Chapter 18 I Won’t Answer
Lucky Draw
When Emily walked into the living room, Henry and Linda were sitting on the sofa with grim expressions, the air thick with tension.
A tea set sat on the table, the water long boiled, but no one had poured a cup.
Seeing her, Henry straightened up a little. “Emily, come sit. Make Dad some tea, it’s been ages since I’ve had your brew.”
Before she married Ethan, Henry loved the tea Emily made for him. He always pulled her aside and shared
stories about business matters.
Emily had no interest in the family business back then. She barely paid attention and just humored her father with a few half–hearted responses.
But thinking about it now, she felt guilty.
The Wilsons had given her nothing, yet she’d groveled to please them. Meanwhile, the parents who had raised and 1/8 educated her… she had abandoned them, playing lapdog
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Emily nodded, walking over to the table. She sat down and began brewing tea, her movements smooth and practiced.
Henry and Linda watched in silence.
Emily could feel their hesitation, the words hanging unspoken in the air. She didn’t ask, just waited.
When the tea was ready, Emily handed Henry a cup. “Dad, your tea.”
Linda, however, avoided tea at night–it kept her awake.
Before Emily’s marriage, the Carters had been a happy family.
Ryan, tough on the outside but soft–hearted, had always told Emily she deserved someone who would cherish her, someone who would hold her as if she were precious.
And after Chloe married Ryan, Emily gained another person who treated her with the same care.
But instead of that, she married Ethan, a man who didn’t Poke her.
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Lucky Dram
When Emily insisted on marrying into the Wilson family. Linda had cried herself to sleep for months. She hadn’t rested properly in what felt like forever.
Henry took the cup but didn’t drink.
He stared at Emily for a long time before speaking. “Emily, the divorce is fine, but that child… You nearly died having her. You have to fight for custody.
“Your mother and I talked. Bring her back to Carter Manor. We’ll raise her. She’s your daughter, why should the Wilsons get to keep her?”
Emily’s heart ached.
How could she not want her own child?
“Dad, it’s not that I don’t want her,” she said, her voice tight. “Sophie doesn’t want to come with me.”
Henry’s jaw tightened. “She’s a girl. Girls belong with their mothers. If she were a boy, I wouldn’t push.
“Don’t the Wilsons want a son anyway? Can you really fee at ease leaving Sophie with them?”
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Emily understood his concern. He was afraid the Wilsons would mistreat Sophia.
The Wilsons were terrible, but Ethan was different. He was Sophia’s father after all.
“Dad, Ethan won’t hurt her,” she said quietly.
Henry’s temper flared. “Do you trust him more than us? Don’t you know who would treat Sophie better?”
Emily resented Ethan for how he’d treated her, but he’d always been good to Sophie.
She couldn’t answer this question directly.
“Dad…” she pleaded, helpless.
Henry’s hand trembled around the cup. He turned away, his eyes glistening.
When he spoke again, his voice shook. “At least let us see her. I haven’t laid eyes on my granddaughter since she was born. She’s your flesh and blood, and… I’m still her grandfather.”
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After marrying Ethan, she’d rarely come home. Afraid the Carters wouldn’t accept Sophia, or that Ethan would object, she’d kept Sophia at Joy Gardens.
She never imagined they would love Sophia so much.
Well, of course they would. They are always so nice and so good to me.
But Sophia was already distant from her. Emily wasn’t sure she could bring her home.
Linda patted Henry’s back, her voice thick with tears. “Your father hasn’t slept in days. Since Sophie was born, he’s been saving toys, clothes… waiting for the day you’d bring her home.
“We support the divorce, but the child is yours. It’s not like we can’t afford to raise her. Why give her to them?”
She wiped her eyes. “Even if you don’t want custody… let her know her grandparents. We just want to see her
once.”
Emily stared at the table, her gaze unfocused.
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She could give up the marriage, the title, the life, but she couldn’t deny her parents this.
They just wanted to meet their granddaughter.
******
Ten o’clock at night.
Emily stepped out of the shower, wrapped in a bathrobe, and stood in front of the vanity, lost in thought.
After a long pause, she pulled out her phone and called Ethan.
He usually ignored her calls, but tonight he picked up on the first ring.
“What is it?” His voice, once the one she’d waited for eagerly, still sent a faint jolt through her.
But there was no joy now. Just cold detachment.
“Is Sophie there?” She sounded like she was discussing a business deal with a stranger.
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Emily didn’t beat around the bush. “Put her on. I need to talk to her.”
Then she heard him call out, “Sophie, Mom’s on the phone, Come here,”
They must have been close by. Before long, a resentful voice came through the line. “No! I won’t answer!”
Sophia was determined to hold her ground.
Her teacher had told her that when you did something wrong, you had to apologize to earn a gold star. Emily hadn’t apologized to Nancy, so in Sophia’s eyes, she didn’t deserve to talk to her.
Emily didn’t know what Sophia was thinking, and she didn’t want to guess.
If she didn’t want to talk, Emily wouldn’t force her.
Just as she was about to hang up, Ethan’s voice dropped, sharp and warning. “Sophia Wilson.”
Using her full name meant he was angry.
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said sorry to Nancy. I’m not talking to her!”
Emily frowned, confused. “What does that mean?”
Lucky Draw
Ethan’s gaze left Sophia, his voice cold over the line. “You tell me.”
Before Emily could respond, she heard Nancy’s soft voice in the background. “Sophie, bath time. You have school
tomorrow.”
Emily couldn’t listen anymore. She hung up the phone.
She stumbled, grabbing the vanity to steady herself.
Sophia’s words cut like a knife.
What had she done to make her own daughter see her as
the villain?
And Ethan and Nancy… they couldn’t even wait for the divorce to be final. They were already living together like a happy family.
In Nancy’s bed, Ethan probably put in all the effort he
