3: 3

3

My voice was cold as I looked at Joshua. "Joshua, there's no way my beneficiary is going to be your name. And as for this policy, I have no reason to buy it!"

I kept my eyes on him. "Of course, if you think that's a problem, then I just won't go!"

Even as I said it, I was watching how Joshua and Olivia reacted.

The moment Olivia heard me, she panicked.

"Emily, how can you not go?"

"Joshua and I already worked it all out. We're going, that's settled!"

"And we've already booked the hotel, the flights too!"

"You can't just say you won't go now. That's not right!"

She was worked up, staring at me as she spoke.

Joshua, for his part, jumped in. "That's right, Emily, you can't back out!"

"Don't worry, you don't have to sign the policy or this agreement!"

"I'll take care of it when the time comes!"

As he said it, he shot Olivia a look.

I watched the two of them there in front of me and gave a faint smile.

I knew they were scheming against me. But I wasn't afraid at all.

Grandma's voice was still in my ear.

"They're planning to go back and forge the documents. That way, once something happens to you, there'll be no one left to dispute it!"

When she said that, I froze for a moment, and then, as I looked at Joshua, my eyes were already full of disappointment.

I never thought Joshua would actually want me dead just to take the inheritance my parents left me.

"Emily, get yourself ready. We're flying out together first thing tomorrow morning!"

With that, Joshua stood and left.

Watching the two of them go, I asked softly, "Grandma, if you know it's a plot, why should I still go overseas with Joshua?"

"Because that's the only place you'll meet Liam Rowe. And only Liam can pull you out of this scheme!"

"If you stay here, Joshua will just find some other way to hurt you!"

Grandma's words made me understand: I had to make this trip abroad.

Grandma gave me a number. She said it was Liam's.

I took out my phone and dialed it.

The call connected quickly, and I heard a man's voice.

"Is this Liam?"

The instant the line went through, I spoke fast. "It's Emily!"

At that, the voice on the other end clearly paused, and then came a rush of joy.

"Emily, I finally found you!"

"After your parents passed, I wanted to find you, but by then you'd already left. I couldn't track you down!"

That was Liam on the other end.

He said so much to me, telling me how he'd missed me all these years.

And I shared everything from these years with him too.

"Liam, I'm in trouble. I need your help!"

After a long while, I finally said it to him.

Hearing me, Liam answered at once. "Tell me. Whatever the trouble is, if it's something I can do for you!"

I told him about the trouble I was in now, and he laughed and told me that the moment my plane touched down, he'd find me.

He told me not to worry about anything else.

"Emily, don't worry. I'll handle Joshua for you!"

4: 4

4

I listened to Liam and let out a breath.

We talked for hours that night. Years had passed since we'd last seen each other, and still, talking to him, there wasn't the smallest wall between us.

Early the next morning, a burst of hard knocking jolted me awake.

I opened the door to find Joshua and Olivia standing there.

“Emily, what's the matter with you?”

Joshua frowned at the sight of me. “Why aren't you up yet?”

“The flight's about to leave. Hurry up!”

I nodded, quietly packed everything, and left with him.

On the way, he and Olivia laughed and chatted the whole time and completely ignored me.

I watched Joshua and smiled.

He seemed to have forgotten that I was the one who was his girlfriend.

He'd always been close with Olivia, and I'd brought it up with him before. Back then, Joshua told me there was nothing between him and Olivia.

“Emily, Olivia and I have been friends since we were kids, that's all!”

“If there were anything between Olivia and me, I wouldn't be dating you.”

He'd been angry when he said it, and I'd believed him completely.

But looking at Joshua now, I felt certain he'd been lying to me from the very start.

On the plane, Joshua and Olivia sat together while I was stuck in the farthest corner.

“Emily, when I booked the tickets, there were only two seats left together!”

“I'm a little afraid of heights. Could you let Joshua sit with me?”

Olivia looked at me with a face full of fake helplessness.

I smiled. “Sure!”

Olivia wasn't afraid of heights at all. Her social feed was packed with photos of her out having a wild time, and plenty of them were up in the air.

I looked at her and said nothing more, just walked straight to the back.

The whole flight, I stayed on edge, not knowing what would come next.

Then a message came through on my phone.

“I've already got people in place. When you reach the airport, go with them. Don't worry, my men will stay with you the whole way!”

It was from Liam.

I read it and let out a breath.

I sent back a single “okay” and didn't reply again.

Grandma had told me Liam had a lot of connections in this place, so I didn't need to worry.

After the plane landed, I followed the two of them out of the airport. The moment we stepped outside, Joshua grabbed my arm.

“Emily, about that agreement, I really think you should sign it!”

He pulled out the agreement and held it out to me. “After all, this isn't home. What if something happens?”

I looked at Joshua and smiled. “No need, Joshua.”

“I'm not planning to hand my things over to you.”

The moment I said it, the gentle look on Joshua's face vanished.

He fixed me with an icy stare. “Emily, I gave you a chance!”

“You're the one who threw it away!”

“You'd better understand, this is a war-torn country overseas. Now that I've gotten you out here, do you really think you can get back home?”

There was a coldness on his face as he said it, and I stared back at him, just as cold.

Because I'd already seen the car that had pulled up beside me a short distance off.

The men who climbed out were clearly bodyguards. They surrounded the three of us at once, and the one in front walked straight toward me.

“Ms. Emily, Mr. Rowe is already waiting for you!”