked up herself.

But James had already swooped in and wrapped his arms around Emily.

"Skip work today, alright? It's just some design sketches. Come hang out at my office."

Emily stared at him, wide-eyed. "Did you really come all this way just to say that?"

John could see the affection in James' eyes for Emily. Their conversation flowed naturally, with Emily's voice soft and a bit playful.

John took a deep breath and asked, "Mr. Smith, what's going on between you and my wife?"

At Amelia's birthday bash, John and Emily had shown up as a married couple. Now, watching the two of them, Johnfelt a chill run down his spine.

With James' status, he shouldn't be chasing after a married woman like Emily.

James held Emily's slim waist, his gaze on John as cold as ice.

James said, "If you can't see clearly, Mr. Williams, maybe you should visit

an eye doctor."

John's anger flared. "Doesn't Mr. Smith know that Emily is a married woman?"

James chuckled,buat his words dripped with sarcasm. "Married woman?

Then show me the marriage certificate."

John's face went pale. It was clear James knew they hadn't officially registered their marriage.

Suddenly. John felt unsure. Panic flashed in his eyes, and the fear of losing something important grew.

Taking a deep breath, John said coldly, "We might not have registered our marriage, but we had a wedding. That makes us a legitimate couple.And for the past three years, Emily has been living in my house!"

He continued, "My wife is beautiful, sure, but Mr. Smith has seen plenty of beauties. You shouldn't let this tarnish the Smith family's reputation and make both our families a joke."

John suspected Emily had met James during her dealings with the Golden Birch Group. No wonder the deal went through so smoothly.

What he hadn't expected was that not having a marriage certificate gave Emily the green light to attract other men,

Even without a marriage certificate, James couldn't ignore their three-year relationship.

James' eyes were cold, and he smiled mockingly. "Mr. Williams, you're shameless. Without a marriage certificate, there's no marriage. When you left Emily alone on your wedding day, did you think yourself as her

bushaid

He cosmaed. When you got Voda pegnant did you dhink about Fimily waiing for you at home?i

He sdded."As hu the fmith family: no cne daree in sny anyihing hunì mhe Wiliams family's mputation has been trashed by you. Mr. Willioma"

With that James took Emily's hand and got into the caHE

John was leh red -faced and trembling unable to come up with n sìngle wond to counter James. All he could do was watch Emily leave with him.

But he couldn't wrap his head around is How could Emily be so close to James? And why would James, who supposedly had no interest in women.be into Emily?

His mind was racing with queations. In the end, he chalked it up to coincidence.

John kept trying to convince himself that Emily was behind it all. The roses must have been her doing, out of jealousy towards Veda.She probably ordered them herself.

Going to James' office to work on design drafts? That had to be just for better collaboration, nothing more.

John's thoughts were a jumbled mess.

Veda followed them out, but by the time she got there, Emily was already gone.

She walked up to John and cautiously took his arm. "John, do you still love Emily?"

Veda only asked when she felt really insecure.

In the past, John would have firmly denied it, but today, he was unusually irritable and fell silent for a moment.

Veda's heart skipped a beat. If John still loved Emily, they might reconcile,and all her plans would be ruined.

Veda clung to John's arm tightly, her eyes welling up with tears.

She said, "Emily is really amazing, so it's normal for you to like her. But you shouldn't have used me this morning."

Veda knew he had come to the Williams Group just to make Emily jealous.

She had told him she could quietly leave the Williams Group because there were too many rumors online about her and Emily. Her reputation was really bad, and she didn't want to embarrass herself.

But John had insisted. Now he just walked away with Emily,leaving her the biggest joke.

"I never wanted any status by your side, but sometimes I envy others having weddings, and I hope for your divorce from Emily. But I know that's impossible. So why am I the one being sacrificed?"

Veda slowly squatted down, full of sadness, her shoulders trembling as she cried softly.

"John, can you divorce Emily? Even if you don't marry me,can you at least give me the status of being your girlfriend, please?"

Veda slowly looked up at him, her eyes pleading, innocent and pitiful,like an abandoned kitten on the side of the road.

But to John's surprise, he found that he couldn't soften towards Veda.It was like something was keeping them apart.

Moreover, Veda wasn't as innocent as she seemed. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so much fabricated dirt on Emily in her computer.

Veda had never known about their lack of marriage registration.

John stared at her, speaking each word deliberately, "You said before that you didn't care about status, and you just wanted to be with me."

John didn't want to explain to Veda about their lack of marriage registration. He was getting annoyed.

And upon hearing his words, Veda forgot to cry and began to feel panic.

John had always promised to eventually give her the position of his wife.

But at this moment, John's eyes were cold and intimidating, with a hint of scrutiny, making her feel very unfamiliar and fearful.

Her tears and weakness were of no use to John anymore.