“Mrs. Thomas, Mrs. Clark, please allow me to extend my apologies as well,” Emily said, her voice blending softness with quiet resolve. “I share responsibility in this matter. May I ask for some leniency toward the Adams family? I am willing to take full accountability.”
Her words were delivered earnestly, yet they didn’t land as she hoped.
Abigail regarded Emily with a faint, almost amused smirk. “You?” she said disdainfully. “Miss Reed, I’m afraid you lack the standing to request any leniency from us. But there is one thing you can do: stay far away from Belinie’s husband.”
Emily flinched, her calm mask cracking.
Abigail pressed on, her voice sharper. “Ethan is a married man, and your proximity to him sends the wrong message. People might think you’re trying to meddle in their marriage. That’s hardly the kind of reputation you’d want, is it?”
The sting of Abigail’s words deepened as she turned Ryan’s prior accusations about Jessica back on Emily.
Emily’s expression stiffened, and her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
Ryan, visibly tense, jumped to her defense. “Mrs. Thomas, I don’t think you understand the full context. Ethan and Emily—well, they were deeply in love once. If not for—”
Abigail didn’t allow him to finish. She cut him off sharply. “Once is the key word here, isn’t it? Why bother dwelling on something that ended long ago?”
Her words sliced through the air, leaving Ryan momentarily speechless.
Jessica, watching the scene unfold, couldn’t suppress a soft laugh. The situation had taken a turn she couldn’t help but find entertaining.
She turned her gaze to Ryan, a faint smirk playing on her lips. “Even if they were once a couple, that time has long passed,” she said coolly. “Ethan is married now. Yet Ms. Reed had the audacity to call him late last night, asking him to come over. Don’t you think that’s a bit inappropriate?”
The room fell silent as everyone turned to Jessica, her revelation catching them off guard.
Abigail’s expression shifted into one of bewilderment as she faced Jessica. “What did you just say? Belinie, did that really happen last night?”
The shock wasn’t limited to Abigail. Matias and Ryan were visibly startled, their gazes snapping to Emily.
Ryan’s face tightened, and his eyes flickered toward Emily with a mixture of resignation and frustration. He understood why she’d done it, though he couldn’t condone it.
Abigail’s composure finally snapped. With a loud bang, her hand slammed down on the coffee table. “This is utterly unacceptable!” she declared, her voice brimming with outrage.
Her furious gaze shifted to Matias. “Mr. Adams,” she said, her tone ice-cold, “it’s clear you need to keep your son and niece in check. And as for any potential business dealings between our families—forget about them. Consider this the final word.”
Matias opened his mouth to respond, but Abigail’s cutting voice silenced him. “I’ve heard enough. I’m busy, so I’ll kindly ask you to show yourselves out.”
Matias recognized that pushing further would be futile. His shoulders sagged slightly as he rose from his seat. With a grim expression, he motioned for Ryan and Emily to follow him.
They left the estate in tense silence.
The moment they entered the car, Matias slammed the door with such force that the loud bang startled both Ryan and Emily. They sat rigidly, their postures stiff, hardly daring to breathe.
Once inside, Matias turned sharply to Emily, his voice laced with anger. “You knew we were coming here to make amends with Jessica,” he said, his tone clipped and unforgiving. “Yet you called Ethan last night. Why? Were you trying to stir up trouble for her?”
Emily’s face paled under his stern gaze.
Matias pressed further. “Or do you only care about yourself? Are you so blinded by your own desires that you can’t see the consequences of your actions for the rest of us?”
His words cut like a knife.
Emily stammered, her distress evident. “No, Uncle Matias, it wasn’t like that. I wasn’t feeling well last night. With my mom out of town in Soling and Ryan unreachable, I didn’t know who else to turn to. I just needed Ethan to bring me some medicine. That’s all, I swear.”
She paused briefly, her voice trembling as she continued. “Please believe me. I never meant to cause any trouble for Jessica.”
Ryan spoke up in her defense. “Dad, Emily wouldn’t do something like this on purpose. You know her better than that.”
Matias’ expression remained stern, though his anger seemed to simmer down slightly. After a long pause, he finally spoke, his tone grave. “Regardless of your intentions, you both need to remember something. Jessica isn’t the same person she was three years ago. The Thomas family’s unwavering support for her is proof of how much she matters to them now. If either of you causes trouble for her again, it won’t end well.”
His gaze hardened as he turned back to Emily. “And let me make something crystal clear: as long as Jessica and Ethan are married, you are to stay away from him. Is that understood?”
Emily’s face drained of color entirely, her composure shattering.