The CEO's Empathy Pregnancy Pains
Chapter 122 Renegotiation

Michael was kicking himself for the first time ever. He'd come all the way to the Brown Mansion, only to get chewed out by Emily.

Still, he couldn't shake the thought of getting Emily out of there, especially with Sophia ready to throw punches.

If he hadn't seen it himself, they'd probably be brawling by now. And Emily? She had zero self-preservation instincts.

"Dad, think about what I said," Emily insisted. "I'll email you the contract. Take your time, but dodging and playing dumb won't solve anything."

Emily was all business. But then Sophia and Michael showed up, and everything went sideways.

Emily's mood tanked. She didn't want to deal with any of this. She just wanted Hayden to sign the contract and avoid more drama.

"I get it," Hayden said.

Sophia's heart sank. She was the Brown family's princess. No way she'd let her interests get trampled.

Even with Michael there, she had to put Emily in her place. "Emily, don't just barge into our house! You mess everything up and then pressure Dad! Is that how a daughter acts?" Sophia was just parroting what Hayden and Evelyn had said. They looked away, feeling guilty. They knew their words had no bite against Emily.

Sure enough, Emily stopped, turned, and stared down Sophia. "Miss Brown, figure out whose house this is and who made the mess."

With that, Emily walked out. Michael, on impulse, wanted to follow but Sophia stopped him. "Michael, are you leaving too? I think I twisted my ankle. Stay and keep me company?"

"Yeah, Mr. Smith, Sophia talks about you all the time. She even called you earlier, and you came so fast. Since you're here, stay for dinner; I'll cook..." Evelyn chimed in.

Sophia and Evelyn were laying it on thick. But Michael only cared about Emily. "I was clear before. Reporters are watching us, so we should meet less. Sophia, take care and stop causing trouble. Alerting the press won't help you." With that, Michael hurried out, clearly after Emily.

Sophia was fuming and a bit scared. What did Michael mean? Was he done with her? And what trouble was he talking about? Did he know she was using the Smith Corporation's name against Emily?

No way. She'd been so careful. Michael couldn't know. It had to be Emily! Did she turn Michael against her? What did she tell him?

The more Sophia stewed over it, the more suffocated she felt. Seeing her own messy state and watching Hayden and Evelyn fight over the Brown Corporation shares just fueled her anger. She started plotting again.

At first, Emily didn't want to ride in Michael's car. But when he mentioned talking about the divorce, she hesitated and then got all enthusiastic. Michael noticed but felt a pang of unhappiness.

"Go ahead," Emily said.

"Go ahead with what?" Michael asked.

"Didn't you say you wanted to talk about the divorce? Are you lying to me again?" Sitting in the back seat, Emily's expression instantly turned serious.

Michael chuckled, hit the gas, and started driving. He watched Emily's shifting expressions in the rearview mirror and couldn't help but ask, "Are you really that eager for the divorce? Before we split, we need to sort everything out-dividing property, transferring assets, even who gets the furniture. I think Andrew should make a list first."

"And this media storm just blew over. At the very least, you should give the Smith Corporation a chance to catch a break, considering how much Grandpa has done for you over the years. Do you really want to waste all of Grandpa's hard work?" Michael continued.

Whenever Michael brought up the divorce, he always mentioned Mason. And Emily always caved because of Mason.

Thinking of Mason and glancing at the dazzling diamond ring, she hesitated again. But she wasn't interested in the property division. "I don't want your house or the furniture. I just want my share of the assets. And what's so hard about transferring? You don't need Andrew to make a list and waste time; just transfer the money to me."

Michael chuckled again. "Emily, this is the first time I've heard of a divorce involving a transfer. My assets are too large to be transferred all at once."

But Emily had a solution. "Then let's amend the divorce agreement. I agree to divorce first and then discuss the division of assets. Is that okay? Besides, divorce takes time, which means it will take a while to finalize. By then, people will have forgotten about this media storm. What's the difference? So, Michael, let's not drag this out any longer. It's better for both of us to separate as soon as possible..."

Before Emily could finish, Michael suddenly stepped on the gas and then slammed the brakes. The car stopped abruptly, and Emily almost hit the front seat.

She frowned, ready to argue, but Michael cut her off. "Get out. I just remembered I have something to do. A car will come to pick you up later."

Emily couldn't figure out what Michael was up to. If she had known he had something to do, she would have taken a cab back. But she didn't want to waste any more words, especially since they never had much to say to each other. Taking a deep breath, Emily opened the car door and left decisively. Michael was left alone in the car, gripping the steering wheel, feeling inexplicably frustrated.