Sorry, You Can't Have Me Now

Chapter 3 Emily's Different Side

Emily raised her eyebrows and almost burst out laughing. "Me? Trying to win him back?"

"Isn't that true?" Anna's voice was as soft as ever. "You never came to bars before, and now, here you are—right when Joseph comes..."

Hearing Anna's words, Emily actually laughed out loud.

"Where I go is none of your business," she replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"And we're not exactly close, so don't act like you know me."

With that, she elbowed past Joseph, not even looking back as she walked away.

Anna's face flushed with embarrassment, and she moved forward to say something, but Joseph grabbed her arm.

"That's enough," he said in a cold tone, leaving no room for argument. "This has nothing to do with you, so just..."

He didn't even finish his sentence before a loud crash of shattering glass sounded behind him. Joseph turned and saw a group of punks blocking Emily's path.

"Hey, gorgeous, how about joining us for a drink?" said the leader, a guy with bleached hair and a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

He eyed Emily up and down with a leer. "After that hot dance, we're dying for a little... relief."

Emily smiled, "And how exactly did you want me to help with that?"

Watching from a short distance, Joseph frowned and began striding over, but before he could reach her, Emily had already grabbed the guy's arm. In one swift motion, she flipped him over her shoulder. The guy crashed to the ground, barely missing Joseph!

The whole move took less than a second, and the guy was down, groaning in pain.

Emily's expression hadn't even shifted, and she smirked. "Guess that should cool you off. You're welcome."

Joseph's eyes widened in shock, his emotions suddenly churning.

He hadn't even made it there yet, and this guy was already on the floor. He had no idea Emily could handle herself like this!

'Has she been hiding her true self during the entire marriage?' he thought.

The guy scrambled up and spit curses, but before he could say much, Emily kicked him back down and delivered four crisp slaps to his face, each one echoing through the crowd and shutting him up completely!

Emily dusted off her hands and straightened up, just catching Joseph's lingering gaze.

Raising her eyebrows, she smirked. "Bet you're glad now I never went full domestic violence on you, huh?"

Joseph's face darkened, and he opened his mouth to respond, but Emily didn't give him the chance. She turned on her heel and walked away.

"Oh, Joseph..."

Anna had seen everything, her eyes flicking nervously to the man still writhing on the floor. She clung to Joseph's arm and said cautiously, "It seems Emily kept a lot from you. She clearly doesn't have feelings for you. In a way, your divorce is really for the best."

Joseph shot Anna a glance and stayed silent.

By the time Emily got home, it was late.

The villa, which her mother had left her, had been maintained all these years, even during her marriage. So she could just move back.

It was quite a day. Between everything that happened and dancing her heart out at the bar, she was completely exhausted. She barely managed to take a shower before collapsing into bed. She instantly fell asleep until the sound of the doorbell jolted her awake the next morning.

"Emily! Open up!"

A shrill voice pierced through the door. "I know you're in there. Joseph kicked you out, and why are you acting all high and mighty?"

Recognizing the voice, Emily sighed and opened the door to find Nancy Wilson and Maggie Wilson—her stepsister and stepmother.

"What do you want?" Emily leaned against the door frame, her gaze icy. "If you've got nothing to say, then get lost."

"How dare you talk to me like that!" Nancy screeched, her face twisted in anger.

"It's all over the media now—everyone knows you're divorced from Joseph! Do you still think you're Mrs. Robinson?"

Emily's eyes narrowed as she heard Nancy's words.

She had only signed the papers yesterday, and it was already splashed across the news. The media surely had a knack for gossip.

"Emily, we're just here to check on you," Maggie said, tugging Nancy back with a forced smile.

"You've been with Joseph for three years, and even though you're divorced now..."

Emily barely let her finish before the meaning of their visit clicked.

She let out a cold laugh and thought, 'How shameless Maggie is.'

When Emily's mother died giving birth to her, her father, Patrick Wilson, didn't even wait until the funeral before marrying Maggie—who was already visibly pregnant.

By the time Emily turned 18, she had left Wilson's house for good and moved into this villa, the only thing her mother had left behind.

Maggie gave a lazy smirk, batting her lashes. "Even if you're divorced, surely you'll get a decent settlement, right?"

She softened her tone, saying, "Emily, I'm just concerned. We're family, after all. Having that much money on your own isn't exactly... safe. It'll attract trouble."

"Oh, it's definitely attracting trouble," Emily replied coolly, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "I mean, look, the real trouble knocks on my door now."

Nancy's expression twisted in anger as she retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

Emily just shrugged, flipping a couple of coins toward Nancy, and hit her squarely on the shoulder. "That's all I've got for you. Take it, in case you're worried about starving."

With that, she spun around and slammed the door in their faces, shutting out Nancy's angry shouts outside.

Emily flopped back onto her bed but barely managed to fall asleep before her phone buzzed.

It was the hospital, and the nursing worker's voice sounded urgent on the other end. "Emily, Mr. Robinson's condition has suddenly worsened. He's in critical care right now!"

Any lingering sleepiness vanished. Emily grabbed her clothes in a rush and replied, "I'm on my way."

Joseph's grandfather, Clain Robinson, had always treated Emily as his own granddaughter. When her mother passed and Maggie moved in, it was his grandfather who protected her, even going as far as arranging her marriage to Joseph and keeping Patrick from pulling any stunts.

Without him, Emily might not have made it this far.

Thus, no way was she letting anything happen to him.

Emily sped all the way to the hospital and arrived just in time to see a doctor hurrying out of the operating room.

She caught him by the arm, her voice tight with worry. "How is my grandpa, doctor?"