“If you don’t want it, then just throw it away.”
I let out a faint laugh of release, turned, and walked away.
“Yes, that’s better. It should have been this way all along.”
For a moment, Daniel’s expression froze. A trace of panic flickered across his face, and he reached out as if to stop me—but Chloe quickly clutched his arm, her voice soft and innocent.
“Daniel, Emma really seems upset. Did Chloe do something wrong?”
Daniel immediately turned to reassure her.
“It’s not your fault, Chloe. You’ve done nothing wrong. It’s the Carters who can’t accept you. In seven days, when their crisis deepens, she’ll come around on her own.”
Chloe’s eyes flickered with worry. “But isn’t that bad? What if it really breaks Emma’s heart?”
Daniel’s confidence was unshaken.
“No, never. Emma and I have loved each other for ten years. Something this small, I can smooth over after marriage. The real question is—don’t you want to live with me, Chloe?”
Chloe Miller shyly nestled into Daniel Brooks’s arms, the two of them laughing happily behind me.
The sound of their voices made my steps quicken—I only wanted to escape. In front of Daniel, the emotions I had tried so hard to suppress broke apart, and tears streamed uncontrollably down my face.
Ten years of love crumbled into nothing in an instant.
When I returned home, my mother immediately noticed my expression and pressed me until I confessed everything. She burst into tears on the spot and clutched me tightly.
“It’s better to see their true faces early. If you don’t want to marry Daniel, then you won’t. Your father and I will support you.”
I wiped away my tears, looking at my once-beautiful mother now worn down by the struggles of the Carter family, and said firmly,
“Mom, I’m willing to marry that security guard.”
She broke down, sobbing as she whispered, “It’s our fault as parents, letting you suffer like this…”
Daniel was determined to destroy the Carters, and no one dared to help us. My parents worked themselves to exhaustion for days, nearly collapsing, yet still found no solution.
My father’s eyes reddened as he looked at me with guilt.
“Emma, you must think carefully. The Carter family values loyalty and honor. If you marry him…”
“If I marry, it will be real. I’ll get a legal certificate with him and build a home together.”