On the other side, Emily went to work as usual and saw Jonas, who had just been discharged from the
hospital.
He was dressed in simple clothing. The bruises on his face were fading, but they were still evident
upon a closer look. He moved with an obvious limp, and he was still wearing a cast on his arm. Overall,
he looked miserable.
While he was interacting with his co-workers, he suddenly noticed the woman who was about to take a
turn to avoid running into him. He turned to his peers and calmly said, "Sorry, I just remembered that
there's something I need to do. Excuse me." He started to walk away.
"Wait, why don't you finish what you were talking about first?"
Despite his companion's protests, Jonas still made his way to the corner of the corridor and managed
to grab Emily's sleeve before she was able to get into the elevator.
Emily was taken aback by his grip and quickly shook him off. "What do you think you're doing?" she
asked with gritted teeth, annoyed.
Upon seeing her angry expression, Jonas looked down with a sad face, but he was also kind of
agitated. "I'm sorry for startling you. I was just a little excited to get to you."
Emily was sensible enough to not respond. She took a small step back and suddenly felt embarrassed.
"The elevator is here. You'd better go in now."
Jonas shook his head. "No, you misunderstood. I wasn't in a hurry to get into the elevator. I just wanted
to ask why you're avoiding me."
"I'm not avoiding you." Emily awkwardly smiled and looked at him as if she had just noticed his
bandaged hand. "I didn't expect that they would discharge you from the hospital so soon. Are you sure
you're recovered enough to come back to work?"
When he heard this, Jonas realized that the woman in front of him wasn't completely innocent and
naive.
He forced a bitter smile. "It's good enough. I haven't seen you in days. I was worried about you."
"I'm all right," Emily answered. She gave him a tight-lipped smile. "I thought I made myself clear on the
phone last night," she reminded him.
"You mean we really can't be friends anymore?" Jonas tried his best not to lose his composure. He was
smiling at her, but his fists were clenched. "Come on, the situation isn't that serious. I don't think it
warrants you cutting me off completely. Do you really believe everything he told you?" he asked, with a
hint of animosity in his voice.
However, once he noticed the angry look in Emily's eyes, his expression softened immediately. "Don't
get me wrong. I didn't run after you to fight with you. I just feel wronged. He even controls who you can
and can't be friends with. I feel sad for you."
His tone was gentle, but his choice of words was very strange.
Emily furrowed her eyebrows. "Do you have anything else to say? If not, then I'm leaving," she replied.
She didn't want to waste any more time interacting with him. There was a hint of impatience in her eyes
already.
Jonas chose to ignore the increasing agitation in her eyes and continued to talk in a gentle tone. "I
came here as soon as I left the hospital because I wanted to see you. I don't want to lose you. You're
my friend.
I just want you to know that I befriended you not because you look like anyone, but because I genuinely
like being around you. You're good company, Emily." Jonas blocked her way. "Can you please just give
me another chance?"
"Do you like me?" Emily suddenly asked, giving him an exasperated look.
Did he like her? What on earth was she dreaming about?
A woman like her wasn't his cup of tea. He wouldn't take a second glance at her even if she was right
in front of him. As far as he was concerned, he had only approached her because of the task assigned
by his boss.
Today, Emily was dressed in a black and white formal suit, which, admittedly, outlined her figure
perfectly. Dressed in that suit, she looked powerful and capable of doing anything. She didn't have an
ounce of gentleness in her. She looked like a wolf ready to bite anyone who stood in her way.
She looked at him with expectant eyes. She was starting to regret her question, but she was really
curious about his answer to her question.
Jonas was confused by her question. He blinked at her, shocked. After a few seconds, he finally
recovered and asked, "Did I hear you wrong?"
Honestly, he wanted to avoid answering the question if possible, but Emily didn't give him the chance to
do so. "No, you heard me correctly. Since you don't like me, why do you care so much about being my
friend? So, what is your purpose?"
Under Jacob's guidance, Emily finally sensed that there was something odd and wrong about Jonas
and his intentions.
Taken aback, Jonas tried to backtrack to understand why she would even suspect such a thing. He
opened his mouth and said, "Who even said that that I don't like…" Before he finished his sentence, he
sensed that there was something wrong. As he lowered his head to meet Emily's gaze, his emotions
got even more complicated. He was confused.
What was wrong with this brainless woman today?
Not intending to back down, she raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm a married woman, Jonas. I'd appreciate
it if you don't try to have an inappropriate relationship with me. Do not contact me in any way unless it
is necessary."
After she finished talking, she started to walk away and left him open-mouthed in the corridor.
However, Jonas was still not satisfied with their conversation. How could he let her leave so easily like
that? He didn't know how long it would take for them to see each other again. His eyebrows knitted
together in thought before he ran after her for the second time today.
"Wait, Emily. Hold on a moment. I still have something to say to you."
If it wasn't for the circumstance, Emily would have preferred not to listen anymore to whatever he had
to say. Unfortunately, she was wearing a pair of high-heeled shoes, so she couldn't exactly run. It didn't
take him long to catch up with her.
He blocked her path once again and she glared at him. It confirmed all the suspicions that Jacob had
explained to her. There was no doubt anymore. This man was a stalker.
"Fine. Say it quickly. I'm in a hurry."
Jonas cursed in his heart. 'What could be so important for her to be in such a hurry?' Although
annoyed, he did his best not to make it obvious. "This isn't a good place to talk about it."
Emily frowned at him and was about to refuse to go anywhere with him, but he immediately opened his
mouth before she could complain. "We can go talk in your office. I swear I won't waste your time. As
long as you let me talk about everything and clarify it, I will leave right after. I promise."
There were no lies in his eyes. Instead, there was a hint of grievance in them.
Sighing heavily, Emily agreed. She supposed listening to him wouldn't hurt.
So, the two of them headed to Emily's office.
Jonas pretended to be pathetic and weak-willed to trigger Emily's sympathy for him. He even shared a
story about his deceased friend. At last, he stared into Emily's eyes again and continued, "You are my
friend. I really don't want to lose you. If he thinks that there was an error in my ways, then he should
have told me directly. I will change, I promise. He didn't need to start such a petty dispute between us."
It was obvious whom Jonas was talking about.
Emily replied, "He didn't."
Jonas turned his head and smiled bitterly at the woman in front of him. "Okay, so he didn't start any
dispute between us. It's all my fault. I wasn't a good enough friend, so you had no choice but to cut
your ties with me."
"That's not it." Emily felt a little embarrassed, so she couldn't help but lower her walls a little as she
talked to him. "But…"
Jonas already knew what Emily wanted to add. Suddenly, his eyes started to become hopeful. "You
don't want to cut me off either, do you? Do you still want to be friends with me?" he asked.
Emily didn't answer. Jonas' eyes darkened a little, but he quickly recovered, like a candle flickering in
the wind at night. "Am I wrong?"
His show of weakness made Emily doubt herself again. In her eyes, Jonas had never done anything to
hurt her. She had made the choice to alienate herself from Jonas only because of Jacob's suspicions.
Up until now, there was no proof that Jonas was actually a bad guy.
However, she knew that there was some truth to what Jacob had told her as well.
On one hand, she thought that Jonas wasn't capable of doing anything bad, but on the other hand,
Jacob had made promising points, and she believed that her husband would not lie about such things
just because he was jealous. Emily was very confused.
However, it was unusual for a grown man to act the way Jonas was acting just to save a friendship.
Emily heaved a sigh. "No, we will still be friends in the future. For now, I really have to go because I
have something important to deal with." She still wasn't sure whether to believe Jonas or not. She
wanted to talk to Jacob first before making any decision regarding this matter.
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