Jack was a little disappointed, but his exuberance soon recovered. He charmingly suggested, "Miss Lu,
how about I take you home?
What do you think?"
Emily smirked and squinted at him slightly. The Jack she once knew would have never spoken to her in
this manner. He would have acted on his own decision, leaving no room for her to discuss anything. At
last, he had finally learned how to respect others.
What Emily did not understand was the odd combination of mixed feelings that had appeared in Jack's
heart when he saw her again after the news of her death. Jack was so tense, he didn't know how to act
in front of Emily. Subconsciously, he became wary of his words and actions, as he began to stress over
what was appropriate and what wasn't.
Emily, however, casually turned her back to him, and answered, "No, thanks."
Jack bit his lips and walked in front of her to insist again, "Why not? It's hard to get a taxi here. I can
drive you home. I promise I won't make it awkward for the both of us. Don't worry, I wouldn't do
anything inappropriate. And you know I'm a good driver..."
Emily rolled her eyes at Jack's ridiculous words, after she saw a few taxis pass by. "Don't you know that
there's no such thing as a free ride in this world?" she said.
Slowly, Emily turned to talk to Jack. When he made eye contact with her, his entire body froze. It was
as if the whole world behind the woman standing in front of him had disappeared.
Long, chestnut strands of hair cascaded and curled down her back like molten onyx. Her milky white
skin was brushed with makeups and blush to bring out the sharp structure on her face. The haute
couture suit of silk and ermine accentuated her graceful features and the extra 10 cm from her heels
complimented her overall appearance. Judging by the way she carried herself in public, it wasn't hard
to tell that Emily was a successful gold-collar worker.
Once, Emily's long, black hair was straight and simple, just enough to highlight her innocence. She
would hardly wear make-up and she preferred to wear light coloured dresses with flat, comfortable
shoes. The importance she gave towards practicality and simplicity showed just how pure and innocent
she was back in the day.
However, the past four years had witnessed her slowly growing and evolving.
Emily's previous appearance was so different from what she looked like now, that only a few of her
acquaintances would recognize at first sight. No one could believe that it was the same person.
Nobody could ever imagine that the Emily from the past was now, Miss Lu, the daughter of the Lu
Family.
Jack gazed at her face, affectionately. He could feel his heart throbbing inside his chest, and he
stammered, "I know there is no such thing as a free ride, but, but...I willingly give my heart to you. I
really, really like you."
I really like you.
For some reason, Emily was so amused when he said 'I really like you', that she burst out laughing.
Puzzled, Jack looked at her quietly. He had not seen her laugh so heartily before.
However, Emily stopped laughing all of a sudden. With an emotionless expression, she said, "I don't
have time for your games. Please, just leave me alone. Thank you!"
"This is not a game. I'm serious. Please believe me..." begged Jack.
Jack wasn't lying when he said he really liked her. He didn't know why he felt that way, but perhaps it
was just as the saying went — 'the heart wants, what it wants'. All Jack knew that he wanted to spend
the rest of his life with her.
But for Emily, his sincere words meant nothing. She turned away before Jack could even finish his
words, leaving him with the sight of her back, as she walked further and further away from him.
Jack couldn't just let her slip away from him. Not after he thought he had lost her in a plane crash four
years ago. He strode quickly and caught up to her. With his long arms, he reached out and stopped her
without a second thought.
"Just give me a chance to drive you home..." insisted Jack.
Of course Emily would never accept his help. She didn't want Jack know where she live, not to mention
the existence of Beryl. Beryl was only her daughter.
Emily shuddered at the thought of what would happen if Jack had found out that Beryl was his
daughter. Jack would surely complicate things and make things worse for Emily. The last thing she
wanted was to get tangled up in a messy relationship with Jack.
This was not what Emily wanted.
"What are you doing?" said Emily, as she looked back at Jack in anger, and a flash of annoyance
followed right after.
Jack nervously stuttered, "No, I'm just..."
In Jack's desperation, he didn't realize that he had began to grovel before Emily, fearing that she would
hate him.
"Well, you could walk away?" said Emily.
When Jack looked at Emily, he realized that if he didn't stop insisting, she would grow to resent him.
Instead, he stepped back and said, "Fine. Since you don't want... I, I'll just leave you be."
In any case, there was no need to rush things.
Besides, he already knew which company she was working for, it wouldn't be too hard for him to find
out where she was staying.
Jack stood still and watched as Emily got into a taxi. His eyes kept following the taxi even after it drove
away. Suddenly, he realized that he could just follow the taxi and find out where she lived, but he put
that idea to rest soon after.
Jack needed to be calm and rational. He couldn't risk ruining his chances with Emily again. 'One step at
a time, ' he said to himself.
When Emily came back home, the blazing sunset burned the sky a gorgeous and powerful mix of
amber and blood-red.
As soon as she walked in, she saw Beryl playing on the balcony. Startled, Emily cried out, "Beryl! You
can't go out in the sun, don't you know that?"
"Don't worry, mommy, the sun isn't so bright now," answered Beryl, as she giggled and squinted at
Emily.
"The answer is still no," she asserted. Emily got so nervous, she quickly rushed to the balcony and
carried Beryl back into the room. "You know you're not supposed to expose yourself to the sun. You
should be more careful, okay? You need to be more aware of what can cause you harm..."
"Mom!" Beryl interrupted. Displeased, she began to struggle in Emily's arms. "You worry too much! It's
not a big deal! The sunlight wasn't so bad at all. I liked it!" Beryl grumbled.
Emily faced a lot of complications with her pregnancy when she was carrying Beryl. Due to her
complications Emily's body had become weak. As a result, Beryl was born with a few congenital
disorders.
One of her congenital disorders was her allergy to UV light, commonly known as sun allergy.
When Beryl was two years old, the new foreign babysitter didn't know about her allergy, so she took
Beryl for a walk in the afternoon, and as a result Beryl was accidentally exposed to sun. When Beryl
came back home, she started to fever up and her small face flushed red like a ripe tomato. She had
tiny blisters and rashes all over her body.
The fever, which lasted for more than two days, almost killed Beryl.
That one experience was enough to last Emily a lifetime of horrors. From then on, she paid extra
attention in taking care of Beryl. Emily made sure she left nothing to chance.
Seeing her daughter playing in the sun brought back her worst nightmare. Although, the setting sun
was hardly a risk, she still wasn't brave enough to take any risks when it came to Beryl.
"You are different. Being in the sun will make you sick. Beryl, stop being naughty! Listen to mommy! Or
Mommy's going to be worried!" ordered Emily.
Emily hardly spoke about such grave matters with her daughter. Suddenly, the tears started welling up
in Beryl's round eyes. The next second, she cried out, "You are always keeping me away from having
fun! Why? Why, mommy? Why can't I go out? I don't even have a friend. I just want to play in the sun.
Why? Why can't I? I don't want to live in darkness! I love how warm the sunlight makes me feel! Why,
mom? Why can't I..."
In the end, her words came in short gasps, as she started crying. Soon her words became incoherent
and inarticulate.
The sight of Beryl's tear-soaked face pierced Emily's heart with a thousand needles. Hugging her tightly
in her arms, Emily comforted her, "Beryl, it's all mommy's fault. I am sorry. I am sorry I wasn't able to
give you a healthy body..."
Beryl was supposed to be as lively and vibrant as her peers. Like all the other normal kids, she wanted
to go to school; to play and frolic with her little mates every day; to run freely on the grass fields under
the sun...
Unfortunately, Beryl wasn't fit to do any of those things. She could only sit in a dark place, and watch
enviously as the other kids played in broad daylight...
Beryl longed for the outside world.
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