In the age when technology was developing at a rapid speed and information was easily accessible, everyone had the tendency to take the moral high ground, bashing the weak and criticizing their abusers.
As malicious gossips started spreading, as an upper management in Fuller Corporation, Kristina was naturally fired.
Come to think of it, it was quite a coincidence that Kristina’s video got leaked at such a time. It helped to divert the reporters’ attentions which were originally on me.
Just then, Emery arrived. As it was still snowing heavily, she was wearing a down jacket covered with snowflakes when she entered the villa.
As she removed her jacket and patted off the snow, she said, “Seems like roadblocks are going to be set up in K City soon.”
I offered to take over her jacket and hung it on the hanger before pouring her a glass of hot water. “There are going to be roadblocks set up in K City?”
Emery sat on the sofa and as she warmed her hands on the glass, she replied, “That’s for sure. It happens quite often. K City is known for its traffic jams. Given that it’s snowing so heavily, the chances of traffic accidents occurring are even higher. Roadblocks are unavoidable if the weather conditions get worse.”
I nodded and remembered that there were some fruits at home. Just when I was about to get up to take the fruits, she held me back and said, “Stop moving about. Let’s just have a chat!”
Perhaps it was a subconscious reaction, I froze for a moment and replied, “What are we chatting about?”
“Ashton and the Moore family!” Emery replied instantly. She was indeed one of the most direct people I know.
“What happened four years ago was already in the past, but I won’t try to convince you to let it go. Given the pain you had to endure, I understand that it’s easier said than done. As such, you don’t have to force yourself to move on or forgive anyone either. I know that you’re the one who’s hurting the most.” She had just expressed what I was genuinely feeling in the most straightforward manner.
As I listened to her quietly, I clenched my fists unknowingly, perhaps either due to my anxiousness or me feeling upset. I just thought that Emery reminded me so much of Macy that I was a little distracted.
After a slight pause, she continued, “I know that you’re probably feeling quite unsettled right now and don’t know what you should do. But Scarlett, we have to be forward-looking after all and can’t keep staying in the past. I think you should just follow your heart. Try not to suppress the memories of the past as it would make it harder for you to recover.”
I nodded as I listened to her, even though I was already well-aware of everything she had just mentioned.
Then, Emery held my hand and said with a serious expression on her face, “My purpose for coming here today is not to preach anything to you. I treat you as my friend and just don’t wish to see you hurt. Scarlett, you don’t have to feel any resistance towards me, OK?”
I smiled faintly with a hint of bitterness as I replied, “Thanks for coming over and talking to me, Emery.”
She sighed helplessly and said, “Actually, I didn’t like Cameron initially too. She’s someone who conceals her ambitions very well and will not hesitate to resort to unscrupulous means to accomplish her goals, even if it means sacrificing everything else. On the surface, it might seem as if she desires nothing, but she’s the exact opposite of what she lets out.”
Even though I chose not to comment, I agreed with Emery wholeheartedly. Indeed, Cameron had very clear objectives for everything she did.
“And it’s exactly because of this quality of hers that for the past twenty-six years, she endured everything and went through struggles after struggles just to find you. I personally witnessed her going to extreme lengths, scaling mountains and visiting countless suburban villages to look for you. In the process, she was even cheated by people. You probably don’t know, but she donated generously to the poor in every village she went to. I guess that was her way of atoning for her sins,” Emery continued speaking.
I pursed my lips and said in a low voice, “During these four years, I did carefully thought about that past mistake.”
Emery nodded and replied, “As such, due to a mother’s longing for her daughter, when she met Rebecca, she overly indulged her with all the love she had for her daughter and was constantly worried that it might not be enough. From a mother’s point of view, she was just doing her best to love her daughter, but to any outsider, that kind of love was excessive, extreme and scary. Scarlett, I’m not asking you to forgive her or let go. I just want to tell you that the current situation has already reached a stalemate. What’s best for you is not to dwell in the past but to focus your attention on the future. You still have a whole life ahead of you.”
I kept quiet. I know better than anyone that as a mother, everything Cameron did was for her daughter.
Since Rebecca was in love with Ashton, Cameron would do anything to clear the obstacles in her daughter’s path, including me, who was a problem at that time.
Everything started to go wrong when Ashton switched the DNA reports of Rebecca and I, changing our fates. He not only destroyed my yearning for my mother’s affection, but also caused the death of my child.
By right, I should hate him, but I just couldn’t bring myself to feel that way. Love was quite an absurd thing sometimes. Because of love, one could even unconditionally forgive someone who threw them into the depths of despair.
Noticing my silence, Emery spoke, “Actually I really detest Cameron. She’s definitely not a woman who can contribute to the Moore family’s harmony and propriety. It’s actually not a bad thing for a woman to be ambitious, but she had gone overboard. I’m just worried that her actions might bring disaster upon the Moore family. As such, I didn’t have a good impression of her right from the start when she married into the family. I even tried various ways to chase her away. However, Scarlett, sometimes, things just don’t go the way we want them to. Even though Ashton has hurt you in many ways due to his selfishness, he truly loves you. There’s no point for you to continue bearing a grudge against him. You should try to look ahead instead.”
