Chapter 264 - Nightmare

Emma was not surprised with the number, raising her eyebrows slightly. "Are you willing to leave him?"

Bernice got aggrieved again. "But he doesn't like me... If he likes me, why doesn't he come often? When he comes, he quarrels with me. He smells of perfume from other women and he has lipstick marks... I'm so angry..."

"Don't men behave like that when they engage in social activities?" Even since she was old enough to remember, she had been taken out by her eldest brother and second brother a few times. A group of men were sitting in the private room, accompanied by seductive women in sensual clothes.

"Why does he need to engage in social activities?" Her mother became angry. "It's a pity that you are not a boy. If you were a boy, you would have a small share of such a large enterprise. Now those two damn women are happy. Sons usually take over the business of the father. Needless to say, the inheritance will go to the sons of those two damn women!"

Emma wanted to say, "I don't want to inherit it at all", but she bit her tongue.

Her mother was a dependent woman by nature, who needed a man to pamper her. However, she felt aggrieved to spend her best time in an empty villa, and she was reluctant to swallow it. She knew a whining baby always got the attention, and that bastard would send something over after the fight today. This was what she wanted. At least, the other women would think he cared for her.

This was enough. Hadn't they fought for so many years just to win the affection?

The crying tired Bernice out. She leaned on Emma's shoulder and sniffed, asking in a muffled voice, "Emma, do you think I am useless?"

Emma touched her well-preserved hair and said, "You've done a good job. Don't quarrel with him the next time if you want something. If you continue like this, he won't come again."

Her mother got angry again. "I dare him not to come! If he doesn't come, I'll go to the mansion and make a scene!"

Emma looked at her grey hair and felt distressed. "Mom, have you ever thought of leaving this place?"

Her mother said excitedly with a longing look like a naive girl, "Langkawi, the Island where I can bask in the sun and enjoy the beach breeze. That old bastard promised me to go there long time ago, but we never went..."

"I mean leaving here for good," Emma said softly.

Her mother fell silent.

After a long time, she said as tears coursed down. "I can't leave him."

Emma looked at the rain beating at the window, feeling irritated with the persistent noise.

"You will understand later. If you meet a man you like very much, your heart will ache a lot when he likes someone else. If I had Heartless Pills, I would definitely feed you one, so that you will not fall in love anyone and will not feel any heartache like the TV dramas..."

"No." Emma smiled faintly. "I won't fall in love with anyone."

"Why do you say that?" Her mother looked at her in surprise. Suddenly she had a frightened look on her face, and she shouted at Emma with ferocious eyes, "Emma, where are you? Emma!"

"Mom! Mom!" Someone called her in her ears, finally waking her out of the dream.

She panted slightly, sweat on her forehead. The sky cleared up. The rainstorm last night had finally stopped. It would be a fine day. After the rain, the air was exceptionally fresh with a slightly salty smell of wet clay.

Stony wiped her sweat with the back of his hand and asked, "Mom, did you have a nightmare?"

"It's not a nightmare," Emma said. She didn't know how to explain it, so she changed the topic. "Why did you wake up so early?"

"Mom, did you forget? Yesterday you said you'd take me to the Cultural Palace," Stony said with his big bright eyes.

Emma smiled apologetically at him. "I'm muddled from the sleep." She looked at the clock on the wall. It was five past six. It was not early. "Okay. I get up now."

"Mom, I'll help you put on the socks." Stony found a clean pair of pure white socks and sat on the edge of the bed, clumsily putting them on her feet.

Emma looked down at him with a gentle smile on her face.

Thinking of that dream, her smile froze. Were they still looking for her these years?

They should be.

...

After the rainstorm, it became colder.

At the gate of the Cultural Palace, a young couple stood opposite each other. As it was the weekend, many couples brought their children to the Cultural Palace. There were also young couples. However, it was rare to encounter such a beautiful couple. Therefore, the two of them attracted most of the attention.

They were Jaquan and Arabella.

Jaquan was casually dressed. He wore a down jacket and slacks. However, Arabella dressed up for the occasion. She was attired in an elegant dress with a white fur coat, which flattered her delicate face. Today, she wore light makeup, and she looked stunning from near or far.

The library of the Cultural Palace was the largest library in City Y, so it attracted the children as well as the bookworms. Many people brought their own mats and thermos flasks, planning to spend the weekend in the library. Some people bought popcorn and coke and went to the cinema inside. Some people took their children to visit historical and cultural sites to increase their historical knowledge. There were other facilities like studio, recreation hall, activity hall, and leisure hall. The Cultural Palace was large, where people could spend a whole day.

Arabella stood at the gate and looked at the crowd, realizing it was weekend. The sea of people disheartened her. Dressed like this, she couldn't squeeze in with others to visit.

Jaquan knew from the look what she was thinking. He looked behind her and asked, "There is the GY Temple over there. I heard that there are Begonia flowers blooming all year round. Do you want to go there?"

Arabella quickly nodded. "Okay."

Not long after they left in the car, two people walked out of the Cultural Palace. They were Emma and Stony. Tea Manor was not far from the Cultural Palace, and Emma borrowed Sydnee's car. She had brought Stony to the Cultural Palace before. At that time, they spent a whole day in the place, but this time Stony went out after an hour.

"Are you tired?" Emma asked.

Stony shook his head without saying anything.

When Emma was about to say something, she saw a family of three happily passing them by, and she instantly understood.

Most of the children who came to visit were brought by their parents. As it was weekend, most of visitors came with their families. It was crowded. Emma had just been stopped by someone who asked for her help to take pictures. It was a family of four, standing in front of a pool and hugging each other intimately.

When she returned the phone after taking the photo, she saw the longing in Stony's eyes.

"Do you want some snacks?" Emma asked. There were vendors at the gate selling snacks as well as souvenirs of the Cultural Palace.

Stony shook his head. The two of them stood at the gate, and people came and went. Stony took a few steps back. He looked up and saw a pagoda high above. He pointed at it and asked, "Mom, what is that?"

"It's a pagoda." Emma took a look and said, "It seems to be a temple. Do you want to go visit it?"

Stony nodded.

"Okay. Let's go."

Emma looked at the place from the distance. It was a temple.

Thinking of that dream in the morning, she pinched her fingers. She wanted to go to the temple and pray for blessings. She wished everything would go smoothly and she would be in good health.

However, she did not know that she would be involved in another incident and her fate would be intertwined with that man.