Chapter 2 Shut Up

Before coming here, Emery was feeling so unsettled that during the drive, she hadn't noticed the new sticker that had appeared out of nowhere. Now that she had spotted it, her hand froze on the handle of the car door. It reminded her of a photo she had seen earlier that afternoon on Instagram, with the same angle and background. She paused before taking out her phone and scrolling through her feed until she saw Tessa's name. The post on Tessa's Instagram account was identical to what was in front of Emery. The photo was indeed taken by Tessa while she was in Kieran's car. Emery's face turned pale. Tessa Ambrose was Kieran's only publicly acknowledged ex-girlfriend. She had a bold personality and was bright and beautiful. But contrary to her proud nature, she loved adorable things, and even her profile picture was that of the Winnie-the-Pooh character. At the thought of Tessa, Emery felt a sudden jolt in her heart. When Kieran was younger, he had been wild and carefree, often surrounded by beautiful women. But after meeting Tessa, he had actually settled down and followed her around all day long like a devoted boyfriend. However, when Kieran was completely lost in his infatuation, Tessa suddenly broke up with him and left the country. She had acted so quickly that before Kieran could even process it, she had left abruptly and gone abroad. No one knew why. Emery was a bystander during those days, and she had witnessed firsthand how lost and broken Kieran had been for a long time. He was heartbroken, and he spent his days drinking heavily at bars. Emery had to clean up after his messes like a maid. Eventually, Kieran disappeared for a while. When he reappeared, he was in high spirits. Not only that, for some strange reason, and also completely out of character for Kieran, he had grabbed Emery's hand and made a promise. "Sweetheart," he had said. His mesmerizing eyes had gazed into hers as he spouted shameless sweet nothings. "From now on, let's make things work and be happy together." Emery had blushed furiously and pushed him away, not noticing the iciness in his eyes. "Who's your sweetheart?" But from that day on, Kieran seemed like a changed man, and he accepted the engagement between him and Emery. Emery couldn't quite figure out what was off. Yet, everyone, including Kieran himself, had said that it was a matter of time before they followed fate and ended up together. After all, the Carter family owed Emery. From that day on, Kieran flaunted Emery in public, but because of that, she was branded a mistress for many years. Everyone believed that Kieran had cheated and that Emery had shamelessly intervened in Kieran and Tessa's relationship, forcing Tessa to drop out of college and leave. Of course, as Kieran was the heir of a distinguished family and a popular figure in college, no one had dared to offend him. The only one who suffered was Emery, and getting bullied became her nightmare. Kieran had run into it while it was happening several times, but he had simply ignored it and walked away. He had said indifferently, "You should always look for the reason from yourself. Why won't they target anyone else?" Emery's heart had sunk upon hearing that. Because of this, Tessa's name had become a thorn lodged deep in Emery's heart, and every attempt to pull it out only made things worse. And now, that thorn had firmly grown back. Emery thought back to the photo on Instagram. She was stunned to find out that Tessa had actually returned to the country and met up with Kieran. And she had been in the very car that Emery and Kieran had just shared a passionate moment in. Emery wondered when they had met. She had tried to contact Kieran in the afternoon, but all she got was a busy signal. His secretary had told her that he was on a return flight. Emery felt a chill run down her spine as her gaze fell on the glaring sticker. "Kieran, what's this?" She stepped forward as she spoke and pointed at the yellow sticker on the side mirror. Trying her best to smile, she said bitterly, "I thought you hated these fancy things on your car." At this critical moment, Emery didn't want to make a scene, but deep down, she couldn't help but cling to a sliver of hope. She remembered when Kieran and her had first started dating. Back then, Emery had been driven by a mix of girlish innocence and possessiveness. She had followed an online trend and stuck an "Exclusively for the Girlfriend" decal on the passenger seat. Before she could snap a photo to show it off, she was promptly kicked out of the car by Kieran, whose expression had turned thunderous. As the door slammed shut, Kieran sat in the driver's seat with a chilly expression. He rolled down the window, then peeled off all the stickers in disgust and crumpled them into a ball as he asked icily, "Emery, what the hell is wrong with you?" After that, he ignored Emery, who was so frightened that tears were streaming down her face. He stepped on the accelerator and sped off without a second glance at her. Later, when Kieran was in a better mood, he had gone back to apologize. "Emmie, I just don't like it, that's all." When Kieran was willing to coax someone, he was very good at it. Emery figured that it was normal for a man to not like flashy things. But the next day, she saw that Kieran had sold the car. Now, when Emery asked him about the sticker, Kieran glanced at her indifferently before his gaze landed on the sticker. He said, "Tomorrow at 10:00 am." As he closed the car door and fastened his seatbelt, he added blandly, "Wait for me at the hospital." Emery paused for a moment and then looked in his direction. Kieran coincidentally turned around just then, and their eyes met. His eyes were calm and devoid of emotion, as though he was just simply going through the motions. "I'll visit Mrs. Young," he said. Emery's face darkened. She knew Kieran too well. The way he had suddenly changed the subject and the way he was avoiding the topic of the sticker was clearly a case of him giving her a slap and then offering her a candy. He was telling her to shut up.