Chapter 84

Emily snapped out of it in a heartbeat. She opened her eyes, and the desire in them vanished like a wave pulling back from the shore.

Gone was the tenderness, replaced by a coldness sharp as a blade.

That coldness in Emily's eyes slowly morphed into anger. James picked up on her mood shift right away and quickly grabbed her hand, apologizing,”Emmy,I'm sorry."

Emily dodged his touch. The lingering traces of their intimacy were still on her body, but his erection wilted in the frosty atmosphere.

James felt a bit panicked. Saying he "crossed the line" seemed way too harsh.

He slowly lay back on the bed, his strong upper body, long legs, and chiseled face making him look like a gigolo.

His voice was weak,tinged with a hint of grievance and resentment. "Can't I even bring it up?"

His earlier question had triggered a reaction in her that seemed to speak of a total and irrevocable split.

Was John still such a taboo subject for her, something she couldn't even bear to be mentioned? "Mr. Smith, let me remind you again, we're together to make each other happy, not to bring each other down." Emily was genuinely pissed. In the past threeyears,James had never asked such a question.It turned out that he also cared a lot about whether she was a virgin.

Emily closed her eyes, hiding the sadness in them. Her virginal experience was a painful memory, not even with John.

She had no recollection of what had happened that night at all, as though amnesia had struck.

Emily had a hunch it had something to do with Veda. But she had no proof.

Thinking about it made Emily feel really uncomfortable, even making her not want to see James for a bit. She got up and headed to the bathroom.

James reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her back. "Emmy, don't be mad. I just..."

Emily coldly shook off his hand without looking back.

Before, if they hooked up, they'd sleep together. But tonight, Emily went back to her own room, took a shower, went to bed, and even locked the door.

It was late, so James gave up knocking on the door.

The next morning, Emily got up on time for work. As soon as she opened the door, James stumbled towards her and only fully woke up when he hit the ground. Emily looked down at him, a bit stunned. She slowly squatted down,her curious gaze falling on James. "Mr. Smith, did you sleep at my door all night?" She blinked. "Why do I feel like you're acting like a weirdo?"James pursed his lips lightly, his eyes still a bit sleepy. After a moment,he said with a touch of grievance, "I was afraid you'd run away in the night."

Emily belatedly realized that James was quite insecure.

He then spoke up, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to apologize to you.I definitely didn't mean what you thought."

James was a bit tongue-tied for a moment. He rarely said such illogical things. Then he pursed his lips. "I don't even know why, but I'm just a little jealous."

Should another person be the obstacle in his relationship with Emily,James wouldn't respond with such intensity.

But that was John, who had been with Emily throughout her youth, and had made Emily love him since she was young.

Although their relationship was very bad now, there was no guarantee that one day they wouldn't go back to how they used to be.

Now that John knew what kind of person Veda was, he'd definitely come back to chase after Emily.

James wasn't sure how much space John took up in Emily's heart or how heavy his presence was there.

Emily's gaze flickered slightly. She looked at James, who seemed like a child-aggrieved,regretful, remorseful, and trying to make things right after messing up.

This wasn't the usual commanding and imposing James.

He asked carefully, "Don't be mad, okay?" No one knew how James had spent that night. He guarded the door,afraid Emily would run away and leave him.

Emily belatedly realized the impact her behavior had on James last night.

She slowly cupped James's face, smiling helplessly. "I'm not that mad."

She leaned in and kissed his lips. Then, Emily's gaze softened as she looked into James's eyes. "But, James, don't ever fall in love with me."

James was unwilling. "Why? Is it because of what John did to you? Or Lucas? Should I go kill them?"

Emily's gaze darkened slightly. He knew about Lucas. Her heart twinged with a hidden pain.

"Emmy, should I bear the harm caused to you by others?"

Emily furrowed her brows.

James realized something was wrong and was about to make amends when he heard Emily's clear voice. "Because I don't love you."

James was stunned.

Emily continued, "Let's take a break for a while. I won't come back for now."

Emily was clear-headed and gentle without any hysteria, making it impossible for others to see through her heart. Emily left directly without even having breakfast. James couldn't understand why. After they had been spending the night together all these days, Emily could ruthlessly let him go. Why was Emily always so clear-headed and restrained in these three years?

He could vaguely feel Emily's indulgence and attachment to him. But just because of a few words, Emily didn't want him anymore.

All the previous efforts were in vain just because of John?

After Emily left the mansion, her eyes reddened slightly, and her restless mind was about to explode.

How should she explain to James? Could she told him that nothing happened between her and Lucas?

Could she explain that she had been kidnapped before and didn't know what happened during the ordeal, not even who might have violated her?

These things were difficult to talk about. Because of these things,she felt inferior, depressed, and had thoughts of suicide.

John had saved her twice, but three years ago,he had mercilessly stood against her.

Things changed in the blink of an eye, and she couldn't afford to take risks. So she never talked about love ever since.

She had finally hidden these tangled things in her heart, and now James had unraveled them with just a few words.

Her whole body ached. Emily temporarily left Crystal Valley Manor. James called her, she answered as usual, called him "honey" as usual, but her tone was cold. In fact, they both knew that the more they pretended nothing was wrong,the deeper the rift between them grew. Today, Emily didn't go to the company. She was in the lab, and she has a meeting with members of the Jewelers Association in the afternoon to discuss cooperation.

She prepared her perfume formula and took it to her teacher, Harry Brooks.

Harry took a quick look and asked, "Are you not in a good mood today?"