Chapter_41
Chapter 41
Alandra smiled slyly. “You can’t just tell Abel that you’re pregnant. It won’t have the impact you want.”
“I don’t understand, Aunt Alondra,” Alana frowned, confused.
“You need to let the media find out about it. That way, it’ll have a much bigger effect!” Alandra said, her voice dripping with mischief.
Alana shook her head. “How can I do that? Abel hates media attention. I can’t involve them!” She quickly dismissed the idea.
“You fool,” Alandra scoffed. “We’ll start by targeting Emmeline. If the media picks up on something related to her, Abel won’t be able to blame us for it.”
Alana was even more confused now. “What are you talking about?”
Alandra leaned in, her expression serious. “Just trust me, and listen to what I say.”
Meanwhile, at Emmeline’s place, the children had already left for school, and Abel was busy at work.
Downstairs, Sam was taking care of the café, while Emmeline stayed in her study, researching medical topics. She needed to test the Five-Elements Needle that Robert had left for her.
As she focused intently on her work, there was a knock at the door.
“Who is it?” Emmeline called, surprised. She rarely allowed anyone to enter her study.
“Ms. Louise, it’s me,” came Benjamin’s voice from outside.
Benjamin? Emmeline quickly opened the door. She only allowed him into her study, but his visit was unusual. It must have been urgent for him to come at this time.
“What’s going on? Why the rush?” she asked as Benjamin closed the door behind him.
“This is an emergency!” Benjamin said, his voice tense.
“What’s the matter? Don’t make a big deal out of it,” Emmeline said nonchalantly.
Benjamin didn’t hesitate. “Have you checked your phone this morning?” He held it up to her face.
Emmeline moved closer, and what she saw on the screen made her eyes widen in disbelief—it was a photo of her riding her electric bicycle, on her way to buy groceries.
“What?!” She was stunned. Who had the time to take this kind of photo?
Benjamin swiped the screen, showing a photo of Emmeline in an apron, working at the café counter. Then another shot appeared…
Emmeline winced, not wanting to see any more. She already knew these scenes were taken without her knowledge. It didn’t take much to figure out what was going on, and she didn’t want to waste any more time.
“Who did this?” Emmeline asked, feeling frustrated. Something was definitely wrong.
Benjamin’s expression darkened. “That’s what I came to ask you. This is everywhere—on Struyria’s headlines! You didn’t know about this?”
Emmeline pulled out her own phone and quickly scanned the news. It was filled with articles about her—talking about how she got pregnant before marriage, tarnishing her reputation as a young lady of the Louise family. It also mentioned how she had vanished for five years, only to return to Struyria now. The media claimed she was targeting wealthy young men, warning women to keep an eye on their husbands.
“What is this? Why is this coming up again?” Benjamin frowned as he read the headlines.
“I don’t know,” Emmeline said, sighing. “I’ve been focused on my research lately, so I haven’t been keeping up with other matters.”
“I’ll look into it and have the media remove these trending searches,” Benjamin said, his protective nature kicking in. “We can’t let this continue.”
“No,” Emmeline interrupted. “We can’t involve the media or remove the trending topics. Let it be. It’ll blow over soon enough.”
Benjamin looked surprised. “But doesn’t this make you uncomfortable? Aren’t you worried about what people will think?”
Emmeline gave a small, rueful smile. “I’m just a woman selling coffee. If the trending topics suddenly disappear, people will think I have some kind of power. How would that look?” She shook her head. “Let it stay. It’ll fade away.”
Benjamin hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright then. If you say so. Just let me know if anything comes up.”
Emmeline watched him leave, her thoughts racing.
Soon, her phone rang—it was Abel. He rarely called her, so she wondered if he had seen the news. She braced herself for his reaction.
She answered, and Abel’s calm, steady voice came through. “Ignore those discussions. Don’t worry. I’ll handle everything for you.”
“But…” Emmeline paused. “Adrien should be the one handling this. He’s the one who caused the trouble five years ago, not you.”
Abel chuckled softly on the other end of the line before replying, his tone indifferent, “It’s the same.”
Emmeline was left confused, the line going silent after that. “Same? How can it be the same?” She pouted, annoyed.
Though she didn’t want to admit it, Abel had been kind to her in his own way. But the children were Adrien’s, not his—how could it possibly be the same?
