Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

Emily didn't quite buy my story. I knew she had a tendency to overthink when she was home alone, so I sent her some pics of the hotel to ease her mind.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

Honestly, I used to think business trips were no different from being at home since I was always by myself anyway. Evenings were spent flipping through the newspaper or watching TV in the hotel, and time just flew by. But ever since Emily came into my life, business trips became unbearable. Every day without her felt like torture.

So, I hustled to wrap up my work and came back two days early, but I didn't tell Emily. I wanted to surprise her.

But Emily wasn't home. From the balcony, I saw her getting out of Faris's car.

The more I cared, the more sensitive I got. At that moment, I was fuming. I was mad she didn't listen to me. I had clearly told her to stay away from him. But mostly, I was scared. I was terrified Emily would leave me.

It wasn't exactly a fight because we both stayed pretty calm, but I think we were both deeply hurt inside.

Emily seemed to know something. Even though I met Faye on this business trip, I didn't do anything to betray Emily. But Emily questioned me with such certainty, like she had some proof of my infidelity.

I suddenly felt so drained. I remember when we first got together, even just sitting quietly and chatting about mundane things felt like pure bliss. It seemed like we were both hedgehogs, constantly hurting each other. I thought we both needed to cool off, so I left.

That night, I hit up Blue Ocean Bar, played cards, and drank with a few friends, just letting loose.

When my temper flared, I forgot all of Emily's reminders. I even wished the strong liquor would make me seriously ill. I liked the way she took care of me by the bedside, enjoying the warmth she gave me at that time.

"You guys keep playing, I'm heading out," Jason said, coming back from a phone call and grabbing his coat from the sofa before leaving.

"Why are you leaving? We're just getting into it," Frank said, but Jason was already gone.

We kept playing cards and drinking. When I was drunk, I saw couples coming and going in the bar, and I suddenly missed Emily.

I thought to myself, 'What is she doing alone at home? Is she still sulking? Is she stubbornly skipping dinner? Is she sitting in the living room waiting for me to come home?'

I stood up shakily and said, "I'm going home too."

On the way back, I made up my mind. I thought, 'I need to apologize. When I get home, I'll sincerely apologize to her and make it up to her. If she hasn't eaten, I'll whip up some pasta...'

But the house was dark. When I opened the door, the whole place was pitch black and empty, just like the years I was single, coming home every day to a heavy loneliness.

Emily wasn't there, and a lot of her stuff was gone too. When I called her phone, it was turned off.

That night, I searched everywhere, checking all the places she might have gone.

When I went to Bella's place looking for Emily, Bella stood by my car, angrily questioning, "Ethan, what's going on with you two? Do you even care about Emily?"

I sighed and leaned back in my seat.

"I do," I said.

Bella said seriously, "If you care about her, then treat her well, okay? You should see how much she loves you. If you love each other, can't you just be together without all this drama? She cares about you so much, but you take her for granted. One day, when she really leaves you, you'll realize what you've lost."

Bella was emotional, and I could somewhat understand her feelings.

"It's my fault. I'll definitely find her and bring her back," I said.

I drove around the streets of Starlight City until midnight. Finally, I parked by the roadside, rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and watched people enjoying the nightlife, coming and going from the nightclubs.

I carefully recalled the things I said during our argument. They were indeed harsh. Emily was sensitive and fragile; I shouldn't have said those things to her. I regretted it deeply.

It was true that our daily life had become exhausting, but life itself was tiring. Behind happiness, there was always some degree of fatigue. Ultimately, it was because I hadn't given her enough security.

Just when I was feeling down, I got a text from Martin.

Martin: [Ethan, Emily is such a good girl, and you don't know how to cherish her. Now you're worried because you can't find her, right?]

No matter how I looked at it, Martin's words seemed a bit gloating, but this message instantly lifted my spirits.

I immediately replied: [Grandpa, Emily is with you, isn't she?]

Martin replied: [I'm telling you, hold off for a few days before coming over. She's still mad at you. Wait until she calms down, then come and apologize to Emily. And when you do, I'll have a word with you, young man!]

The next few days felt like years to me. I must've replayed the nonsense I said at least eight hundred times in my head.

On the sixth morning after Emily left, I woke up, got out of bed, and walked to the balcony, only to find the world had turned white overnight.

Martin sent me a message: [Ethan, we're planning to have Mexican food. It's snowing, so we can't go out to buy groceries. Here's your chance to shine.]

I immediately put away my phone, went back to my room to change clothes, and then went to the supermarket to buy a ton of ingredients. I drove to Greenfield Village.

On the way, I felt a mix of excitement and nerves. I didn't know if she had forgiven me yet.

It was Emily who opened the door for me. She still seemed angry, so I decided to take the initiative to make things right.

Sometimes, there was no need to argue about winning or losing. I was willing to put aside my pride in front of Emily because these past few days, I had truly felt the pain of missing her.

During dinner, Martin brought out old photos, including one of Jason and Emily as kids. Martin mentioned how Jason had stubbornly refused to move when he was a child, whether intentionally or not; in any case, the atmosphere became a bit awkward.

Actually, both Jason and Emily smiled naturally. Maybe I was the only one feeling awkward.

Martin also mentioned Grandma. As far as I know, Martin had a great relationship with her. In Martin's eyes, Grandma was a beautiful and capable woman. Martin said that back then, they rarely saw each other, so he treated her exceptionally well, fearing that if he didn't, she might run off with someone else.

I roughly understood why Martin suddenly brought up these things. He was probably trying to subtly let me know to cherish my relationship with Emily.

I really envied and yearned for the kind of love they had in their time. Back then, a lifetime was only enough to love one person.

Although their living conditions weren't as good as they were now, their hearts must have been rich.

After dinner, to earn some brownie points, I volunteered to do the dishes. When I finished, Jason and Emily were having a snowball fight.

I pulled Emily into my arms, and a snowball hit me square in the face. She laughed so hard she couldn't close her mouth.

I loved seeing her smile. I felt that Emily's smile was like a ray of sunshine in the snowy weather, warming my heart.

But Emily probably remembered that she was still mad at me, so she quickly stopped smiling and turned her face away.

She was already in my arms, and I didn't want to miss the chance to cherish the moment. So, I pinned her against a tree and kissed her impulsively.

I had missed her so much these past few days. I had been holding back this kiss for days. If I had to push her away again, I felt like I would go crazy.

I explained to her about meeting Faye at the conference. I knew that was what she cared about. She also explained why she got into Faris's car.

She casually asked about that piece of land. She was very curious about it. That land was the Windsor family's way of making amends to the Melville family. Even if Faris hadn't used her as leverage that day, I would have given him the land because we owed it to him. But I couldn't explain this to Emily.

The less Emily knew about what happened back then, the better it was for both of us.

With Martin's help, we finally resolved this conflict, and the three of us returned to Starlight City together.

Richard was out, but I didn't expect him to go looking for Emily first thing.

It was snowing heavily that day, and by evening, Emily still hadn't come back. I couldn't reach her by phone, and I couldn't contact her anywhere.

I thought about the last time she went to Greenfield Village in a fit of anger, but thinking back carefully, I didn't seem to have upset her this time.

I searched everywhere I could think of and returned home in the middle of the night, but there was still no sign of Emily. The snow was getting heavier, and I was really worried.

In the middle of the night, Richard came. He handed me Emily's phone and confessed that he had taken her up the mountain and left her there.

I really wanted to punch him. I imagined Emily alone on the snowy mountain, cold and scared. I didn't want to waste any more time and drove straight to the foot of the mountain.

But the road was blocked. The snow was too thick, and the road was too slippery to go up the mountain.

With Emily still up on the mountain, I was anxious and started clearing the road with a shovel. Richard also called a group of people to help. By dawn, professionals came to clear the road, and it was soon passable.

On the way up the mountain, I felt very anxious.

After a night, I didn't know how she was doing.