Emma lowered her head. Her voice carried some choking. "I just... just want to see. And, Jeffrey... do you still blame me for insisting on breaking up to study abroad back then..."
"How could I blame you?" Jeffrey's voice stayed gentle. "Emma, I never blamed you. You had your dreams. All I could do was support you. I didn't want to tie you to me. That would be too selfish..."
Emma's tears fell instantly. She parted her lips slightly to say something.
In this tender moment, Alex hurried over.
He did not even notice Emma's presence. He leaned to Jeffrey's ear and said. "Mr. Moss, bad news! Miss Fuller came earlier. She was in a cab..."
Jeffrey's gentle expression froze on his face. His heart skipped a hard beat!
Amelia came?
She saw?
How much did she hear?
Huge panic enveloped Jeffrey instantly.
He stood up abruptly. He had no time to explain to the confused Emma. He just tossed Alex a quick "Take care of Emma" and ran fast toward the parking lot.
Jeffrey floored the gas pedal all the way back to the villa.
He parked and rushed inside. The living room lights blazed.
Jeffrey's rapid breathing choked when he saw the scene.
Amelia stood in the center of the living room. Two open suitcases sat at her feet. Inside were decorations they had picked together before.
Jeffrey suppressed the questions in his mind and spoke gently. "Amelia, what are you doing?"
Amelia looked up at the sound. Her face showed nothing unusual. She answered. "You're back? Nothing much. These things feel old. They look off. With the wedding coming soon, clear out the old stuff. Replace with new ones."
Jeffrey's heart, lodged in his throat, settled back.
He sighed in relief and walked over. He naturally wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "So that's it. You scared me. By the way, Alex called earlier. He thought he saw you at the hospital?"
Amelia gently pulled from his embrace. She looked at him and explained. "Yeah, I meant to find Alex to learn about surgery risks. But right after arriving, I felt we already bothered him today. Going again so soon for personal matters seemed rude. And honestly, I'm still a bit scared..."
This explanation made perfect sense. It fully erased Jeffrey's doubts.
He reached to pull Amelia close again. His voice filled with tenderness. "Baby, you're always so understanding. Don't worry. I'll find the best doctors in the world. The best meds. You won't have any issues. Once everything ends, we'll have the grandest wedding! Whatever you want, I'll give you!"
He whispered sweet words in her ear. But to Amelia, they were cream coated in crap.
A lick tasted sweet cream at first. But later came endless disgust.
She opened her phone and looked at a ticket to Arton seven days later.
Departure time counted down second by second.
The day after takeoff was the wedding date she had already canceled.
