Emily couldn''t fight off her sleepiness and headed upstairs to crash first. We kept the drinks flowing for a good while after that. From what I remember, Jason had always been the straightced type.


    Back when we were in the band, Jason was all about the music. He never got mixed up in the bad stuff like fighting or gambling. Then he went abroad for school, so it was pretty rare for him to invite someone out for drinks like this. Jason and I clinked sses again. He knocked his drink back in one go, set the ss down, and leaned back in his chair.


    He was not much of a drinker; his face turned red after just a few drinks, and even his neck started to change color.


    It was in this tipsy state that Jason started to open up to me.


    Jason said, "Ethan, you know I grew up in the same neighborhood as Emily. I liked her even back then. You might think I was too young to understand what liking someone meant, but those feelings were pure. I just liked her. And I''ve liked her ever since."


    He gave a bitter smile, like he found himself a bit ridiculous.


    Then he tilted his head slightly, staring nkly at a spot as if lost in memories.


    "Emily was always small and thin, but her eyes were big, her eyshes long, and her voice sweet. Back then, I couldn''t tell what kind of feelings I had for her. I just instinctively wanted to protect her. I would miss her when I couldn''t see her. If I hadn''t moved away, if I hadn''t studied abroad, if her family hadn''t gone through that major upheaval, I think I would have proposed to her at the right time. But there are no ifs," Jason added.


    Jason gave a wry smile, biting his lip, unable to hide a trace of sadness in his expression.


    I didn''t interrupt him; I just picked up the bottle and refilled our sses.


    What Jason was saying was something we both understood without ever discussing it openly.


    Jason said, "All my life, I''ve been too cautious, too afraid to do many things. Ever since Emily''s family had that incident, I didn''t even dare to go back and see her because I was so afraid she would see a trace of pity in my eyes. When someone is at their lowest, thest thing they want is a look of pity from others."


    Jason continued, "Your rtionship was the biggest surprise for me when I returned. Maybe at first, I felt a bit unwilling, but when I saw the way she looked at you, I knew I never had a chance. Ethan, she loves you. Be good to her. If you let her down, I''ll take her away from you."


    Iughed. Jason huped, looking at me a bit dazed.Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.


    Jason asked in confusion, "Why are youughing? Do you think I don''t dare?"


    I shook my head, raised my ss to clink with his, and after taking a swig, I said, "Don''t worry, I''ll treat her right for life."


    That night, we polished off all the booze. Jason waspletely hammered, and I was about seventy or eighty percent there.


    The next day, I headed out on a business trip as nned. Even though Jason had spilled his guts to me the night before, I still believed he was a stand-up guy.


    During those days on the trip, I really missed Emily. She was on my mind constantly.


    I knew I was falling deeper and deeper for her.


    The longer it went on, the more I felt like having Emily was my good fortune.


    At least, when I was hospitalized with a stomach illness, I had Emily by my side. She gave me the warmth I had longed for but hadn''t had in a long time.


    Emily took care of me meticulously. The soup she made was a culinary delight because it had a special ingredient called love.


    After that hospitalization, Emily strictly followed the doctor''s orders and didn''t allow me to drink. Honestly, I didn''t care much about drinking. I didn''t have a drinking habit; I only wanted to get drunk when I was either very happy or very sad. After I was discharged, Emily suddenly started acting strange. She kept bringing up Thorn Birds Band and asking odd questions.


    Emily said, "If you could go back eight years, when Fiona was still alive, would you choose her or me?"


    I couldn''t answer that question. How could I tell Emily that if I went back eight years, I would still choose Fiona? Because back then, I felt I wasn''t worthy of being close to Emily, of liking her.


    I couldn''t lie to her, so I chose not to answer.


    I didn''t know at the time that she had seen Faye''s text message. It was muchter, when we were reminiscing, that she told me.


    But that night, in the middle of the night, I found Emily wasn''t in bed. I went out, walked to the staircase, and saw the vi door open, with faint musicing from the yard.


    Cold wind blew in through the open door, filling the empty vi.


    The night was quiet, and I could clearly hear the song "Love Story."


    I didn''t go downstairs. I went back to the room, took out my phone, and called Jason.


    I said, "Jason, is Emily lost?"


    "She''s downstairs. We''re chatting," Jason said.


    After a while, I heard theming upstairs.


    Although I trusted them, for some reason, I felt a bit uneasy. I held her tightly and kissed her hard.


    Maybe the more a man loved, the more selfish he became. It was true.


    The next day, Jason suggested moving out. I got what he meant and understood his awkwardness.


    Two dayster, Jason moved out.


    During the days when Oliver and Be were both injured, Emily often went to the hospital. That day, I called her after work, and she said she was at the hospital. When I went to pick her up, she wasn''t there. Be told me she had just left. As soon as I left the hospital, I got a call saying Emily had been kidnapped.


    Emily''s danger started because of me, and this was the first time.


    I had heard about the Melville family back then. It was the Windsor family that owed the Melville family, so I knew at the time that rescuing Yanis wasn''t Faris''s real goal; he wanted thend next to Silent Grove Vige.


    But when Emily asked about it, I didn''t dare tell her that Faris wanted thatnd.


    That day, I felt a lot of anxiety.


    I didn''t know how much Faris knew about what happened to Emily''s father back then. His appearance made me uneasy, and I worried that the truth woulde out one day.


    And Faye''s arrival was the beginning of the rift between Emily and me.


    After Fiona passed away, Faye had been using her phone number. For all these years, the number hadn''t changed, and it was still saved in my phone under Fiona''s name.


    Faye didn''t call me before she came, so I was indeed a bit surprised.


    But I didn''t think Faye would affect my rtionship with Emily. However, many things were beyond my control.


    Since Fiona''s death, I had indeed been very good to Faye, even better than I had been to Fiona. I put all my efforts into making it up to Faye.


    Faye had grown a lot taller and was now a young woman, but in my eyes, she was still just a child, nothing more.


    It was Emily who suggested that Faye stay with us, and I agreed. After all, I wasn''tfortable with Faye staying in a hotel by herself.


    But I didn''t expect that all the conflicts would start from that moment.


    In fact, at the base, we had also studied psychology. Faye was a bit two-faced and sometimes yed little tricks. I wasn''t unaware of this. But I didn''t think it was a big deal. Faye had grown up in a special environment and wasn''t as innocent as she should have been at her age. She was forced by her circumstances and life.


    If Fiona were still alive, Faye might have been a truly innocent girl.


    The year Fiona had her ident, I promised at her grave that I would take good care of her family, especially her younger sister Faye, who was not yet grown up.


    I did indulge Faye a bit. I just felt that for non-principle issues, there was no need to be too strict. After all, she was still young.


    When Fiona''s photo frame broke, I heard the noise and went over to see Faye squatting on the ground crying. At that moment, I did speak harshly to Emily. I wasn''t angry about the broken photo frame but about the fact that Faye''s first night at our house had started so badly.


    That night, I didn''t go back to the bedroom; I stayed in the study.


    The next morning, as I walked out, I saw Emilying out of the bedroom with red, swollen eyes. She ignored me and went downstairs alone.


    My heart felt like it had been hit by something heavy; it was a terrible feeling.


    What the hell did I do? I certainly didn''t want to hurt her.


    Hearing Emily''s scream from the kitchen, I rushed in to see her shaking her hand, the back of it red. Faye stood there holding adle, looking stunned.


    I quickly took Emily''s hand and put it under the faucet. She didn''t want to talk to me and ran upstairs.


    I stood there, clenching my wet hand into a fist, feeling a sense of helplessness.


    "Ethan, let''s eat the pasta. It won''t taste good if it gets cold," Faye said.


    "You eat first." With that, I took an ice pack from the fridge and followed Emily upstairs.


    I made Emily sit down and forced her to apply the ice pack. I could feel her inner resistance.


    Looking at her lowered eyshes and her still swollen eyes, I felt very guilty. My apology at that moment seemed so inadequate.


    Emily started to cry. I had once sworn that I would never let her be bullied again, that I wouldn''t let her be sad. But now, I was the one making her cry.


    But what could I do? Both sides were people I had sworn to take care of and protect. Even if there were priorities, I couldn''t abandon one for the other.


    To bnce this rtionship, I decided that Dennis would take Faye to and from ces from then on.


    The next night, Faye said she would be backte, but when I sent Dennis to pick her up, he didn''t find her.


    Of course, I was worried. Faye was unfamiliar with Starlight City, and if something happened, how could I ever forgive myself?


    Just as I was about to go look for her myself, she called back, exining that she was rehearsing overnight for the nextpetition and wouldn''t being back. But I still felt something was off about her that night. At the time, I didn''t know that Victor was doing everything he could to break up Emily and me.