The Mistakes We Made Together

It had been seventeen years since Emma came to the Brown family with Sophia when she was seven. Sophia was her mother's dearest friend, so Emma had always called her "Aunt". Earlier this year, Sophia's current husband, Henry Brown, had already started thinking about Emma's marriage. After all, Emma was twenty-four, an age when it was time to consider such matters. Most people in the social circle got engaged early these days; if you waited too long, all the good prospects would be taken. The Brown family held a prominent position in Hcity's social circle. Although Emma was the adopted daughter brought by Henry's second wife, many people still wanted to form a marriage alliance with her, thanks to the Brown family's reputation. After some selection, Mr. and Mrs. Brown decided on David White, the second son of the White family, as Emma's fiancé. Emma flipped her phone face down, lifted her gaze to the movie screen not far away, and let out a soft sigh. The movie hadn't started yet, only advertisements were playing, boring and tedious. David turned his head, glanced at the phone she had just set down, and asked, "Got a message?" Emma was a little distracted, then shifted her eyes to him and replied, "No." "You were looking at your phone the whole time," David said. She thought of the messaging app she had just opened, paused for a second, and added, "It's nothing." David nodded slightly and didn't pursue the topic further. His eyes also fell on the distant screen. "If everything goes smoothly, we'll get engaged by the end of the year?" It was June now, still more than half a year until next year. A marriage alliance was essentially an exchange of interests, and David was also a man who didn't waste words. After speaking, he let out a laugh, turned to her again, and said, "Even if we don't have feelings now, we can still get married first. How about we be business partners?" This was an agreement they had reached during their blind date earlier that year: no feelings for now, first be friends, marriage partners, and business partners. Emma didn't care. She nodded, then turned back to continue watching the movie. Watching an art film at a late-night showing made people extremely sleepy. David's gaze lingered on her for two seconds before looking away. "Has your brother come back recently?" He was referring to Benjamin Brown. Henry Brown's son, four years older than Emma, and Emma had always called him "Brother". Though she rarely called him that in private. She nodded, still staring intently at the award-winning art film. "Yeah, a few days ago." "He's going to take over part of the family company's business," she added. "How many years has he been in New York?" David asked casually. Emma thought for a moment, then transferred the phone in her lap to her other hand. "About two years." David added, "Then it's time for him to come back. The Brown family's overseas business has been sorted out for the most part." Emma propped her left hand on the armrest and rested her chin on it. After a moment, she nodded again with a neutral expression. "Hmm." The art film was quite long, and by the time it ended, it was already 1:30 a.m. Emma had driven herself here, so David didn't offer to send her back. They parted ways in the parking lot, and before leaving, David made an appointment with her for dinner next time. Even though they weren't really dating, they still had to put on a show for both families' parents. Emma nodded in agreement, got back in her car, and held the steering wheel in silence for a moment before reaching for her phone. Benjamin had sent her a message when he first came back, and she still hadn't replied. She stared at the chat box for a few seconds, turned off the screen, gently tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, turned her head to look out the window, and exhaled slowly. After that, she started the car and pulled out of the parking space. By the time her car drove out of the parking lot, David's car was already gone. In fact, they weren't familiar with each other. The politeness and care David showed when he was with her were just out of courtesy, and the same went for her. The movie theater wasn't far from the Brown family's villa. Emma drove toward the villa area right after leaving the parking lot and arrived there soon. It was late, and she was afraid of disturbing her family's rest. She also didn't want to drive the car to the underground garage, so she parked it casually under a tree in front of the house, pushed open the car door to get out, made sure the car was locked, and then walked toward the gate with her bag. Before marrying Henry, Sophia had been married once. Her ex-husband was a colleague who taught at the same university. Two years after their marriage, they separated amicably due to conflicting outlooks on life. Later, when she met Henry, they shared similar interests, and their relationship had remained strong all these years. When Emma was seven, she had come to the Brown family with Sophia because her parents had passed away. Her father had died in an accident when she was five. Her parents had been deeply in love, and after her father's death, her mother couldn't bear the blow and passed away soon after. She was still very young at that time and went to live with her uncle's family. Her uncle's family treated her fairly well, but after all, she wasn't their own child, so she was always a little left out in various ways. Later, Sophia couldn't stand seeing her like that, so she took Emma in and raised her by her side. After entering the password to open the door, she was surprised to find someone in the living room. William was lying lazily on the sofa playing a video game. He heard the sound, turned his head to look, and called out, "Sis." William Brown was Sophia and Henry's son. He had just turned fifteen this year and was in high school. "Mom and dad went to their room a long time ago, even brother has gone to bed. Why are you coming back so late?" He didn't look up, focusing on the game controller in his hand. "Brother has been going to bed early these past few days. Do you think he was worn out while he was abroad?" Emma thought of the time she had met Benjamin abroad earlier that year. He... had been in good health, with no signs of being worn out at all. "I don't know. Maybe he's tired from being abroad," she replied casually. It was the holidays, so it was rare for William to have time to relax like this. It was already two o'clock, but he still didn't want to put down the game controller. William paused the game, leaned over the back of the sofa to look at her, and asked, "Sis, did you have a good chat with David?" "Just okay," Emma said. Her phone vibrated again, but she didn't look at it. Yet somehow, she had a feeling it was Benjamin. "Just okay?" William had a gossipy look on his face. "What did you do coming back so late?" Emma had a good relationship with this younger brother. She picked up the pillow he had kicked off and put it back on the sofa. "Watched a movie." William had a knowing look. "Nice, a late night showing." Emma worked at the Brown family's company. She had been busy all day and was a little tired now. "I'm going upstairs first." "Go ahead," William picked up the game controller again, distracted. "I'll play a little longer." Emma glanced at him, rubbed her phone lightly with her fingertips, and then turned to walk toward the stairs. She took two steps up the stairs, then lowered her head to look at her phone. She unlocked the screen, and it directly opened the messaging interface. Benjamin: [Break up with him] The stair lights were motion-sensor lights, turning on one after another and casting a soft glow. Before she could hesitate, she was already almost at the second floor. Sophia and Henry's room was on the third floor; only Emma's and Benjamin's bedrooms were on the second floor. Emma: [?] Benjamin: [It's too late] Benjamin: [You're always disturbing my sleep] Emma's fingers paused. She had only met David three times in total. Benjamin hadn't been in the country for the first time; he had still been working overtime at the company for the second time. It was only this time that they had run into each other. How could she have been "always disturbing his sleep?" She was hesitating about how to reply when she stepped onto the last step of the second floor. The window at the end of the hallway was open, and the rain was falling a little harder, pattering softly. Standing here, she could hear the sound of the rain. She pressed her lips together again, lowered her eyes, and looked at the screen, only to see that the door on her left had already been opened. She turned her head to look at it instinctively. The man was wearing pajamas, his hair messy on top of his head, and he was wearing glasses. His expression gave away no hint of his mood, his lips set in a straight line, but there was no trace of sleepiness on his face. This spot was close to the stairs. William must have finally beaten that game, he shouted loudly from downstairs, and his voice came through clearly. They stared at each other for a moment, then Emma spoke first. "Brother," her voice was cold and clear, and when she called him that, there was almost no emotion in her tone. Benjamin looked at her for a few seconds, lowered his eyes, and curled his lips in a way that was hard to read. Then he reached out and grabbed her wrist. Before Emma was pulled into the room, she only had time to say one thing: "William is still downstairs." The door closed behind her. Benjamin had used a little force when he pulled her in, and now her wrist was still in his hand, sore from his grip. Emma tried to move her hand, her eyebrows furrowing deeply. "Brother." They were standing very close. She had the bedroom door behind her, and Benjamin was right in front of her. William was still playing games downstairs, shouting from time to time, and she could still hear his voice from where she stood.