The CEO's Empathy Pregnancy Pains
Chapter 128 Returning to Emerald Lake Manor

Emily had to admit, it had been ages since she'd been alone with Michael like this. They drove to dinner together, then headed back home. The whole thing was surprisingly chill. She never thought she'd see the day. But Michael's phone kept buzzing non-stop.

"Is there some emergency at work?" Emily asked, holding the box of hawthorn berries.

"No," Michael replied, short and sweet.

If it wasn't work, then it had to be Sophia.

Michael had been pretty cold towards Sophia lately. Today, at the Brown Mansion, Michael had even pushed Sophia, seemingly to protect Emily.

Thinking about it, Emily wanted to slap herself. She was getting all emotional again.

It made sense, though. Michael was a businessman, and he had to look out for his own interests.

Lately, there was a lot of gossip, and Sophia had messed with his business, so of course, they weren't hanging out much.

But they were probably still thinking about each other.

"After all that porridge, are you still hungry?" Michael suddenly asked.

"What? No, I just want to eat," Emily replied.

Emily thought she needed something to settle her stomach. Sitting in the car for so long, the baby in her belly was getting restless.

Without the hawthorn berries, she might throw up in Michael's Maybach any second.

"If you want to eat, that's easy," Michael said.

He pulled out his phone and made a call. Emily heard Andrew on the other end. "Mr. Smith, what can I do for you?"

"Get another box of those hawthorn berries from Astoria," Michael said, like he was ordering groceries.

"Yes, Mr. Smith," Andrew replied.

"Any updates on the video?" Michael asked.

"Sorry, Mr. Smith, no leads yet," Andrew said.

"They're hiding well. It's okay, the truth will come out. Make sure to get a certificate from the tech department tomorrow to prove the video is fake," Michael said.

"Yes, Mr. Smith," Andrew replied.

After giving Andrew his orders, Michael hung up.

Emily listened quietly. So Michael didn't spend the night with Sophia? Or maybe the person behind the scenes didn't have a real video of them together and had to fake it? Emily wasn't sure, but she doubted it was the latter. Michael loved Sophia so much that he even went against the Smith family for her. How could he not have slept with her?

"What are you thinking about?" Michael's voice broke into Emily's thoughts.

He looked over and saw Emily's face, like she was thinking about something really upsetting. Was it about the Brown family? "Nothing," Emily replied.

The car stopped, and Emily was about to unbuckle her seatbelt when Michael asked, "Are you planning to acquire Brown Corporation?"

Acquire? That word sounded so harsh. Emily couldn't help but laugh. She looked up at Michael, and their eyes met, something unspoken passing between them. "What do you mean by 'acquire'?"

Did Sophia tell him that? Was that why he wanted to come home with her today, to play mediator? Emily's face darkened. "That was my mother's business. Sophia and her mom just took over and kept pushing their limits." Michael tensed up at the mention of Sophia's name. Deep down, he still wanted to protect her. After all, he only knew part of what Sophia had done, not the whole story.

"But they've been with your father for so many years," Michael said.

"So what?" Emily shot back.

Michael had hit a nerve.

"My father is no different from them, maybe even worse," Emily continued.

"Do you even understand marriage law? When your mother passed away and your grandparents were gone, the rightful heir to all the property was your father. How is he worse?" Michael argued.

"Have you ever seen a man take over his wife's assets and then kick out his own daughter?" Emily retorted, giving Michael a look of utter disdain. It was as if she was saying, 'maybe you're the same.' This time, Emily really got out of the car.

But as soon as she stepped out, she was stunned. This wasn't the Smith Mansion; it was Emerald Lake Manor!

"Why did you bring me to Emerald Lake Manor?" Emily asked.

Michael got out of the car too, hands in his pockets, looking all confident like he'd just done something amazing. "Isn't this your home too?" 'Not anymore,' Emily thought bitterly.

But she didn't say it out loud. Instead, she replied nonchalantly, "I've moved all my things out. I don't have any clothes to change into."

Michael seemed to have anticipated this. He lowered his head with a slight smile, then took Emily's hand and led her into Emerald Lake Manor.

As they walked, he said, "Emerald Lake Manor has everything. Besides, you haven't seen Ava in a long time. She misses you."

Ava did miss Emily.

As soon as she saw Emily, she got so excited she forgot all about being sleepy and started bombarding her with questions. "Mrs. Smith, have you had dinner? Mrs. Smith, you're finally back. It's no fun here without you! Mrs. Smith, why did you come back with Mr. Smith tonight? Have you reconciled?"

Emily couldn't say they hadn't reconciled. After all, she was still pretending with Michael. Some acts were better performed well to avoid future troubles.

"Yes, sort of," Emily replied.

Seeing Emily's reluctance, even gritting her teeth to say this, Michael smiled bitterly and turned to Ava. "Go prepare some clothes and toiletries for Emily. We're staying here tonight."

"Yes, Mr. Smith," Ava replied, heading upstairs without hesitation.

So, there really were women's clothes and toiletries at Emerald Lake Manor? Were they prepared for Sophia? If not Sophia, then someone else. There were plenty of women in the world, and Michael never lacked any. Emily felt a pang of sadness and pouted at Michael. "I'll go check. I'm afraid the clothes might not fit me."

Hearing this, Michael immediately grabbed Emily's arm. "What nonsense are you talking about? How could your clothes not fit?"

Emily turned her head in disbelief. "Michael, you say that, but what do you mean by my clothes? I haven't even worn them, and they're supposed to be mine?"

Michael felt that Emily was being unreasonable. "I asked Ava to prepare the clothes for you, so of course, they're yours. Even the toiletries are the same as what you used before. Emily, don't play the ungrateful card with me!" Hearing Michael say this, Emily was stunned and said no more.