Chapter 220 Love and A Cough Cannot Be Hid

"Oh, Jacob! You are outrageous!" Emily yelled at Jacob, as the memories of the other day when Jacob
made love to her so hard that she needed to beg him to stop before her brain could start working again.
"Why is it so difficult for you to be polite? Should I remind you that you're the one who's been lying to
me all this time?" she added.

"Just as I've said, I lied to you for your own good," said Jacob, as he kissed Emily's neck and chin.

Emily had run out of patience; she covered Jacob's mouth with her hand and stressed, "It's not good to
lie to someone, even if you think you're doing it for their benefit."

"So what do you want me to do?" asked Jacob.

"First of all, stop kissing me..." replied Emily.

Before heeding Emily's request, Jacob turned his head away from her hand and pecked Emily's tender
lips one more time.

"You don't want me to be a member of Tao family, do you?" asked Emily.

"What is your decision? Do you want to go back to them?" Jacob replied with a question of his own.

Emily pondered for a long while before she came to the conclusion that Jacob was making a lot of
sense. Since everyone in the Tao family considered Tina as the apple of their eyes, it would be
impossible for Emily to be a part of that family, especially since she did not get along with Tina at all.
Moreover, Emily believed that Bess and Abbott only wished to take her back home because they
wanted to make up for their mistakes, so they could absolve themselves of their guilt.

Taking everything into consideration, Emily felt that if she had to choose between the Tao family and
Debby, she would be more inclined to choose the latter.



Emily shook her head slowly, and then firmly uttered, "I know nothing about them, just as they know
nothing about me. I just want to be by your side."

Satisfied by Emily's confession, Jacob's eyes lit up and he smiled from ear to ear. "You've made a wise
decision," he said.

"But," Emily thought deeply, before she decided to add, "Since Mrs. Bess asked me to see her, maybe I
should meet her and tell her my decision in person. What do you think?"

Jacob's face suddenly darkened at Emily's words, as he said angrily, "Are you serious?"

Detecting hints of suspicion in his eyes, Emily, exasperated, punched him gently on the chest and
asked, "Why are you looking at me like that? Don't you trust me?"

"Yes, I trust you," Jacob hastened to explain.

After a long pause, he nodded and added, "Well. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to tell her your
decision in person."

'And I hope that, after telling Bess about your decision, you will get rid of all those guys from Tao family
and never let them back into your life again, ' Jacob prayed in his mind.

Meanwhile, at a five-star hotel in Jingshi City.

Tina had smashed everything she could get her hands on after she read the declaration about Emily's
parentage in the newspapers. Her blood boiled, as the fire in her veins grew wilder every second she
thought of Emily.

Tina remembered the nightmare she had the night before, where Emily had transformed from an ugly
duckling into a beautiful swan; dressed in a flamboyant gown and with delicate makeup on, Emily, who
looked just like a princess, belittled Tina in front of her peers.



Squinting at Tina with an arrogant attitude, Emily said, "Tina, you've always humiliated me in public,
because I came from a poor family. And I remember that you used to call me a fool, a country bumpkin,
a trash bag... But did you ever expect that you would be the one born out of a poor family?

Did the truth surprise you? Are you scared? You said that I was born into poverty, but now it turns out
that you were born into poverty. Oh, how times have changed. Hahahahah!" Emily laughed hysterically.

And then she added, "You are not the daughter to Bess and Abbott. They just mistook you as their
daughter. You took everything that should have been given to me and you enjoyed everything you
didn't even deserve! And now, I will take it all back!"

"Shut up! You bitch! Shut up!" Tina woke up screaming that night, with a hunger for Emily's blood.

When Tina reached for the vase on the bedside table and threw it at the TV, Mark sighed before he
stepped forward and embraced her into his arms, trying to comfort her. "I will not allow Emily to be one
of us. You have my word. Don't worry," Mark assured, in a soft tone.

Tina, unconvinced by Mark, shoved him aside, and stared at him with a blank look on her face. "Worry?
I'm not worried about anything! I just feel wronged. It's not fair! How dramatic my life is! How could that
bitch become the daughter of my parents overnight? She should just live in a house surrounded by
trash and be looked down upon by everyone else!" said Tina.

As a girl of aristocracy, Tina could not stand the truth a minute longer. After all, the mere thought of
Debby and Andrew disgusted her. As if things weren't bad enough, she came to learn that the couple,
who were as poor as church mouses, were actually her birth parents.

'Emily was the perfect daughter for them! Only that bitch deserves such disgusting parents!' Tina
cursed in her heart.



Mark looked at Tina silently, feeling helpless, because he knew exactly how Tina felt, but there was
nothing he could do to take her pain away. In fact, when he learned the truth, he tried his best to keep it
from Tina. Unfortunately, things hadn't gone the way he would have liked and now it was beyond his
control.

"Mark," Tina uttered, looking directly into Mark's eyes affectionately, "Why are you still here with me,
after you've learned about my secret? I am not your sister and you don't owe me anything, you know."

Tina was curious, because it seemed like, Mark cared about her even more than her birth parents.

"Tina, do you remember what I have told you? You are my only sister," Mark answered, in a tender
voice.

"Sister? Do you take me for a fool?" Squinting her eyes, Tina showed a weird expression, as she said,
"Mark, you're in with love me, aren't you?"

In a split second, every nerve in Mark's body and brain was electrified, as every word Tina uttered
caused his skin to tingle in a frenzy of static.

"... How did you know..." he forced a few words out, but failed to finish the sentence.

'I suppose, the old saying is true, ' he thought, '"Love and a cough cannot be hid".'

"So you admit that you have feelings for me?" asked Tina, showing a bright smile all of a sudden.

Tina's bright smile, gave Mark a sense of hope he never thought he could have. His body went on a
transitory paralysis, as a soft and hesitant smile appeared on his face. He said, "Yes, but I think it's
probably a good news that we are not siblings."



"Is that all you can think about?" Tina asked. Her smile made Mark's heart vibrate with excitement,
rendering his mind incapable of processing the pleasure fast enough. The seed of love buried deep in
his heart started growing and bearing fruit.

Mark wanted to break free, since he was unable to keep his feelings for Tina bottled in his heart any
longer.

He could almost tell that Tina was showing her affection for him too.

The next moment, however, the smile on Tina's face turned into ridicule and disgust, as she said, "It's
such a pity that I don't love you at all. I have no feelings for you."

Tina's words brought Mark down from paradise to hell in a split second, as his face darkened, and he
asked, "So... Do you still love Jacob?"

Startled, Tina suddenly realized that she had not thought of Jacob in a long time. At least, not in the the
same way she used to.

'Do I love Jacob now? No! He's hurt my feelings too many times for me to love him again. I hate him
just as much as I hate Emily! Those two ruined my life, and there is no possibility for me to forgive
them!' Tina cursed.

However, instead of speaking her mind, she yelled at Mark, "It's none of you business! I will love
anyone else, except you! I used to regard you as my dear brother. But you make me sick by saying that
you have feelings for me! Get lost! Leave me alone!"

Tina fashioned her words into tiny little thorns and pierced Mark's heart, cutting the love from the
sapling and shrivelling the bud of love that had not yet bloomed in his heart.


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