Chapter 16: Lie
1773 Words
Everyone sitting on the living room sofas froze, not just because of the words themselves, but because they had come from Benjamin.
Emma had been fostered in the Brown family later in life, and most people assumed she and Benjamin weren't close.
Henry's brows furrowed tightly. He set his teacup down on the coffee table with a sharp clink, his tone scolding: “You know that? Don't talk nonsense.”
After a moment of shock, Sophia saw Emma approaching, pulled her to sit beside her, and lowered her voice to ask, “What's going on?”
Though Sophia was Benjamin's stepmother, she got along well with him, unlike Henry, who clashed with his son constantly. The two men could barely stand to look at each other at home.
She knew Benjamin wouldn't lie in a situation like this. Once Emma was seated next to her, she took her hand and asked again: “What does your brother mean?”
After all, the Brown family had already discussed the marriage with the White family. For Emma to suddenly have a boyfriend, especially with David present, was inappropriate.
Emma hadn't fully recovered from her illness. Her legs felt weak, and she was caught off guard by Benjamin's words, unsure how to respond. Frowning, she pressed her right hand to her throat, about to make an excuse, when Benjamin spoke again.
“She told me about her boyfriend. I think he's a good guy,” he said, swirling the tea in his cup before setting it down slowly. His tone was casual, like a responsible older brother talking about his younger sister.
Emma glanced at him, confused. Where had this “boyfriend” come from? Over the past few years, she hadn't been in contact with anyone other than him.
His voice was too relaxed, with no attempt to lower it or hide it from David. Henry, unaware of the truth, thought Benjamin was simply disrespecting the White family.
His brows remained locked in a frown as he addressed Benjamin: “This is ridiculous…”
Before he could finish, Benjamin spoke again, putting an end to the matter once and for all.
“Let's drop the arrangement with the White family,” he said, tapping the edge of his teacup lightly with his right fingertip. Glancing at David beside him, he showed no mercy as he asked, “How's your ex-girlfriend doing?”
David's face tightened. He never expected Benjamin to bring this up so openly.
Most marriages in their social circle followed an unspoken rule: interests mattered far more than the marriage itself.
Emma wasn't a blood relative of the Brown family, she was just a foster child. He had thought Benjamin cared about her, but not this much. That was why he had mustered the courage to come today.
Moreover, based on Emma's previous attitude toward him, he had assumed she didn't care much about what had happened. He truly believed there was still a chance to salvage the marriage.
Sophia was sensitive to such matters. She tightened her grip on Emma's wrist, her brows furrowing as she looked at David: “What ex-girlfriend?”
With the matter out in the open, David had no choice but to respond, though he downplayed the truth. “An ex-girlfriend who won't leave me alone. Benjamin happened to see her pestering me.”
Benjamin lowered his eyes slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips. He gently pinched the rim of his teacup, his fingertips brushing the surface.
Hearing David's vague answer, Sophia roughly understood what had happened. Her expression softened slightly, but her tone was no longer as polite as before: “I see.”
Sophia cared deeply for Emma. Now that things had come to this, even if the White family still wanted the marriage, Sophia would never let Emma marry David, not after this.
After David left, Emma used her illness as an excuse to go back upstairs to rest. She didn't come down again until lunchtime.
Perhaps due to her illness, or for some other reason, she seemed distracted throughout the meal.
She ate very little and moved slowly, clearly lost in thought.
Toward the end of lunch, Sophia, still worried, set down her chopsticks and looked at her: “You're still not better after all these days. Should we go to the hospital this afternoon?”
Emma wanted to say it wasn't necessary, her fever had gone down, but she couldn't explain why she still felt so weak. “I'll probably feel better after resting.”
Sophia disagreed. “Health isn't something to take lightly. We should still go get checked.”
William had just emerged from the kitchen, a bottle of open cola in his right hand. Hearing their conversation, he chimed in: “Yeah, Sis. Go get checked. I heard you talking in your sleep last night when I passed your room. Don't let the fever come back and make you delirious.”
Emma must have been feeling unwell the night before, she hadn't closed her bedroom door properly. William had stayed up late playing games, and when he passed her room on his way upstairs, he'd faintly heard her talking.
Curious, he'd lingered at the door for a moment before heading to his own room.
Hearing this, Henry slammed his chopsticks down: “Watch your mouth. Come eat properly.”
William drawled a response, walked over quickly, pulled out the chair next to Emma, and sat down. He set his soda on the table and added: “I never thought you talked in your sleep. Mumbling all sorts of things.”
Emma's brows furrowed slightly as she slowly picked a Sichuan pepper out of her plate. “What did I say?”
William shrugged. “No idea. Couldn't make it out.”
Then he looked at Benjamin, who was sitting across from them: “Should've woken Brother up to listen.”
Benjamin hadn't been asleep either, William had seen the light on in his study.
Because of William's words, Emma glanced at Benjamin instinctively. The man was eating slowly, showing no sign of looking up. Like her, he was picking Sichuan peppers out of his plate.
Sophia laughed. “Stop it. You can be silly with your sister, but don't drag your brother into this.”
After all, they weren't biological siblings. Even though they'd lived under the same roof for years, now that they were old enough to get married, they needed to keep a proper distance.
As soon as she finished speaking, Sophia brought up the earlier topic again: “Shall we go to the hospital this afternoon?”
She looked at Emma with concern. “I'm free, I can go with you…”
Before she could finish, Benjamin set down his chopsticks, grabbed a napkin, and wiped his fingertips. “I have to go to the southern district this afternoon. I'll take her with me.”
The Brown family's mansion was in the eastern district, but the best affiliated hospital in Hcity was in Jingnan District, the southern part of the city.
Sophia, being older, knew she couldn't keep up with younger people. Hearing Benjamin's offer, she felt relieved to leave Emma in his care. “Will it interfere with your work?”
Benjamin tossed the used napkin onto the table. “No. My meeting isn't until evening.”
“Good,” Sophia didn't stand on ceremony. Turning to Emma, she said, “Let your brother take you.”
It was just after 1 p.m. when they finished eating. Benjamin sat on the living room sofa, waiting for Emma to go upstairs and change.
A few minutes later, she came down. Sophia stood up to greet her, adjusted the collar of her coat, and let her hand slide down to Emma's forearm, only to notice that the wrist Emma usually wore her watch on was empty.
Sophia glanced down at her right wrist and asked casually: “Why aren't you wearing your watch today?”
Emma often wore a particular watch, and Sophia had assumed she liked wearing accessories. She had even given Emma another watch for her birthday last year, but had never seen her wear it, Emma still stuck to her old one.
Emma touched her wrist, then lowered her right hand instinctively, hiding it by grabbing her bag. “It's too hot. Don't want to wear it, it feels uncomfortable.”
The matching watches she and Benjamin had weren't obvious at first glance, so Sophia only remembered the watch itself, not its significance.
After straightening her clothes, Emma looked toward the living room. She saw Benjamin still sitting on the sofa, looking at his phone, with no intention of standing up. She couldn't help but call out to him: “Brother?”
Hearing her voice, the man seemed to finally realize she had come down. He put his phone away, stood up from the sofa, and walked toward the entrance.
They took the elevated highway from the Brown family's mansion. Though the hospital was far away, the road had few cars and no traffic jams. Driving quickly, they reached the entrance of the affiliated hospital in just over twenty minutes.
Benjamin had contacted someone in advance. The car pulled into the hospital's underground parking lot. As he turned off the engine, he asked the person in the passenger seat: “Other than the fever, what else is bothering you?”
Emma frowned slightly. For three days now, besides the initial high fever, she'd had a low-grade fever since last night, definitely not a normal cold.
She pressed her left hand to her left ribcage, her brows remaining furrowed. “My ribs feel uncomfortable.”
She fumbled for a moment, too weak and muddled to explain clearly.
Benjamin was driving an SUV with plenty of space inside. His left hand moved from the steering wheel, and he pulled her into his lap.
Emma settled into his arms, surrounded by his scent. She instinctively pressed her right hand to his chest. “What are you doing?”
Benjamin took her wrist, placing her arm around his neck. His right hand moved to her left ribcage. “Does it hurt here?”
His thumb pressed lightly against her ribs, his right hand almost wrapping around her slender body. Emma felt uncomfortable, shifting in his arms and trying to push herself away by pressing against his thigh.
Sensing her intention, Benjamin held her tighter.
His brows were still furrowed, his tone casual as his right hand moved down two inches to confirm the location. “I'm asking you, where does it hurt? Here, or higher up?”
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