Chapter 9 Homesick Near Home

It's hard to say whether Emily felt regret or relief—either way, her mood at this moment was pretty complicated.

But wouldn't it be rude not to say hello? However, Noah didn't seem to have any intention of greeting her either, and he was so focused on his book. If she interrupted him out of the blue, it might not be appropriate.

Emily's mind wandered like this, thinking back and forth, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

When the person beside him started breathing steadily, Noah finally turned his head slightly, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

Emily looked well-behaved in her sleep, but there was also a sense of insecurity about her. Her whole body seemed slightly curled up, arms wrapped around herself, leaning against the car door.

This was an unconscious self-protective posture, as if she had been hurt before.

This alarming guess made him frown involuntarily, and he didn't even want to think about it further.

His fingers gripping the book pages unconsciously curled up, as if wanting to reach out, yet afraid of waking her from her dream.

In a daze, he even wondered if all of this was also a dream of his.

"Mr. Stone, are we heading home now or to the Hart Manor?"

Only now did Elton speak up to ask. Noah said flatly, "Take her back to the Hart Manor."

Elton nodded and looked away, though his expression seemed somewhat complicated, with a hint of hesitation.

Noah didn't care about what others thought. Of course he wanted to take her home right now, but he couldn't.

No one knew how long he had waited for this day, and precisely because of that, he had plenty of patience.

He wanted to give her the best of everything, and the most care.

Even though she was already within reach, he wouldn't overstep by even an inch, simply because she hadn't completely relaxed yet, much less given him her trust.

So he was willing to respect her safe distance.

Noah forced himself to look away and back at his book, but that page hadn't been turned since he picked it up, and the slightly curled corner seemed to be mocking something.

……

When Emily opened her eyes again, the sky outside had begun to brighten.

The visibility around them was getting better too. Emily rubbed her eyes and looked out the window, only then realizing she was already at her own doorstep.

She stared blankly out the car window, even feeling in a trance as if she were dreaming.

Maybe when the dream ended, she would be back in that quagmire, stuck deep in the mud.

"Ms. Hart, we've arrived."

Noticing she was awake, Elton reminded her with a smile.

Only then did Emily fully wake up. She awkwardly smoothed down her slightly messy hair and apologized with flustered eyes, "Sorry, sorry, I fell asleep. I'm so sorry for wasting your time."

"It's fine." Noah shook his head, his voice clear and deep.

He had a very pleasant scent about him, like a mix of mint and jasmine—fresh and elegant, refreshing and invigorating. It was the kind of scent that made people feel comfortable.

"By the way, the formal meeting is still on Thursday, is that okay?"

Emily touched the watch in her bag and quickly nodded, "Of course, no problem for me!"

She hadn't found the right opportunity to give out the gift she'd prepared, mainly because today's occasion really wasn't convenient.

"Thank you for today, Mr. Stone. I'll head back now. See you Thursday."

Emily took a deep breath, gathered her courage to thank him again, and then got out of the car with her things.

"See you Thursday." Noah nodded slightly, the corners of his mouth lifting into a barely visible smile.

As usual, Elton got out to help Emily with her luggage. After Emily took it and thanked him, she stood staring at the villa in front of her.

Suddenly she had that feeling of being timid about returning home.

"Has she gone in?" Only after Elton got back in the car did Noah in the car ask.

Elton nodded and responded, but in the end couldn't hold back and reminded him, "Mr. Stone, your book is upside down."

Noah expressionlessly closed the book, then set it aside and looked up toward the window.

The Blake Villa.

Adam's biological clock woke him up right at eight in the morning. He rubbed his temples, looked at his wrinkled clothes, and immediately frowned in displeasure.

"Why am I still on the couch? Emily didn't come home all night?"

He stood up frowning and habitually walked to the dining room, but the table wasn't set with breakfast as it usually was. Instead, it was completely empty with nothing to be seen.

The dissatisfaction in his heart gradually turned into confusion and something else. Frowning, he took out another backup phone, preparing to send Emily a message to ask.

Emily had always been obedient and sensible. Every time he came home drunk, she would take care of everything for him. Every morning she would have breakfast ready on time.

Could something have happened to her today?

Just then, a call came in. Adam's frown relaxed, and he was about to answer the phone and give Emily a good scolding, but unexpectedly the caller ID showed it was his mother, Catherine.

His slightly upturned lips instantly flattened. Adam irritably answered the phone, "Mom, what is it?"

"You finally picked up! I called your other number several times before and you never answered. What on earth are you busy with all day!"

Catherine's scolding voice sounded particularly noisy to Adam. Being bothered first thing in the morning really put him in a bad mood.

"Just get to the point. What do you want?"

He couldn't quite pinpoint the source of his irritation; he just wanted to hang up quickly and find Emily.

She actually dared to hide from him—this time he definitely wouldn't forgive her easily!

"What kind of tone is that? Can't I call you if there's nothing wrong? Adam, let me tell you, tonight is our family banquet. Remember to bring Vivian to attend. I've watched her grow up—she's so sweet and well-behaved. Only a good girl like that is worthy of you."

The rambling talk made Adam completely lose his patience. Since it was a family banquet, how could he possibly bring Vivian?

Never mind whether it was appropriate or not—Emily would definitely be angry, and who knows what trouble that would cause.

He knew her temper best. A little punishment here and there was fine, but if he pushed her too far, he'd be the one dealing with the trouble in the end, and he hated trouble most of all.

"Enough. I'll attend tonight's banquet with Emily, because she's my girlfriend."