Chapter 4: Embrace

At night, the entire space sank into an eerie calm and tranquility, so strange that Emilia even felt as though the events from earlier that morning had been nothing but a nightmare.

But the dull room and Ray lying asleep on the bed reminded her that it was not a dream. She had returned to New York after three years and witnessed her father and brother die before her eyes.

They were gone, and she couldn’t do anything to save them.

Emilia sat on the bed, her eyes always watching Ray. Suddenly, a tear fell from her beautiful eyes, soaking into the bed sheets.

Emilia was stunned, then quickly turned away, looking out the window. She didn’t wipe the tear, letting it continue to fall. She quietly cried, making no sound except for her trembling back.

Suddenly, a warm hand rested on her shoulder, and right after, a warm embrace enveloped her.

Emilia widened her eyes slightly, her forehead resting on the warm chest of the man. The air around her nose carried a fresh scent like the forest, mixed with the faint metallic taste of blood.

The familiar, warm embrace made Emilia’s tears flow even more, her fragile back trembling.

Matthew gently patted her back, speaking in a low voice: “Cry it out, you’ll feel better once you’ve let it all out. Don’t hold back.”

Emilia shook her head continuously, her hand clutching the front of Matthew’s shirt, quietly sobbing. Matthew could do nothing but hold her.

A night passed like this...

The morning sunlight streamed in through the window, and Emilia slightly furrowed her brow, slowly opening her eyes. What greeted her was a familiar chest that she had longed for over the years. She instinctively nuzzled into it, comfortably squinting her eyes.

Wait...

Her brain felt like it had just come back to life. Emilia widened her eyes, startled, and quickly pulled back.

However, she didn’t realize that the bed frame was behind her, and her body stumbled.

“Ah...”

Emilia shut her eyes tightly, bracing herself for the pain, but the pain never came. Matthew quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her back toward him. After some “stumbles,” Emilia finally ended up back in Matthew’s embrace.

Matthew’s low, teasing voice rang out above her head: “Why so startled? I’m not going to eat you.”

Emilia bit her lip, not saying anything, but her face couldn’t help but heat up. From this angle, Matthew could see her pale ears turning bright red, looking so beautiful.

Matthew bit his lip, feeling his teeth itch, wanting to bite her ear.

Just as he was thinking that, Emilia suddenly opened her eyes wide and sat up, like a squirrel. She looked around the room, anxiously asking, “Where’s Ray?”

Seeing how worried she was about her son, Matthew felt somewhat displeased. Though he knew Ray was her son, and the boy was quite adorable, the thought that Ray was her child with some other man stirred jealousy in Matthew's chest.

Matthew’s expression grew cold, and in a low voice, he said, “I don’t know who it was last night who held me tightly, crying and then fell into a deep sleep without a care for the world. I’ve already called the nanny to take care of Ray. He’ll be well taken care of. You should focus on yourself first. Your eyes are as swollen as two tomatoes.”

Emilia felt that Matthew was probably upset about her hugging him to sleep the whole night, but after hearing him mention her swollen eyes, she immediately widened her eyes and said, “No way!”

She quickly ran to the bathroom to check the mirror. Seeing her panicked reflection, Matthew couldn’t help but feel amused.

“Matthew, you jerk! My eyes are not swollen!” Not long after, Emilia’s angry voice came from the bathroom.

Matthew couldn’t help but smile, but his smile quickly faded when Emilia appeared.

Emilia blushed, looking at Matthew with a mix of anger and embarrassment. Matthew, however, was unafraid and said, “You can’t blame me. You’ve always cared so much about your appearance. How can you blame me for that?”

Emilia bit her lip, stomped her foot in frustration, and in Matthew’s eyes, the sight was almost comical. “Still acting the same.”

Emilia grew even more embarrassed, glaring at Matthew, frustrated but unable to do anything.

“You… you’re a bad person!” she said, before storming out of the room.

Matthew watched her retreating figure and muttered softly, “Still can’t swear properly, nothing has changed.”

Indeed, three years had passed, and Emilia seemed to still be the same Emilia. Matthew couldn’t understand who could win the heart of this girl who was clueless about love. Clearly, he had been by her side since childhood, but in the end, everything had ended with just one passionate night...

Matthew kept questioning himself, not once considering that the problem might lie within his own character. After all, he had never doubted himself.

By breakfast, Emilia’s childish anger had disappeared. When she appeared, Matthew spoke in a low voice: “Eat breakfast, we’ll go out afterward.”

Emilia didn’t know what they were going out for, but right now, she had no one else but Matthew, and she trusted him completely.

After breakfast, Matthew introduced Emilia to Ray’s nanny, who was Matthew’s distant cousin, Charlotte.

Emilia felt completely at ease leaving Ray in Charlotte’s care while she was busy.

At this point, Emilia had no other choice but to agree.

She was now sitting in the passenger seat of Matthew’s car.

Matthew drove Emilia to a casino in the heart of New York – Gavas. On the surface, it was the largest casino in New York, but in reality, it was a hub for intelligence gathering and money laundering for Matthew’s organization.

They quickly passed through the crowded crowd, with those who didn’t recognize them mindlessly continuing to enjoy themselves. Money seemed as cheap as trash here, with chips being tossed around everywhere, falling onto the floor.

Some people were shouting in celebration of a win, while others were crying and screaming for losing everything. The place was chaotic, yet maintained a strange sense of balance.

Matthew held Emilia’s hand, as if afraid she might get lost.

Emilia lowered her gaze, thinking that it had always been like this. It was always Matthew holding her hand and guiding her forward, never changing. Oh, why did the heavens allow a perfect man to be by her side all these years but not give him a clear mind and a heart full of love? Or maybe Matthew knew how to love, but he just never loved her...

Matthew led Emilia to the room at the end of the hall on the first floor. There, he activated a mechanism in the bookshelf, and a secret door immediately opened.

Matthew turned to Emilia and softly said, “Let’s go.”

As they entered, the door slammed shut behind them, the sound startling Emilia. Soon after, the warm yellow light from the wall lamps flickered on. The light seemed comforting, yet it couldn’t dispel the metallic and gunpowder scent in the air.

Emilia quickly realized where the smell was coming from, for before her stood a rack of weapons. Some were handheld fighting weapons, while others were heavy arms that could not be used by a single person.

It was clear that this was Matthew’s secret weapon storage.