The CEO's Empathy Pregnancy Pains
Chapter 52 You Are Mrs. Smith

She'd known about their relationship forever, and Michael wasn't clueless about her thing with Sophia, either. So, what was there to explain?

Michael sighed, "Emily, I get it, you don't like her. But humiliating her in public? Isn't that a bit much?"

Emily scoffed, her heart aching. "Humiliated her? Was it me who made her a mistress?"

Michael's face darkened, his tone icy. "I told you, she's not a mistress."

Emily was stunned, tears welling up in her eyes, her voice trembling. "So, I'm the mistress, right?"

Michael looked at her, his expression suddenly pained. "That's not what I meant."

Emily didn't turn back. "Then what do you mean? In love, the one who isn't loved is the mistress. Is that what you mean?"

Without waiting for Michael's response, she stormed upstairs.

Emily hadn't realized she was the mistress all along. 'Michael's right, why am I even comparing myself to Sophia?'

She could never measure up to his Sophia. Whether in the past or now, Emily thought she at least had a little place in Michael's heart, but now she knew she had none.

He liked Sophia, would do anything for Sophia, couldn't stand seeing her bullied or suffering even a little.

Last time, when Sophia had been disgraced for plagiarism, he had managed to suppress the scandal and keep Sophia employed at the company. 'How can I still be so thick?' Emily couldn't help but ask herself. Now, Emily found Michael utterly terrifying and disgusting. 'Why did I ever fall for him?'

The little warmth Michael had shown her was only because Sophia wasn't around. If Sophia was there, she would never be Michael's first choice.

Michael watched Emily go upstairs without looking back, realizing his words might have really hurt her.

He wanted to explain but didn't know where to start. Even he wasn't clear about his feelings for Sophia. He only knew he had to protect her, couldn't hurt her, and wouldn't allow anyone else to hurt her.

He thought he liked, even loved Sophia, but why did his heart ache a little when he saw Emily cry?

He didn't know what kind of feelings he should have for Emily. He wondered, 'Is it familial affection? We've been together day and night for the past two years. Without romantic love, maybe familial affection isn't so bad.'

But judging by Emily's outburst, she probably wouldn't want familial love either. After returning to her room, Emily threw herself onto the bed.

She buried herself in the blanket, not daring to cry out loud. All these years, she had misplaced her deep feelings. When Michael said Sophia wasn't a mistress, her heart hurt so much she couldn't breathe.

Maybe all her emotions dissipated at that moment. No matter how strong she pretended to be in front of Sophia, no matter how many times she made Sophia suffer, no matter how brilliantly she won, she was utterly defeated in front of Michael.

Neither of them slept well that night.

In the morning, when Emily saw Michael eating in the living room, she didn't want to see him anymore.

Just as she was about to leave, Michael called out, "Come have breakfast."

Emily didn't respond.

Michael repeated, "Don't make me say it again."

Emily turned back, her voice icy. "Do I need to spell it out? I don't want to eat with you. I don't want to sit at the same table with you. Happy now? If you want company, go replace Sophia. I'm not in the mood."

She turned to leave, but Michael quickly pinned her against the door. "Emily, I know you're mad about what I said last night, but I didn't mean it like that. You're the hostess of the Smith Family, that's a fact, and no one thinks you're a mistress." Emily stepped back, her eyes cold. "Really? No one thinks I'm a mistress? What about you? Do you love me? Have you ever loved me?"

Michael didn't expect that. He reached out to hold her arm, but she stepped back, refusing his touch.

Michael frowned. "Emily, we agreed not to talk about love between us."

Emily laughed bitterly. "Right, no love talk. So who do you talk about love with? Sophia?"

Michael didn't want to argue first thing in the morning. "Emily, what's wrong with you? Why do you keep bringing up Sophia? What did she do to make you hate her so much?"

Emily shot back, "Yes, I hate her. I can't stand her. I'm Mrs. Smith. Why does she get to stand by your side every day? Yes, you love her. Since you love her, can you let me go? Let's get a divorce, let me go, and let yourself go too. Can you? I give up, okay?"

Her voice weakened as she spoke, tears streaming down her face. "I don't want to waste any more time with you. I love..."

She paused. "Since you don't love me, and I don't love you, why should we waste time together? You're in pain, so am I." Actually, she wanted to say she couldn't love anymore, could he let her go?

Michael's face darkened. "So that's what you think."

Hearing Emily say she didn't love him, he felt a slight pang of discomfort in his heart.

Michael said, "Emily, you begged me to help you back then. What? Now that you've achieved your goal, you want to leave?"

Emily said, "Michael, do you not care or do you have amnesia? Was it me who brought up divorce? When Sophia came back, you gave me a divorce agreement. Now are you feeling reluctant? Michael, I thought we didn't have love, but at least we had familial affection. I thought we could coexist peacefully, even if we couldn't love each other, at least we could respect each other. But you keep yelling at me because of Sophia. Do you think I'm the mistress of the Smith Family? What about others? How do others see me, with my husband out there with another woman, while I can't show my face in public and can only stay at home? Michael, I'm tired. I don't want to play these boring games with you anymore."