As Emma's intriguing gaze shifted towards Ryan, her tone resolute as she uttered a single word, "No."
The table fell into an eerie silence, the weight of Emma's rejection hanging heavy in the air like a suffocating blanket. It was a rare occurrence for Emma to resist her family, and the shock was palpable among them all. Ryan's and Liam's faces both darkened, their expressions a mix of disbelief and anger.
Breaking the tense stillness, Emma’s mom, Lily, let out an awkward laugh, her attempt to diffuse the tension falling flat. Her eyes darted nervously between Emma and Ryan, trying to maintain a mask of normality. "Oh, Ryan, don’t force Emma," she interjected, her voice strained. Quickly, she moved to Emma's side and linked their arms together, but Emma recoiled slightly at the touch, her discomfort clear.
"Emma, it’s not a forever thing," Lily continued, her voice stumbled, "Once your brother finishes his wedding, he will give the house back to you." Her words were colored with a forced cheerfulness that only served to underscore the underlying tension in the room, like a thin veil unable to conceal the uproar beneath.
Emma remained unmoved, her determination strengthened by the bitter memories of her past life. The same scenario had played out before, and after Liam received permission to marry Vivian, the house never returned to her hands. She refused to let history repeat itself.
Liam seemed to want to speak up, but Lily shot him a stern look, effectively silencing him.
Emma's gaze lingered on her mother, a mix of sadness and frustration clouding her eyes. According to her grandparents, Lily hadn’t always been like this. Before marrying her father, she was the designated heir to the wealth that her grandparents had gathered. She was smart, beautiful, and ambitious, with dreams of her own. Emma couldn’t imagine why her mother chose to marry her father, a man from a completely different background. But perhaps Lily had always held a weakness for the allure of Ryan's world, and when he pulled her down into it, she sank without a fight.
With a bitter smile, Emma spoke up, her voice fill with acceptance. “I don’t mind giving it to him forever…”
The darkened faces of Liam and Ryan lit up again, their expressions morphing into false smiles of approval. “You’re a good sister, Emma,” Liam said, his voice dripping with dishonesty as he placed a piece of shrimp onto Emma’s plate.
“Just buy it from me,” Emma finished her sentence, her tone firm and unwavering.
At once, Ryan slammed his utensils against the plate, the loud clang echoing through the room. “What did you say?” His face twisted with anger, his features turning an alarming shade of red. After years of being obeyed by Emma, he was not prepared to accept anything less than complete obidence.
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Emma remained calm, unfazed by Ryan's outburst. “Do you need hearing aids?” she retorted, her voice steady as she glanced at the shrimp on her plate. “I said, buy it from me if you are that desperate.” She turned her gaze back to Liam, gently removing her arms from Lily’s shocked, frozen arms. “Since you’re my brother,” she continued, a sweet smile playing on her lips, “And since I’m such a good sister, I will accept four hundred thousand instead of the market price of five hundred thousand from you.”
Lily, recovering from her shock, swung her arm at Emma’s face in a fit of rage, but Emma skillfully caught it before it made contact. “Four hundred thousand? Where will we get that kind of money?” Lily exclaimed, her voice trembling with disbelief and anger.
“That’s your problem, isn’t it?” Emma's voice dripped with coldness as she tightened her grip on Lily's arm, twisting it slightly.
“OUCH!” Lily screamed in pain, her face twisted with pain.
“Mom!” Liam rushed to her side, his expression a mix of concern and bewilderment.
Emma released her grip on Lily’s arm, her smile devoid of warmth as she turned her attention to Ryan, the silent coward man behind their family's problems. “I’ll give you guys a week. If you don’t give me the money by the end of the week, prepare to move out. There’s someone who's been eyeing this house for quite some time,” she stated with steely determination, her voice cutting through the stunned silence.
As Emma strode out of the room, leaving her family in a state of shock, their voices erupted in chaos behind her. Ryan, unable to contain his rage, hurled his glass plate against the floor with a resounding crash.
“UNGRATEFUL CHILDREN! I told you we should have aborted her,” he bellowed, his words dripping with venomous spite.
Back in her tiny apartment, Emma wasted no time. She immediately dialed up a realtor. Not to sell the mansion, but to find herself a new home. The mansion with those three people in it was obviously unlivable, and this cramped apartment was unbearable. She needed a safe place, a place away from people. After all, her mission wasn't to protect anyone but herself.
Feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over her, Emma collapsed onto her bed. Despite her weariness, there was a glimmer of happiness in her heart. She had taken her first step after being reborn, breaking free from that toxic family.
But suddenly, a pang of realization hit her. She had forgotten something important. Hastily, Emma rose from her bed and approached her drawer. Inside lay a small blackwood box, glossy and hinting at a deep red hue. With trembling hands, she opened it, revealing a delicate piece of jewelry: a purple diamond necklace.
Last life, along with the mansion, Liam had also taken this precious jewelry away from her. He had promised it would be returned, just like the house, but it never was. Emma's heart ached with the memory of that betrayal. After enduring a month of the apocalypse, Emma had finally understood the necklace's true significance. It wasn't just an accessory; it contained a hidden realm, a realm where Vivian had cruelly imprisoned Emma's most precious possessions. And in the end, they had even forced her to leave, providing her with nothing to protect herself.
Emma closed her eyes and focused on the necklace. She had witnessed Vivian's use of its powers many times before. But when she opened her eyes, nothing happened. Frustration creased her brow. How had Vivian activated it? Determined to unlock the realm within the necklace, Emma turned to the internet for answers. Her search led her to a peculiar website with a mysterious message: "Magical Necklaces Awaken with Blood." Without hesitation, Emma reached for a pin, ready to take matters into her own hands.