Chapter 8: Still Dare to Run?

Locked in the room for three whole days.

In this house, Emma had become completely invisible.

Except for the servants bringing spoiled food at regular times each day, no one else came in.

That day, the door was pushed open again.

Emma thought it was the butler again and chose to keep pretending to sleep, to avoid hearing more of these people's condescending remarks.

Until the footsteps stopped beside the bed, and a familiar yet cold voice came down.

"Emma, sign this divorce agreement."

Marcus?

Emma opened her eyes and met his gaze. The fear from that day instantly surged back.

Her mind went completely blank. She trembled uncontrollably, her eyes still filled with lingering terror, just staring at him blankly.

He ran out of patience and commanded, "Sign it."

After a moment, Emma's vision finally focused.

Taking the stack of papers, the first thing that caught her eye were the large words at the top: Divorce Agreement.

Emma tugged at the corners of her lips. She had thought she wouldn't feel sad over his actions anymore.

But when Emma saw the divorce papers, her chest still felt tight and heavy.

She had been with Marcus for thirteen years, married to him for three. Turns out he had never loved her, not even a little bit.

Emma gripped the pen, reluctant to sign. The iron chain on her wrist clinked as she flipped through the agreement.

Finally, her burning tears fell heavily onto the papers, blurring the words on the pages.

Watching this scene, he looked away, his tone surprisingly softer than usual, explaining flatly.

"She's pregnant with my child."

Evelyn was pregnant?

Emma's eyelashes trembled violently. She jerked her head up to look at him, completely in disbelief.

How ridiculous. She had been married to him for three years, and even wanting a child required sneaking around carefully.

Evelyn had only been back for just over a month and had easily gotten pregnant with his child.

Emma didn't want to look at him anymore. Her eyes moved back to the agreement, forcing herself to keep reading through the pain.

The terms were clear and harsh. In summary, Emma would get nothing.

It was an ending she had expected, but when it was laid out in front of her, her heart still ached with grief. Emma signed her name.

Marcus stared at the signature for a moment, pulled the agreement away, and dropped another command.

"Evelyn isn't feeling well. She specifically asked for you to take care of her."

Emma already knew what would happen if she resisted, and besides, her mother's belongings were still in his hands, so she could only lower her head and agree.

That evening, Evelyn sent someone to call Emma to her room.

Facing Emma, she wore a smug smile, though her tone pretended to be gentle and harmless.

"I'm pregnant and my body feels a bit weak. My legs feel so heavy I can't lift them. Emma, could you please kneel down and massage my legs for me?"

Kneel down? Her methods of humiliation really knew no bounds!

Emma stood still, her tone calm but firm.

"If you're not feeling well, you can call a doctor or have the servants attend to you."

Evelyn looked at Emma with a nasty smile, gently stroking her belly, pretending to be wronged.

"Since you're unwilling, then forget it."

Emma thought that was the end of it, but she didn't expect Evelyn to turn around and sob softly to Marcus who had just arrived.

"Honey, my stomach hurts a little, and my legs are uncomfortable too. But it's okay. Since Emma doesn't want to take care of me, I won't force her."

Marcus never asked Emma a single question. He only inquired softly about Evelyn's condition.

Emma stood there watching the two of them being intimate, her heart still aching.

Marcus turned around, his eyes no longer gentle, only stern commands for her.

"Didn't you hear what Evelyn said? Emma, kneel down and help."

Finding courage from somewhere, Emma stood firmly, refusing to move.

During the standoff, Marcus's voice turned cold as ice, with naked threats.

"Looks like you still haven't learned your lesson. Don't forget, I still have many of your mother's belongings."

He walked to Emma's side, placed his large hand on her shoulder, and with slight pressure pushed her down.

Sure enough, whenever it involved Evelyn, he would never take Emma's side.

Humiliation and embarrassment swept through her entire body. Emma finally lost her strength and slowly knelt down, stiffly reaching out her hand to massage Evelyn's legs.

About half an hour passed. Emma's hands were already sore and aching.

But Evelyn was still enjoying it with her eyes closed.

Finally, just before Emma couldn't hold on anymore, she opened her eyes and yawned.

"Sorry about that, I accidentally fell asleep. Your technique is so comfortable, it's like you were born to take care of people."

Facing her mockery, Emma turned a deaf ear, just keeping her head down, mechanically massaging her.

She leaned close to Emma's ear and said softly in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Let me tell you a secret. Actually, I'm not pregnant at all."

These words hit like thunder, shaking Emma to her core.

Emma looked up in shock to meet Evelyn's gaze. Evelyn's eyes only showed calmness and the pleasure of toying with others.

Emma never imagined that Evelyn could go this far to compete for favor.

She instinctively wanted to turn and tell Marcus the truth, but then thought better of it and immediately stopped herself.

How would he believe her?

Marcus would probably just think she was crazy with jealousy and slandering Evelyn now.

In the end, Emma clenched her fists and chose silence.

Evelyn was very satisfied with Emma's reaction. She got up and nestled into Marcus's arms, saying softly.

"Honey, we're getting married in a few days, but because of what happened before, people are still gossiping behind our backs about you and Emma having an improper relationship. Why don't we send Emma away?"

Marcus was silent, seemingly thinking. Finally his gaze fell on Emma. Not knowing what he was thinking, his tone grew heavier. He waved his hand, "No need. Let her stay to take care of you. No one dares to gossip about the Donovan family."

Hearing this, Evelyn almost couldn't maintain her gentle expression.

She waited until Marcus temporarily left, and her pretended warmth disappeared completely.

She turned around and glared viciously at Emma, squeezing out through gritted teeth, "Bitch!"

With that, she raised her palm and struck down hard.

Emma's face was knocked to the side, her ears ringing, followed by a burning pain.

Just as Evelyn was about to strike a second time.

Emma reached out and grabbed her arm, pushing hard!

Evelyn, wearing high heels, lost her balance and was pushed back several stumbling steps by Emma.

She looked at Emma in surprise, her eyes full of resentment and jealousy.

"Emma, you're such a bitch! Using these tricks, you just want Marcus to keep you here! How dare you fight back! Fine, looks like I need to teach you a lesson, or you'll never leave."

She quickly pulled out the remaining half of Emma's mother's photo from the side, deliberately waving it in front of Emma's eyes, "This is your lesson!"

"Evelyn, stop!" Emma cried out, but it was already too late.

She laughed wickedly and tore Emma's mother's only photo viciously in half!

The crisp sound of tearing paper rang out. The black and white photo split into several pieces, then Evelyn waved her hand and the photo pieces fluttered down.

Everything around Emma became a blurred buzzing. Only the raging blood rushed to her brain, her whole body trembling.

"Evelyn, you deserve to die!"

Emma murmured under her breath. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a vase nearby. Without thinking, she grabbed it, wanting to smash it at her!

But Evelyn didn't dodge. Instead, she cried out to someone behind Emma.

"Marcus! Save me! She's trying to kill me!"

"Emma! Stop!" Marcus rushed forward and grabbed Emma's hand hard, with enough force to crush her bones.

Emma's hand loosened, and the vase fell heavily to the ground, shards flying everywhere.

A shard cut across Emma's ankle, blood instantly seeping out.

But Emma felt nothing, only staring at Marcus with bloodshot eyes, her accumulated tears instantly breaking free.

She couldn't believe that he would truly protect Evelyn without caring about her safety.