Chapter 4

By the time Emily regained consciousness, she was already in the hospital. The tender meeting for the land in Pilton had ended, and unsurprisingly, Clara won. Emily read the message from her assistant, then closed her eyes. A hollow ache settled in her chest. The room was so quiet, the only sound was the rhythmic drip of her IV. Outside, nurses whispered in hushed tones. "I heard she's the eldest daughter of the Powell family. I didn't realize she was so out of favor with her family. She was rushed in with serious injuries, but no one from her family came." "We tried calling her emergency contacts. Even dialed someone named 'Babe' on her phone. You won't believe what he said." "He sounded so cold. Told us he was busy and that she should stop pretending. Said something about Clara winning the bid, then hung up. Didn't even ask how she was." Emily's eyes welled with tears. The pain in her heart far outweighed the wounds on her body. She had overestimated her place in Ezra's life. Just then, her phone rang. It was Ezra. She wiped her tears and answered. "Em, where are you? Clara nailed the Pilton bid. It's a win for the Powells too. There's a celebration banquet tonight. Are you coming?" In the background, Clara's delighted laughter echoed. Emily recoiled instinctively. "Ezra, you disgust me." He had orchestrated the accident, stolen the bid she'd poured her soul into, and now he was pretending nothing had happened. In all her years in business, Emily had never encountered someone so calculating. And heartbreakingly, it was the man she'd loved for three years. Ezra paused. Even Clara's laughter faded. "Em, I told you I'd compensate you double. I even bought you twice as much land in Solton. You can build whatever you want…" "So, to you, Clara comes first. I'm just there to entertain you when you're bored. The Powells look down on me, and so do you." Ezra's good mood subsided instantly, and he massaged his temples. To him, Emily was overreacting over such a minor bid. Everything she said really hurt him. "Emily, if that's what you think of me, I can't do anything. Think of the land in Solton as my way of making it up to you." Emily couldn't help but burst into laughter. He made it sound like charity. "No need. I don't need that." With that, Emily ended the call. She finally realized her face was stained with tears. The land in Pilton held a different meaning. Barbara had grown up there, and astronomy was her dream. Many years ago, Barbara, who once dreamed of becoming an astronomer, became pregnant with Emily. She went into business for the family, but all her hard work was met with Alan's betrayal. In the end, Barbara died from depression. Thankfully, Emily's injuries weren't very severe. The glass shards had cut into her calf. After the doctors cleaned and stitched her wound, she was discharged the next day and returned home to rest. For the whole week, Emily turned off her phone. She didn't want to hear anything, including news about the Powells and Ezra. A week later, Emily returned to the hospital to get her stitches removed. She found Ezra waiting there, blocking her way at the entrance. "Get out of my way!" "Emily! Why didn't you respond to my texts? What have you been doing for the past week?" Emily leaned on her crutches. Not wanting to respond to Ezra, she tried to walk past him. But he suddenly grabbed her, almost causing her to fall. "How could you be so careless while driving? Clara told me about your accident. I wanted to come over and take care of you, but you were already discharged from the hospital. Your injuries don't seem that severe." Ezra looked at Emily from head to toe before settling his gaze on her calf. "Thank you for your concern. I need to go inside and get my stitches removed…" Before Emily could finish speaking, Ezra suddenly lifted her in his arms. What was that all about? Was he about to make it up to her after ruining her bid? In the past, Emily might have felt content. But there was no way she could fool herself now. After getting her wound treated, Ezra set Emily in the backseat of the car and kissed her on the temples. "Em, thank you so much for the Pilton bid. As compensation, I bought a villa for you at Glory Bay. From now on, we don't have to meet at Ivory Hotel. I'll drive you to see the villa now, okay?" Emily's heart lurched slightly. It seemed like Ezra had already made up his mind to keep their secret relationship going. Emily wasn't overjoyed. The relationship she had cherished for years was nothing but an insult to her. She protested and tried to get out of the car. However, Ezra did not leave room for discussion. As soon as they reached the winding mountain road, his phone rang. Since it was a call from Clara, he answered right away. "Ez! Save me! I got into a car accident! My car's about to fall off the mountain!" Clara screamed. Ezra slammed on the brakes, causing the tires to screech. The sudden movement caused Emily to hit her head against the dashboard hard. "Clara! Where are you?" Ezra sounded anxious. Although the signal was bad, Clara managed to give him her location. In fact, they were really close by. Without a word, Ezra got out of the car immediately. Still, he was worried that Emily would take off, so he hurried back to take her phone. "Be good. I'll be back soon. Just wait here for me. Don't you dare escape!" "No…" Before Emily could object, Ezra locked the car doors. It was late June. The Arton sun blazed overhead, and the car quickly turned into an oven. Emily didn't know how long she'd been trapped. Her breathing grew labored as the heat intensified. Desperate, she searched for a way out. She tried smashing the window, but the tool slipped from her sweaty hands. Just as her vision began to blur, a loud bang shattered the silence, and the side window shattered.