Just as Emily was about to walk out of the banquet hall, Fred ordered his men to block her path.
Emily's expression changed.
As two security guards were about to seize her, two men in black swiftly rushed in from the entrance. They skillfully subdued the security guards within seconds and respectfully made an inviting gesture to Emily.
With a slight nod, Emily walked out boldly, leaving the onlookers stunned.
In the lobby on the first floor, the assistant, Byron Hoyles, quickly opened the back seat door for her after seeing Emily safely out.
Inside the car, the atmosphere was icy. In the dim light, Ethan's deep, dark eyes were as unfathomable as the stars and the sea. After a long silence, he finally asked, "Satisfied?"
"Yes!" Emily replied honestly, then added, "Thank you!"
She was thanking him for helping her avoid a loss of reputation earlier.
But Ethan didn't acknowledge her gratitude. He chose to close his eyes, speaking as few words as possible.
"Miss Parker, where to next?" Byron asked at the right moment.
"To the City Hall!" Emily replied without hesitation.
Byron was startled as he stepped hard on the gas pedal, causing the car to lurch forward. Ethan's starry eyes opened, filled with coldness. "You want a divorce?"
"Yes, I felt sorry for you this morning for being stood up at your wedding, so I agreed to get married to you. But since you helped me out just now, we're even, so naturally, we should proceed with the divorce!" Emily replied matter-of-factly. She had long heard about the men of the Thomas family and knew that none of them were decent.
Ethan didn't say a word, and Byron didn't dare start the car. The atmosphere dropped to freezing point again.
"Get out!" Ethan ordered coldly.
Emily complied, casually opening the car door and stepping out.
To deal with someone as arrogant as Ethan Thomas, she knew that she had to play hard to get. The more he couldn't have something, the more interested he would be.
She bet that within 10 minutes, Thomas would come back for her.

After kicking Emily out of the car, the Maybach drove toward the Thomas family.
On the way, Ethan was silent for a few seconds before instructing Byron, "I want all her information within three minutes."
Three minutes later, Byron handed a tablet to Ethan and reported, "Emily Parker, the second daughter of the Parker family, was sent to the countryside at a young age. She was injured in a fire and left with facial scars. Three years ago, Miss Parker caused someone to become a vegetative state in a car accident and was imprisoned for three years. She was just released today. After her release, she encountered us, and then..."
Byron hesitated.
Ethan's brow furrowed slightly. He knew what Byron was about to say and paused for a moment. "Does she have a place to stay?"
Byron shook his head and said, "Probably not. She had a fallout with the Parker family and definitely can't go back there!"
Ethan suddenly said, "Turn back!"
Byron was momentarily surprised but quickly regained his composure. He gently turned the steering wheel, and the car headed back. He deliberately drove slowly to allow Ethan to spot Emily on the roadside.
After parting ways with Ethan, Emily deliberately walked slowly. So when the Maybach pulled up beside her again, she wasn't surprised at all.
"Get in!" The car window rolled down, revealing Ethan's handsome profile.
"Okay!" Emily quickly slipped inside without any pretense.
At this moment, Ethan turned his head, his deep gaze sweeping over her. He said in a low voice, "Woman, you're quite good at playing hard to get."
"What?" Emily was stunned and blurted out, "You figured it out?"
She was startled as she thought, ‘Has Ethan already discovered my identity?’
Seeing her startled reaction, Ethan's mouth twitched slightly. "Until I agree to the divorce, you can temporarily stay with the Thomas family."
Emily responded quickly, "Okay!"
*****
In the residential area called The Hall, the car slowly stopped in front of a traditional-style villa.
Byron got out first and helped Ethan into his wheelchair.
Seeing this, Emily hurriedly got out of the car as well. She took a deep breath as she looked at the grand garden-style building in front of her.
It was exactly her style.
"Push me inside," Ethan’s cold voice sounded.
Emily snapped back to reality and immediately went behind the wheelchair, taking Byron’s place.
She gripped the wheelchair handles and began pushing Ethan forward.
"Mr. Thomas, which floor are we going to?" Emily asked.
Ethan replied coldly, "The elevator is to the left of the living room. Go to the third floor."
Emily pushed him into his room. It was a large bedroom decorated in cool tones, without a trace of warmth.
It sent a shiver down her spine.
She carefully looked around but found no suspicious boxes or cabinets. It seemed unlikely that Ethan would keep the medical book in his bedroom.
She felt that it should be in the study.
"Mr. Thomas, what should I do now? Our marriage is just a contract. We don’t need to stay in the same room, do we?" Emily asked cautiously.
She really didn’t want to stay with him.
If Ethan were a pervert and insisted they share a room, Emily wouldn’t know what to do.
He said, "We don’t have to, there’s a vacant room next door. I’ll have someone tidy it up."
Ethan then pulled a black card from his leather bag and handed it to Emily, "Take this. It’s my secondary card. You’ve just been released from prison and probably don’t have much belongings. Go get some things, and come back tomorrow night. I need to take you to the Thomas Mansion with me."
His voice was cold, not out of concern but more as a command.
Emily wanted to refuse, after all, accepting favors would put her in debt.
She wasn’t short of money at all.
However, Ethan’s icy voice interrupted her thoughts again, "There’s a family banquet tomorrow. Don’t embarrass me."
Emily fell speechless.
*****
She then went to the room next door.
This was the room Ethan had arranged for her. It was spacious, clean, well-furnished, and had an ensuite bathroom.
She took her phone out of her old canvas bag and saw several missed calls.
She quickly called back, "Alexander, what’s up?"
Alexander Greer was a big fan of hers.
"Boss, you haven’t come home yet. I was worried you might do something crazy!" Alexander said tearfully.
Emily couldn’t help but roll her eyes, "You think I still like Patrick?"
"Yes…" Alexander replied, unafraid of her.
Emily wanted to rush over and give him a good beating.
"I’m fine. I’m doing great, and I even got married. I’m staying at my husband’s house now," Emily half-joked.
There was a brief silence before Alexander’s anguished voice came through, "Oh no! I need to find a psychologist. You’re really traumatized and even starting to hallucinate."
Emily’s mouth twitched, "I really did get married. Let’s meet at the Cloud Mall tomorrow."
She needed to buy some clothes. Although she didn’t lack them, she had to go shopping in order to not make Ethan suspicious.
The next day, Emily took a taxi to the mall. Alexander hadn’t arrived yet, so she went straight to the counter of a luxury brand, Comy.
Her new designs had just been flown into the country, and this store had just received the latest arrivals.
Walking into the store, the sales assistants were chatting and laughing, but as soon as they saw Emily, they looked at her with disdain, scorn, and even surprise.
Emily looked down and realized she was still wearing a light blue prison uniform.

At the main entrance of the Imperial Hotel, a Maybach stopped, and Emily Parker stepped out while dressed in prison clothes.
At the same time, a wedding was being held in the hotel's second-floor banquet hall. The emcee was reciting the all-too-familiar wedding vows, "Groom, do you take..."
"I do!" the groom replied firmly.
With the groom's part done, the emcee turned his attention to the bride, "Bride, do you take..."
At this point in the ceremony, the atmosphere and emotions of every one were at their peak, awaiting the bride's response to complete the moment.
However, just as the bride, Sarah Parker, was about to speak, Emily pushed open the banquet hall doors.
In a voice louder than Sarah's, she declared, "The marriage of a bitch and a scumbag is a perfect match!"
Everyone turned to the entrance upon hearing this. Emily stood there in her worn-out blue prison uniform, proudly raising her chin as she slowly walked toward the stage.
All eyes were on her.
A person asked, "Isn't that the second daughter of the Parker family, Emily? She's out of prison?"
Another person answered, "It must be. She's still wearing prison clothes!"
Someone else said, "What bad luck, what is a convict doing here? The Parker family has a very low standard!"
As Emily approached, Sarah finally snapped out of her daze and screamed dramatically, "Emily, what are you doing here?"
The groom, Patrick Black, was equally shocked, so stunned he couldn't form a complete sentence: "Emily, you... you... got out?"
Emily suppressed the sneer at the corner of her mouth, revealing a row of pearly white teeth as she smiled and said, "Yes, I just got released! I came specifically to attend the wedding of my younger sister and her husband. Isn't that touching?"
Upon hearing this, Sarah grabbed Emily's arm and whispered into her ear, "Emily, get out of here now. You're embarrassing our family! Patrick is mine now, and I advise you not to have any other ideas. If you behave yourself, I might let you off!"
Emily lowered her head, a slight smirk playing on her lips. She raised a hand and slapped Sarah across the face.
Immediately afterward, she grabbed a fistful of Sarah's hair, causing her to scream in pain, "Help, it hurts!"
Sarah felt as if her scalp was being torn off. She couldn't focus on what Emily was saying and just kept crying for help.
The audience was stunned. They thought, ‘What is going on? Do these two sisters have a deep-seated grudge?’
Fred Parker and Ramona Parker, seeing the commotion, hurriedly got up to rush over.
Patrick was about to pull Emily away when suddenly, the large screen behind them lit up. A man appeared on the screen. it was Patrick.
He said, "Emily, please save me! I hit someone with my car, and they're in a coma now. If I go to jail, my future will be ruined! Emily, please take the blame for me. You just have to go to prison for three years, and when you get out, I'll marry you. I'll take care of you for the rest of your life!"
On the screen, Patrick knelt on the ground, crying and begging Emily.
The audience was in an uproar, immediately starting to gossip.
A person said, "Who would have thought Patrick was the one who caused the car accident three years ago and Emily took the fall for him?"
Another person asked, "Is this how the Black family raises their son? It's shameless for Patrick to ask a woman to take the blame for him."
Someone else said, "Emily has had it rough. She took the blame for her fiancé, and after she gets out of prison, her fiancé is engaged to her sister."
Patrick's parents turned green with anger, stomping their feet in frustration.
Patrick glared at Emily with hatred, gritting his teeth, "You crazy, ugly woman! How dare you record it? What do you want?"
He never expected Emily to have such a trick up her sleeve.
Emily sneered, "What do I want? Three years ago, you deceived me, made me take the blame, and conspired with the Parker family to send me to prison. You even tricked me into signing a stock transfer agreement. Patrick, I will not let you off!"
Emily’s mother led Fred to build the Parker Group from scratch. As her mother's biological daughter, she was set to inherit her mother's shares after her death.
The Parker family had always coveted her shares. While she was in prison, Patrick claimed he would help her find a lawyer, appeal her case, and get her released as soon as possible.
However, mixed in with those legal documents was a stock transfer agreement.
Emily's clear eyes were now bloodshot with rage. She picked up a glass of red wine from the bar, walked up to Patrick, and poured the wine over his head.
Patrick was stunned.
He stared blankly at Emily, seeing a side of her he had never seen before, her fierce and ruthless side.
He panicked immediately
He thought, ‘With this recording, what if Emily decides to appeal? I don’t want to go to jail!’
To save himself, he started explaining to the guests, "It wasn't me! I wasn't the one who hit the person back then. It was Sarah. The Parker family made me ask Emily to take the blame!"
As soon as Patrick said this, the guests became even more uproarious.
Sarah's eyes widened, and she rushed up to grab Patrick by the collar, cursing, "Patrick, how dare you betray me! Didn't you say you would protect me for life?"
Patrick, in a rage, shouted back, "You were the perpetrator, and now that the cat’s out of the bag, I'm not going down with you. I'm not as stupid as Emily!"
Sarah was furious and raised her hand to slap him, but Patrick quickly blocked it. The two started arguing and fighting.
Having achieved her goal, Emily left gracefully.
However, having been thoroughly embarrassed, Fred would not let Emily get away, even though she was his daughter.

Just as Emily was about to walk out of the banquet hall, Fred ordered his men to block her path.
Emily's expression changed.
As two security guards were about to seize her, two men in black swiftly rushed in from the entrance. They skillfully subdued the security guards within seconds and respectfully made an inviting gesture to Emily.
With a slight nod, Emily walked out boldly, leaving the onlookers stunned.
In the lobby on the first floor, the assistant, Byron Hoyles, quickly opened the back seat door for her after seeing Emily safely out.
Inside the car, the atmosphere was icy. In the dim light, Ethan's deep, dark eyes were as unfathomable as the stars and the sea. After a long silence, he finally asked, "Satisfied?"
"Yes!" Emily replied honestly, then added, "Thank you!"
She was thanking him for helping her avoid a loss of reputation earlier.
But Ethan didn't acknowledge her gratitude. He chose to close his eyes, speaking as few words as possible.
"Miss Parker, where to ne

Chapter 2 Going to the City Hall!