Soon after,Emily handed me a glass of warm water and gently massaged my shoulders, trying to soothe me.“Calm down,honey.It’s not a big deal.Don’t let it ruin your mood.”
I nodded,patting her hand,about to tell her our IVF embryo was ready for transfer.
Suddenly,Liam stormed out, his face dark with anger,and grabbed Emily’s arm.“Emily,why’s there no hot water in the bathroom?”

Emily glanced at me awkwardly and gently pulled away.“There should be.Try again.”
Liam wouldn’t let go,shaking her arm,ignoring me.“I can handle the cold,but my mom’s old.What if she gets sick?”
I felt nauseated and was about to tell him to leave if he didn't like the situation, but then Emily stood up. “Honey,I’ll be right back.”
Emily’s always been kind,especially to my relatives,so I wasn’t suspicious,just uneasy.I quietly followed.
Through the door crack,I saw Liam,now shirtless,was flaunting his abs as he stood uncomfortably close to Emily.“I’m so jealous of James.He dated all those girls and still landed a wife like you.”
“You don’t know,James didn’t always look like this.I told him to stop getting work done,but he wouldn’t listen…”

My blood boiled,and I was about to barge in and confront him for slandering me.
But then I saw Emily staring at Liam’s bare chest,eyes fixed.
He fiddled with the water heater,saying suggestively,“Emily,I’m not making this up.All the girls in our town said James was a player back then,you know,that kind of guy…”
“I’m just warning you to keep an eye on him,so you don’t end up clueless with a cheating husband.”

I couldn’t take it anymore and pushed the door open forcefully. Emily jumped in surprise, her eyes darting away guiltily.
Liam feigned shock.“James,what the hell?You scared me!”
Ignoring him, I went straight to their suitcase, picked it up, and threw it to the floor with a loud thud, scattering their belongings everywhere.
Pointing at the door,I roared,“No need to shower—get out!”
My aunt rushed in,furious.“James!I’m your aunt!How dare you kick me out?”
Liam,neck stiff,tried to deflect.“Mom,he’s lost it,going crazy for no reason…”
Emily stammered,“Honey,it’s getting late. Maybe we should just drop this?”
I glared at her fierecely,and she immediately fell silent.
I pointed at Liam, my voice filled with rage, “Let it go? He comes to my house and slanders me, and you expect me to just let it go?”
Liam’s eyes reddened with frustration as he stepped forward to explain, but in his haste, he accidentally hit the hot water switch, dousing Emily.
She yelped,falling into Liam’s arms.He held her tightly and insisted,“Emily,I’m telling the truth!Ask anyone in town!”
“It’s all in the past,but James is still overly sensitive about it.”
Emily glanced at me,then quickly stepped back, positioning herself behind me, and said coldly,“Just leave.”
Liam looked stunned, his voice trembling as he tried to speak,“Emily…you…”
My aunt,cursing,gathered their things and yanked Liam.“Fine,we’re going!Back in town,I’ll tell everyone how James treated us!”
After they left,I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
I’d thought that refusing Liam this time around would prevent the disasters I’d faced in my past.
But days later,while I was at the hospital discussing embryo transfer details, I ran into Emily’s HR manager, Mark.
Mark, looking utterly exhausted,complained on the phone,“I’m telling you,our CEO’s nuts!She hired some lazy secretary out of nowhere,and now I’m stuck picking up his medical report!”
I deliberately bumped into him,causing the papers to scatter everywhere.One caught my eye—Liam Carter’s name.