Chapter 11: Accident
1525 Words
When David came to pick her up for the engagement ring appointment on the weekend, Benjamin happened to be at home.
Henry and Sophia were there too. Henry suggested Benjamin tag along, and Sophia agreed. Before Emma knew it, the ring-shopping trip had turned into a three-person outing.
Emma didn't want this, but she had no reason to refuse. She could only go along with it.
They didn't choose an avant-garde niche designer; instead, they opted for a popular brand that rarely went wrong.
But “rarely going wrong” mostly meant they didn't care enough to try.
In a business marriage without feelings, no one wanted to waste time on trivial matters like this.
As they approached the car, David turned to Benjamin. “Want to ride in my car?”
Benjamin was wearing a light gray shirt. He had had a cigarette in his mouth when they left the house, and it was still there now.
His gaze flicked to Emma. Tipping his head, he took the cigarette between his fingers and pulled it from his lips. His voice, tinged with the smoke, was slightly hoarse. “She'll ride with you. I'll drive my own car.”
David thought for a moment. “Come together. I want to talk to you about the high-tech zone project, we can chat on the way.”
Then he remembered to ask Emma for her opinion. “Is that okay? I'll drive, and the three of us can take one car.”
Emma was checking her phone. Looking up at the sound of his voice, she said, “Either way is fine.”
Benjamin didn't refuse again. He pinched the cigarette, crushed the butt between his fingers, tossed it into a nearby trash can, and walked toward them.
David got in first, followed by Benjamin, who directly pulled open the passenger seat door and sat down.
Emma was still replying to Ethan's messages. He had been trying to pursue her senior, Charlotte, and had asked her twice before Benjamin returned. He had messaged her again during breakfast.
David and Benjamin were already in the car, only Emma was still outside.
David rolled down the window and honked the horn. “Emma.”
Emma put her phone away. Glancing at Benjamin in the passenger seat, she changed direction and walked to the back door. A few seconds later, she pulled it open and got in.
David steered the car out of the Brown family's compound. The air conditioning was on inside, but he still felt hot and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt.
The Brown family's house was quite old. As they drove away from the front gate, the entire building was covered in lush ivy, like a hidden retreat in the mountains.
Clusters of green, as if burying someone's unspoken thoughts.
Emma leaned against the window, watching through the rearview mirror as the car gradually picked up speed, leaving the scene behind. She answered David's questions absently.
She couldn't help but wonder if it was her imagination, David had been “more attentive” to her lately, but she could tell this attentiveness had nothing to do with feelings.
The car turned right, and the compound behind them was no longer visible.
She looked away, not caring whether David had feelings for her or not.
It didn't matter anyway.
For most of the drive, aside from the few words David had exchanged with her at the beginning, the two men in the front seats had been talking about the high-tech zone development project.
It was a key cooperation project between the Brown family and the government, led by FSAN. There was no way she would be allowed to join the project team, nor did she need to care about it.
Sophia was kind to her, but she had always been an outsider in the Brown family. She never lacked for food, clothing, or shelter, but she was still just a stranger.
She listened casually for a few minutes, then looked down to see a message pop up on her screen. She swiped it open and continued replying.
Emma: [I'll talk to my senior again and see if I can get her to agree to a meal.]
Emma: [If she says no, I really can't help you anymore.]
She would definitely respect Charlotte's opinion first.
Ethan: [Has your senior ever been in a relationship?]
Ethan: [Did you even tell her who I am?]
Emma frowned slightly.
Having grown up in the Brown family, she knew exactly what these wealthy young men were thinking. No matter how noble and gentlemanly they seemed on the surface, most of them felt a sense of superiority that set them apart from ordinary people.
Ethan was on good terms with Benjamin and had shown less of this attitude in front of her, but traces of it still slipped out in his words.
Now that he wanted to pursue Charlotte, he was probably not serious about it either. Most of these people had no control over their own marriages.
That was also why she hadn't really tried to help Ethan when he asked her to set him up with Charlotte.
She was prone to car sickness. After looking at her phone for a few more seconds, a wave of nausea rose from her chest. Closing her eyes, she pressed her temples and turned to open the window, only to find that the rear window on her side had already been rolled down.
Wind rushed in from outside, mixed with the dry heat of summer.
She glanced forward and saw Benjamin pulling his hand away from the car's control panel.
Henry had made him learn piano when he was a child, so he had long fingers. Back then, when she occasionally went to the fourth-floor music room, she had caught him playing. With one hand, he could span eleven white keys at most.
But he rarely practiced. Despite his noble appearance, he didn't like this quiet, elegant instrument. The only time he went to the music room was to escape Henry's nagging.
Later, the few times he did practice were all to teach her.
She couldn't remember exactly which junior high year it was. Late one night, she had run into him upstairs. She had seen him sitting on the piano bench, playing with his phone. For some reason, she had lingered at the door.
When she was about to leave, he had noticed her. The young man, already tall, stood up and leaned against the white piano beside him, his shadow stretching long across the floor.
His expression hadn't been good then. Lifting his eyes, he looked slightly annoyed at being disturbed and asked why she was there.
Flustered, she had unconsciously scraped the sole of her shoe against the floor, her fingers curling slightly at her sides. She had lied and said she wanted to learn the piano.
Later, Benjamin had put down his phone and called her over.
She couldn't take back her lie, so she had been forced to learn piano from him for an hour.
After that, Benjamin would occasionally call her when he went upstairs. He hadn't taught seriously, and she hadn't learned with much focus. So even though she had gone several times over those two years, she still hadn't learned to play well.
But that had all been a long time ago. She couldn't remember the details clearly, only that Benjamin had stood beside her, occasionally clicking his tongue in annoyance when she pressed the wrong key, then taking her hand and placing her fingers in the correct position.
“Emma, we're here.” David called her from the front.
She glanced to the side. The passenger seat was already empty. Looking outside, she saw the man who had been sitting there standing not far from the car, his head lowered and his brows slightly furrowed, apparently replying to someone's message.
Emma brushed her hair back, pulled open the car door, and replied to David. “Got it.”
The ring selection process went smoothly. The brand had prepared three design proposals based on their earlier requirements.
Emma glanced through them roughly, they all looked similar to her. She left the final decision to David.
Benjamin didn't say a word the entire time. He sat on a single sofa to the left, and only when David asked for his opinion out of politeness did he glance at the catalog and give a casual suggestion.
He thought none of them looked good and suggested they ask for new designs.
Emma shot him a puzzled look from the other sofa.
It seemed he had been dragged along by his parents and was just saying whatever to show his annoyance. David didn't take his suggestion and confirmed with the brand that they would go with the last design.
Emma didn't care either way, whatever David thought was good was fine with her.
She had thought the ring selection would end smoothly like this. But when they walked out of the building, something unexpected happened.
David's ex-girlfriend, pregnant with a large belly, was waiting for them at the door.
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