Eva was taken aback.
"You''re resigning? Why? It''s not because of my situation, is it?"
"Of course not," Emily Jones said, shaking her head, dabbing away the tears at the corner of her eye, and looking down. "Your situation just hit at the right time. I''ve been wanting to quit for a while now."
Eva hadn''t heard a word about Emily wanting to leave before, and now, the guilt started to creep in. Was it because of her that Emily was resigning?
"I''m serious, Eva. We''ve been best friends for years. Don''t you trust me? Haven''t I alwaysined about how he was skinning me alive? He took up so much of my time, I couldn''t even get out there and date. At this rate, marriage would be off the table, and honestly, I''ve been exhausted. This is the perfect time for me to resign."
Emily babbled on, hoping to relieve Eva of her guilt.
If Eva expressed any more regret now, Emily would find herself stuck in a loop of reassurances. So, Eva nodded.
"Alright. If you''ve thought it through, then I won''t try to change your mind."
As adults, they should know what they''re doing, what they want, and as long as they can live with the consequences, whether good or bad, that''s all that matters.
"Thanks, honey," Emily could not resist another hug. "I knew you''d support me no matter what. Just watch, after I quit this job, I''ll go back home and make my own way. I might start my own gig, even if it''s just a tiny stall. At least I''ll be my own boss."
"Okay, do whatever makes you happy."
They chatted cozily for a bit longer until Emily finally let go reluctantly. "Well, I''d better head off. We''ll catch up again soon."
"Yeah."
Eva thought for a moment and stepped forward. "Maybe I should walk you guys out?"
Emily wanted to have Eva with her, but the thought that it might be dangerous for Eva to leave the ce made her dismiss the idea.
"Better not. It''s not safe for you to leave Adrian ckwood''s protection. What if you get grabbed by Michael Cooper''s goons again while seeing us out?"
At that mention, Emily sighed. "We worked so hard to bring you back."
That''s right. Adrian ckwood had been severely injured during Eva''s rescue.
"Then... I''ll walk you to the door."
Emily nodded. "That works."
"When are you leaving?"
Emily Jones shifted ufortably. "We need to head to the airport now."
Eva was silent.
She came to say goodbye before leaving for the airport?
"I bought the ticketsst night. It waste when I left and I didn''t want to disturb you bying back, so I thought I''d tell you today. But then I overslept, relieved that you''d returned safely," Emily exined. Eva couldn''t help butugh through her tears. "Oh you..."
"We''ve only got about twenty minutes to say goodbye, and now just a few minutes left. How about one more hug?"
Eva had no objections.
They used to be inseparable, and now they were just clinging to a few more precious moments of embrace.
When Adrian ckwood entered the scene, he found them tightly hugging each other.
Had he not grown up with them, knowing their deep bond, he might have thought Emily Jones was encroaching on his territory, the hug was that intense.
However, seeing the girls looking so mncholic, Adrian decided to stand by the door quietly without interrupting.
One minute...
Two minutes...
Five minutes passed.
Adrian raised an eyebrow, visibly impatient. Was she really trying topete with him for affection?
"Ahem."
A sudden cough snapped them back to reality. Eva looked up and sure enough, it was Adrian clearing his throat.
He stood there, locking eyes with them as if he''d been there for a while.
Emily quickly let go. "Mr. ckwood."
He just nodded and stepped inside. "What were you two talking about?"
Despite being a woman, Emily sensed a tinge of jealousy from Adrian. She was shocked but shrugged it off. "Nothing much, just saying goodbye because I''m leaving." Adrian seemed surprised. "Leaving?"
It must have hit him - justst night they had found each other, and now she was departing.
Emily nodded. "Yeah, there''s lots to take care of at Mr. Pei''spany. We have to go, especially now that Eva is safe."
Adrian ckwood responded with a nod, refraining from furtherment. He simply asked, "When''s the flight?"
"I''ll head out after we say our goodbyes. Gotta factor in the drive to the airport too."
As their conversation came to an end, another figure appeared at the door - Pei Zhaoheng.
The two men exchanged brief nces, and Pei took the initiative to speak up, "Mr. ckwood, I can''t thank you enough for your hospitality these past few days, but there''s a ton of work waiting for me back at thepany that I need to handle. So, we''ll have to cut our visit short."
"Understood," Adrian replied curtly.
Following a firm handshake with Adrian, Pei turned towards Eva and extended his hand to her as well.
"It''s been a while, Ms. Hansen."
As polished and dashing as she remembered, Eva greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Mr. Pei, and thank you for bringing Emily along."
She reached out to return the handshake, but before their hands could meet, Adrian ckwood intercepted, taking her hand in his.
"Your hand is ice-cold," he said with concern. "Why not wear something warmer?"
Silence fell briefly upon Eva and Emily Jones.
Emily caught sight of Eva''s hand, now enveloped in Adrian''s, and then nced at Pei''s outstretched hand still hanging in the air. She quickly took hold of it.
"Ha, Mr. Pei, your hands are pretty cold too," she remarked with a forcedugh, echoing Adrian''s earlierment, her low emotional intelligence shining through.
Pei''s slender eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Emily, and one could say his nce spoke volumes of unvoiced sentiments.
Feeling deeply awkward under his gaze, Emily found herself at a loss for words.
Eva, too, winced inwardly at the awkward situation, a little surprised by Adrian''s show of jealousy over a simple handshake. She attempted to withdraw her hand, but Adrian''s grip was unyielding, as if he feared she would turn to shake Pei''s hand the moment he let go.
With a helpless nce at Adrian, she whispered, "Let go."
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