Chapter 5 Like a Joke

Emily lifted her eyes, her gaze completely emotionless, as if she were looking at a stranger.

"What's it to you?"

Her cold eyes swept over him indifferently, yet somehow made Adam feel something was off. But before he could figure out what it was, Vivian grabbed his arm.

"Adam, I didn't mean to compete with Emily. I was just thinking of you. This dress could be returned to Jennifer, that's why I was so anxious. It's all my fault!"

Adam looked at her with sympathy and comforted her, "It's okay, don't overthink it. This isn't your fault."

Then he turned to look at the person behind Emily, raising his eyebrows in slight surprise, because the gift box containing the dress was still in that man's hands and hadn't been given to Emily.

His eyes shifted, and suddenly he understood. He sneered coldly and said arrogantly, "Emily, you're out of money, aren't you? Well, with your family background, how could you possibly afford this much?"

Emily glanced at him, suddenly feeling absurd.

Did Adam think she couldn't afford the Starry Sky dress because she had no money?

"Emily, as long as you apologize to Vivian nicely, I can pay for you and buy this dress for you."

Adam stepped forward, staring at her with an intense expression.

Emily lowered her eyes without speaking, just finding it laughable.

Who did Adam think he was? Did he think money could get him everything? Little did he know, there were things in this world even harder to reach than money—that was power.

"Well? How about this deal? This was your fault to begin with. I'm just asking you to apologize to Vivian, which is already very generous. Can you stop throwing a tantrum?"

Seeing Emily's lack of response, Adam immediately became impatient and accusatory.

Vivian clung to Adam's arm, looking at Emily with triumph and anticipation.

Why did Emily get to be with Adam? It was all Emily's fault for taking what should have been her place!

"Excuse me, sir." The man holding the gift box walked forward politely but distantly and handed the box to Emily. "This dress is a gift from my employer to Ms. Hart, and he doesn't intend to charge for it. No matter how much money you offer, I won't sell it."

Emily's eyes trembled slightly, then returned to calm.

Adam's expression changed slightly at these words. He frowned tightly and glared at Emily with displeasure, questioning her, "Is what he said true? Who's so generous to give you such an expensive dress? Emily, you really have some skills."

"Like I said, my business has nothing to do with you. But I don't mind telling you this—the person who gave me the dress is my fiancé. We're already engaged."

Emily suddenly looked up and met Adam's gaze. The usually gentle woman suddenly burst forth with a special kind of presence that caught Adam off guard for a moment.

Fiancé? Her daily routine was always just between the office and home—where would she get a fiancé?

Adam sneered inwardly. Sure enough, another one of her tricks.

She was always like this.

On one hand, afraid he would leave her and abandon her, on the other hand, finding all kinds of reasons and ways to test him.

Scared to death, completely unable to leave him, yet always pretending not to care.

He wanted to see how long Emily could keep up this act.

"Emily, can you stop being so unreasonable? Just to make me angry, you deliberately made up a fiancé. Don't you think you're being ridiculous?"

Who was really being ridiculous?

Emily looked at Adam, saw the mockery in his eyes and the sneer on his lips, yet her mood was unexpectedly calm.

In the past, she had impulsively risked everything for love. Now that she had woken up, she realized just how stupid she had been.

She didn't really regret it—after all, who hasn't loved one or two jerks when they were young?

"Emily, please don't be angry anymore, okay? Adam and I really aren't what you think!"

Vivian was still anxiously trying to explain, but in Emily's eyes, her poor acting skills were concerning.

"Why explain to her? Someone as self-righteous as her deserves to learn a good lesson!"

Emily couldn't listen anymore. Before she could speak, the person Noah sent walked over.

"Ms. Hart, since the gift has been delivered, I'll head back now. I need to report to Mr. Stone. He's been thinking of you constantly—after all, only Ms. Hart is worthy of such a gift."

Emily nodded slightly, "Please thank him for me."

"Of course, Ms. Hart, though I think Mr. Stone would prefer to hear it from you directly."

He smiled warmly, but Emily was slightly stunned.

She and Noah hadn't seen each other in years. He had probably long forgotten who she was.

"Well done, Emily, your methods have really improved. This time you even hired someone to put on a show with you. Your tactics are really low-class!"

Adam's face was full of mockery. "I'm telling you, apologize to Vivian right now, or don't expect me to pay for you!"

"Adam, maybe we should just forget it. Emily didn't mean it. I don't want to make things difficult for you. It's okay if she doesn't apologize."

Vivian spoke up again, acting like she'd suffered a great injustice yet was being magnanimous. It was truly disgusting.

And Adam fell for it completely, looking at Vivian with sympathy. "Don't worry, I will never let anyone bully you!"

Emily took a deep breath. She really couldn't pretend not to see this anymore.

These two were just too revolting.

She felt that if she kept talking to these two people, her own IQ would be affected.

"Are you done? You two really are perfect for each other."

Emily looked at them with a half-smile. Adam frowned and questioned her, "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said. I suddenly feel that you two really are a good match—one's stupid, one's nasty! I really hope you'll pack up together and get as far away as possible, completely disappear from my sight. After all, I'm allergic to stupidity. I can't stand breathing the same air as idiots."

After Emily finished speaking, she grabbed the dress and turned to leave cleanly and decisively.

"Emily, how dare you!"

Adam was furious, glaring at Emily with cold eyes, but Emily had already walked away without any hesitation.

Vivian's eyes reddened as she pulled at Adam's arm complainingly, "Adam, why is Emily saying these things about us? Is she still angry with me? I'll go apologize to her right now and beg her not to be angry with us anymore, okay?"

"What are you going to apologize for! If anyone should apologize, it's her apologizing to you!" Adam pulled Vivian back.

Vivian watched Emily's retreating figure, her face darkening, a trace of venom flashing in her eyes. She had lost this round, but she would never let it go.