Not One, But Two!

Chapter 257

"I don't have any money. I really have none." A frightened Emma closed her eyes and sniveled, her body trembling from fear.

Sasha was slightly worried when she saw how scared Emma was. "Emma, it's me."

Hearing Sasha's voice, Emma stopped crying and opened her eyes. When she saw that Sasha was indeed right in front of her, she hugged Sasha and cried in aggrievance. "Where were you? Dad was caught, you went missing, and I was tricked by Jonathan. I'm so embarrassed, and I don't even have a single dollar with me right now. Do you want me to starve to death?"

Emma forced herself to grow up by Abigail's side in the past few days. However, she could not bear it anymore and broke into tears when Sasha, the woman who loved her most, was right in front of her.

Sasha, on the other hand, felt sorry for Emma too. "Silly girl. Didn't I come back for you? Come on. Pack up and leave this place with me."

Sasha's words stunned Emma for a moment. "Leave this place? Where are we going?"

"We're leaving Harrion. It's over for the Kain Family, so why would you stay here? Come with me, and I promise you that you will continue living the lavish life as you did before." Sasha looked around as she spoke because she seemed to be worried.

It was only now that Emma realized Sasha was donned in the latest collection of luxury clothing. Even her purse was of the latest season too. The Kain Family has bankrupted. Where did she get the money to buy all these?

In the past, Emma would not have noticed such things. She trusted anything Sasha told her and she was under the illusion that she had nothing to worry about as long as Sasha was by her side. However, Emma learned a lot after spending some time with Abigail in the past few days.

Although Emma was still an idiot compared to Abigail, she had improved nonetheless. Hearing that Sasha would bring her away from Harrion, Emma felt afraid for some unknown reason.

She was afraid that her beliefs would come crumbling down, but it was something she had to ask. "What is Dad going to do if we leave? Don't you know that he was almost assassinated and unconscious right now in the hospital?"

Emma looked at Sasha, hoping to catch a glimpse of concern Sasha used to have for her father, but she saw none.

It made Emma's heart sink.

When Sasha heard that Emma was concerned about Philip, she said, "Why do you care about him? He's selfish and has always prioritized his own benefits before any other things. Have you forgotten that you were only a priced object to him? He was planning to make you marry whoever gives the most expensive betrothal gift! You don't need a father like him. Plus, he's bankrupt and was arrested, which means that his life is probably over, and he won't be able to do much even when he's out. A father like him will only be an embarrassment to you. Listen to me. After we leave this place, I'll change your last name to mine. You can never mention that you are Philip Kain's daughter in the future, do you understand?"

Even though Emma had a hunch, she still paled upon hearing everything Sasha said. She could feel that her hands and feet were getting cold as she felt terrible.

"Mom, have you ever loved Dad?"

Emma felt that Sasha was just like a stranger to her.

In the past, Sasha would get worried whenever Philip had a headache or any minor discomfort. Was that all just for show?

Why did she disappear as soon as something happened to Philip? And right now, she returned just to sever all ties with the Kain Family.

Has Sasha ever treated anyone sincerely? She could even abandon her husband, whom she had lived with for over twenty years. This made Emma question whether everything that Sasha had taught her in the past was the right thing.

Emma could not help but be reminded of Abigail.

Abigail treated Emma with a terrible attitude, but she was really teaching Emma how she could survive on her own.

It seemed like everything Emma had depended on since she was young was crashing down, and it upset her.

Sasha did not expect her daughter to ask such a stupid question at this time. "What are you talking about? What do my feelings toward him have anything to do with you leaving with me? Emma, I'm your mother. Do you think I would harm you? Now that the Kain Family has fallen, how will you live a lavish life? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have—"

"Don't even try to use me as your excuse! Even if I can't live a lavish life anymore, I can still find a job and cook by myself to survive! I just want to know if you have ever loved Dad! Are you going to take me with you and leave Dad when he's unconscious in the hospital now? If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have been able to live an extravagant life over the years. I wouldn't have had the life I had if it wasn't for him too! Yes, it is true that he has a bad temper, and he is selfish, blinded by his own interests, but

he has never abandoned us before! Even if he did treat me like I was an object on sale, he did everything within his control to ensure my safety. Mom, how could you do this to him?"

Emma had always thought that Sasha loved Philip because he had treated Abigail and Emma differently.

Toward Abigail, he was distant. He did not care about her as long as she was alive.

As for Emma, he had pampered her since she was born. Even if he only did that because he cared about the benefits that she could bring him once she was married, it was true that he provided her with a lavish life and gave her everything she wanted. Hence, Emma loved him sincerely and cared for him because he was her father.

However, she was blinded by her personal interests before this and was taught the wrong thing, which made her reckon that she had to have something that was in Philip's interest in exchange for her importance in his heart.

All in all, Emma loved Philip, and she wanted him to love and care for her in return as well. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Now that the Kain Family had bankrupted, the first thing that came to Emma's mind was to save Philip instead of running away like Sasha did. If Emma could even beg Abigail for Philip's sake, she could do anything as long as there was the slightest bit of hope for her.

She thought that Sasha had the same thoughts as her, but she did not expect that Sasha would think about leaving alone, abandoning Philip in the process.

At this moment, Emma was distressed.

On the other hand, Sasha did not expect that her daughter, whom she had pampered all her life, would question her because of Philip.

Looking at Emma, Sasha asked angrily, "Mind your manners! Have you forgotten how your dad beat me up last time?"

"That was because my dad is sick! He was in pain! He has anger issues!" This was something Emma found out by chance.

Sasha did not think that Emma would know about this as she had always hidden it from the children. Now that Emma brought the topic up, Sasha grew furious as well.

"Is it right for him to beat me up just because he has anger issues? What kind of nonsense is that? Emma, do you know that he has never loved me? Not even for a moment! If it weren't because I was pregnant back then, he wouldn't have married me! It's been so many years, and I have brought you up to be the beautiful young lady you are, but my name is still not in his household register! His wife is still Abigail's mother in the register, do you know that? You are merely an illegitimate child! If the name of Abigail's mother is still in his record, then who the hell am I to him? If he did not take me as his wife, why should I still stay by his side after he had gone bankrupt? Tell me why!"

These were the words that Sasha had buried deep in her heart for many years. If Emma did not provoke her, she never would have said it out loud.

Now that she did, it shocked Emma. "What? Mom, what are you saying?"

"What am I saying? I'm saying that I've been his mistress for so many years, and I've had enough! His wife is Adeline Mortimer while his daughter is Abigail Kain! Do you know why he named her Abigail? Because that was the name Adeline wanted for their daughter! He loves that b*tch, Adeline, all along! He had never considered acknowledging me as his wife even after I gave birth to you and even after I did so much for him for so many years! So, why should I stay by his side? Plus, do you think that he was planning to sell off all the Kain Family's assets so he could use the money to look for that b*tch? He was planning to abandon us to be with that b*tch!"

Sasha was emotional. Her breathing became uneven, and the way she acted made her appear to be a madwoman. "Did he think that I was really a fool? Did he think that he could just throw me away after using me for so many years for his own good? Since he was the one who was not loyal to our marriage, he cannot blame me for what I did. I can tell you something today. I worked together with Jonathan to destroy the Kain Family. Since I can't have him, then I will destroy him! He can dream about looking for that b*tch in his sleep!"

Her words made Emma tremble. "You worked with Jonathan? Did you really do that? Do you know what he did to me? Tell me!"

Sasha's gaze flickered, and at that moment, Emma felt that she had been pushed into an ice lake.

Suddenly, she shoved Sasha away and cried as she screamed, "Are you even my mom? I'm your daughter! You say you love me, but you joined hands with Jonathan to destroy me!"

"No! All Jonathan wants is news. I've got people around to make sure that those men wouldn't really do anything to you. I had no choice because that was the condition Jonathan had in order for us to work together. Plus, I'll bring you away from Harrion after the Kain Family has gone bankrupt. We'll go to a place where no one knows you, and there, you can start your life all over again."

Nothing hurt Emma more than hearing her own mother admitting to that.

Emma wobbled as her vision blurred and tears were soon streaming down her face. "A place no one knows me? How did you convince yourself to believe in such a naive excuse? We're living in a technological era. As long as a person has a phone and wifi, they would hear everything about me even if I were to move a million miles away! Is this the reason that you used to comfort yourself, to tell yourself that whatever you did was okay? Did you use that to make yourself believe you have no choice but to hurt your daughter? You're just lying to yourself so you wouldn't feel guilty for your actions!"

She suddenly thought about Abigail.

Abigail was the enemy whom Emma thought she had growing up. Yet, when Abigail heard that Jonathan had tarnished Emma's image, Abigail took the matter into her own hands and got back at Jonathan for doing so.

What did Abigail say back then? She said that no matter how pathetic the Kains are, other people still aren't qualified to step on us. But what did my mom, who said that she loved me, do? She joined hands with an outsider to ruin my name! So, that is why I couldn't find her after that happened. It turns out that those things only happened to me because of her and Jonathan.

Emma was heartbroken. She thought she was the happiest girl back then, but she felt the total opposite right now. She could not help but laugh and cry at the same time.

As compared to Abigail, Emma felt useless. I am merely the daughter of a mistress, but I was treated like a princess growing up, allowing me to be as arrogant and snobbish as I wanted to be. The daughter of the family's official lady head was bullied, but she took me in and protected me when I was at my lowest. As for my mother, she betrayed me because of her personal gains. How did I ever think that I was better than Abigail?