The father and son were separated only by a pane of glass, but they felt far apart from each other.
Emmett pounded into that warm house.
The sunshine and heat here made him feel hard to breathe. Maybe that meant he wouldn't be able to
live a fair life.
"Father," Emmett whispered.
"I know you're coming, but I didn't expect you to be here so fast. Come, sit here and try my tea."
Atwood smiled bitterly and pointed at the table. He sat down first, poured a glass of tea, and pushed it
towards Emmett.
Emmett did not move. He turned his gaze from the cup to Atwood.
Atwood took a sip of the tea.
"Is our business that important?" Emmett asked heavily.
"Of course!" Atwood stared firmly at Emmett. He patted his chest and said emotionally, "I devoted my
life to it. I can't lose it! Emmett, you are my son. You have to give up something for this."
"You mean Elaine? I'll be a coward if I marry a woman I don't like just for it!"
***
"It's not that simple. Your marriage is about the future of our family! I was born in a poor farmer's family.
But you're different. You were born loaded. I hope that your children and even your descendants will be
born noble. That is the most important thing, understand? The woman you marry must be a lady of
status so that your children will be respected."
Emmett laughed mockingly, "If my son needs family support to stand out, then he is a failure. Father,
when you put me in charge of the ZH Clan, it was not as large and orderly as it is now. At that time,
everything was in chaos. Moreover, our company was not strong enough then. It could only make some
money without any power or foundation. I worked hard. You're well aware of the situation. It was I who
took ZH Clan back before I went abroad. Father, I don't need my wife to bring honor to our family. This
is ridiculous! You never face up to me and Elaine. Actually, family background is not the real reason
why you are against us, right?"
As Emmett spoke, he smiled slightly.
But that smile carried piercing coldness.
Atwood's heart skipped a beat as he looked at his son.
"What do you mean?"
Emmett slowly picked up the cup and took a sip of the tea.
He found it bitter.
"You should know very well, right?"
Atwood was livid. He bit his mouth tightly and his eyes were glinting with anger.
As his face contorted, he roared in a low voice, "I don't understand and I don't know! I don't want you to
be with that girl just because of her family! There's no other reason!"
"You are as stubborn as ever. What is done by night appears by day. No matter how well you pretend,
someone will find you out. Father, do you remember my mother's car accident? Don't you feel weird?"
***
Suddenly, Atwood knocked over the cup and his hands shook uncontrollably.
"What do you want to say?"
"Again, you should know what I'm saying."
"It was just an accident! The brake of the bus Elaine's father drove was broken. It was just a
coincidence that he hit your mother. What else?"
Emmett laughed loudly. However, there was too much sadness in his laughter.
"Accident? Coincidence? Father, when you said those words, did you panic or feel sorry in your heart?"
"Stop! Bastard!" Atwood was so angry and his expression became ugly. He stood up and paced back
and forth with his hands behind his back.
Emmett maintained his usual cold face and squinted at Atwood.
"I don't want to talk about this. You bastard, get out!"
Atwood became irritable. He waved his arms whenever he spoke.
In contrast, Emmett was like an iceberg without any emotions. He just looked at his father calmly.
He was sitting there, watching his father get anxious.
That kind of calmness flustered Atwood even more.
Atwood felt like he was being seen through.
Emmett finally tapped on the table and said indifferently, "Is it possible that someone bribed Elaine's
father to do so?"
Atwood quickly turned around, his eyes almost popping out, his lips trembling. "What?"
"You know what I mean."
"Are you saying that I did this? Nonsense! Why would I do that? What for?"
Atwood's face was as deathly pale.
Emmett rolled his eyes and said, "Stop pretending. I already hinted at you that day in the hospital. I
have investigated everything thoroughly."
***
Atwood narrowed his eyes. A wisp of ruthlessness flashed across. He suddenly laughed and picked up
a flowerpot and smashed it. "You're like your mother. You ungrateful bastard! I raised you for nothing!"
"You didn't raise me for nothing. At least for now, I haven't thought of killing you."
Emmett said this indifferently. He crossed his arms and stared coldly at Atwood.
Atwood's eyes widened in surprise. "What did you say? Do you actually want to kill me? I'm your
father!"
"That's what I hate the most! Why am I your son? Why?" Emmett finally lost his temper. He jumped up
like a madman. He pointed at Atwood and shouted, "Because I am your son, I can't kill you. Such a
monster is my father. What a joke!"
This was the first time Atwood felt desolation and fear. He looked at his son strangely. He had nurtured
Emmett by himself. He saw the younger Atwood in Emmett. Actually, Atwood regarded his son as his
only treasure.
Emmett's eyes went red. He pursed his lips tightly, not letting tears fall. "How could you do that? She
was your wife! She was with you for so many years and even raised a child for you. She was so
beautiful and elegant at that time! And, she was pregnant! How could you do that? I hate you! "
Atwood laughed strangely. His laughter was frightening. "I loved her so much, but what did she do to
me? She never loved me. I could do everything for her, but she didn't even look at me and trampled my
love! Yes, she was pregnant at that time, but she had an affair with someone else. The child was not
mine at all! She deserved it!"
"What a selfish man! How could you take her life? She didn't love you in the first place. You knew it!
You deprived her of happiness! You did it wrong from the start!"
"How can you expect her to love you? Have you ever thought about how she felt when you went out all
day for your business and left her in the empty big house alone? She was having an affair with another
man, then have you ever cared about her? This is what you deserve! If you did love her, you shouldn't
destroy her. You should let her go. Everything you've done is to satisfy yourself! You didn't love her at
all. You only love yourself! You planned everything. You chose to do it before she was ready to leave
and throw herself into the new life. You let her lover see her die. And that unborn child, he didn't even
have a chance to see the world! You keep saying that you loved my mother. This is the most ridiculous
lie in the world! You lied to me and I even called a killer father for more than twenty years! When I
learned all the truth days ago, I was unable to sleep at all. Do you know how much I want to kill you?
You don't deserve love. You don't!
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