Chapter 232 How Many Times She Hurt Me

Jacob paused in silence, for about a second. Jacob narrowed his gaze and glared at Emily's foster
parents, unblinking. Eventually, he sighed deeply and complied with Emily's decision.

Stunned, a shiver raced through them, as they didn't expect to see such a sudden change in Jacob's
temperament. With no other choice, he nodded at them and said, "She wants you to come in. But if you
say or do something you shouldn't, you are going to regret it.

Don't think that just because you've raised Emily, you'll have a guaranteed, all-expenses-paid-for,
future. She may have a soft corner for you, but I don't. I can still deal with the two of you, without
anybody knowing anything.

So, do not overstep your bounds and do not overstay your welcome. Most importantly, do not cross
me."

Once Jacob finished talking, Andrew and Debby cowered in terror as they looked to the ground,
yielding to his warning.

"Get inside," he said. Only with Jacob's permission did they dare to set their feet past the gate.

In the spacious living room, Emily had been waiting patiently for a while. Her sights were set on a tea
cup that one of the servants had passed to her. She sat there expressionless, and one could hardly
figure what she was thinking.

This was the first time Debby had seen Emily like this, but she was forced to swallow the pill as she
slowly approached her with Andrew at her side.

"Emily, I am here to see you. So is your father..." Debby said nervously.

Emily looked up at them, covering the sadness in her eyes. "Sit down, please," she said, emotionlessly.



Debby and Andrew sat down in front of her, cautiously and timidly.

"Jacob, I would like to have some moment with them alone. Could you please wait for me up there?"
Emily requested.

Though there was a hint of dissatisfaction under Jacob's eyes, when she looked at him, he gave into
her and agreed. "Fine, but don't waste your precious time talking to them for too long," he said.

"Don't worry. I've got this," Emily replied, and smiled at Jacob assuringly.

After Jacob left them, the depressive mood in the living room had disappeared.

Finally, Debby breathed out a sigh of relief. Nevertheless, she felt at ease in Emily's presence. "Emily,
we're here to apologize for that day... I have to admit that I acted impulsively at that moment..."

Acted impulsively at that moment?

If Jacob hadn't showed up on time, Emily would have been strangled to death by her own mother.

Emily ridiculed them, "No need to apologize. All I want to ask you is, do you really believe that I hurt
Tina on purpose?"

Angered, Debby's eyes gleamed a hideous, luminescent crimson, but she quickly concealed her
displeasure. "Of course, I believe you, but during those circumstances..." said Debby.

"Mom, don't lie to me," Emily retorted.

"No, I didn't..." Debby quibbled.

"Yes, you are," Emily asserted. Emily looked straight into her erratic eyes, as if she could see through
her soul. "I can clearly see that you were just pretending to believe me. You think that I wanted to hurt
your real daughter? Do you know how many times Tina tried to kill me, let alone hurt me?



Every time I managed to get away luckily. It's true that I hate her, but I would never stoop down to her
standards and hurt her. She has brought this upon herself," said Emily.

"You say she's hurt you many times, but here you are, alive and well," Debby replied. As she glanced
at Emily with resentment, Debby couldn't stop herself from talking back. "But look at Tina. She has lost
her beauty; she's addicted to drugs and her entire life is in ruins."

"How can you even compare to her, when you already have everything and she has nothing?" Andrew
supplemented, having pity only for his biological daughter. Emily's foster parents claimed that they
came to apologize, but neither guilt nor remorse could be sensed from their words.

The more Emily listened to their words, the more disappointed she was. "Mom, Dad, I don't want you to
forget that Tina didn't only hurt me, she also hurt you. Have you forgotten?" she asked.

Finally, a sense of regret appeared on Debby and Andrew's faces, as Emily's words reminded them of
the bitter truth. Once they remembered the humiliation they had suffered at the hands of Tina, their
faces darkened, drowning in shame and sorrow.

"But she didn't know us back then..." Debby answered, trying to justify Tina's actions.

"Yeah? Then what about her attitude, after she found out about your true identity as her biological
parents? I don't remember seeing any change in her behavior towards you even after that," said Emily.

"You don't understand. She has always been a spoiled child, and we can't blame her for her
upbringing..." Debby replied. Before Debby knew it, she had completely forgotten about the real
purpose of her visit, as her words scrambled to protect Tina, trying to find excuses for her.

"Then I guess we have nothing else to talk about," Emily said, coldly. Although, she could feel the heat
from the cup of tea in her hand, she couldn't feel any warmth in her heart.



There was no point in insisting on something that wasn't meant for her.

The cold expression on Emily's face, worried Debby, even though, she couldn't understand the reason
behind its existence. "Emily, I hope you don't take what I've said, the wrong way," she tried to redeem
herself.

Debby felt like her chance to make amends with Emily was fleeing away, disappearing quietly, getting
further out of her reach, with every passing moment.

"It's fine," Emily replied. She sounded very distant and strange, "Do you have anything else you would
like to discuss? If not, I still have got other business."

"Yes, of course we do!" Debby exclaimed. "Will you please forgive me? Can you move back and live
with us? Although Mr. Jacob is an outstanding man, it is absurd for you to live in his house like this,
especially since you two aren't married."

Emily stared at Debby, as if reflecting on her real intentions, and asked, "Come on. What do you want
really? What do you really want from me? You don't need to beat around the bush. Just get to the
point."

'You don't need to pretend to care for me any more. I am not stupid enough to fall for that again.'

"What do you mean..." she asked Emily. Debby's face reddened with shame, as she continued, "So,
what are you trying to say? After all we have raised you for more than twenty years. Do you just want to
throw us away in the streets?"

Debby knew there was no hope for them to count on Tina, let alone the Tao clan. However, since they
had raised Emily, they knew her well enough to know that she appreciated them. If they hadn't turned
on each other, they could have enjoyed a future of prosperity.



Debby also regretted for acting so impulsively back at the hospital. However, she couldn't suppress her
motherly instincts when her daughter's safety was on the line! All Debby wanted to do was apologize to
Emily and get on her good books again. She wanted Emily's forgiveness so they could put all that
drama behind. Besides, this wouldn't be the first time, they pulled something like this on Emily.

Unfortunately, they completely misjudged the situation.

Not only did Emily not accept their apology, she permanently severed all ties with them.

Such a pity, Debby and Andrew never understood what they had done to harm Emily. But for Emily, this
was all she could endure. There was no way she would go back to a life of misery and rejection again.

"If you are worried about it, please don't be. It's not a big deal," Emily assured, sarcastically. Emily took
a deep breath and continued to say, heavily, "I will keep my promise and provide you with all your
needs. I'll let you decide whether you want to settle in Jingshi City or return to Haicheng City.

Although I don't have much money, the least I can give you is a future without worrying about food or
clothing."

"Without worrying about food or clothing? Emily, you have found such a wealthy shoulder to rely on. All
you want to leave for us is a life without worrying about food or clothing? Instead of living with ease and
comfort?" Debby claimed. Since, they had crossed the point of no return, it wouldn't do them any harm
to try and reach for the sun. Debby finally took off her mask and revealed her true face to Emily.

'Emily wants to leave us now? No way!' Debby thought.

"Then what do you want?" asked Emily.

"You should at least give us a huge amount of money. Otherwise, you would be robbing us of all the
years we had spent money taking care of you," said Andrew, with greed glistening in his eyes. Once



money was brought up, Andrew couldn't resist the temptation to speak up any more.

Emily looked at them with astonishment. Their boldness amused her. "Even though Jacob is wealthy,
his money belongs to him. His money is not mine to give. How could you even want to take money
from him?" she asked.


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