His dark side

Eleanor was a bit surprised to receive her daughter-in-law that Saturday evening. Has that woman made peace with her son?

"Mom." Rhea greeted her and kissed Eleanor's hand.

"Come in, Rhea." Eleanor pushes the door wider to welcome her beloved daughter-in-law. "Em is upstairs. Taking a nap. "

Rhea paused for a moment. She never thought Emery was at home because when she peeked earlier, she did not see his car. That's why she dared to come. After all, she's there only to have a chat with Erza.

"Where's Er?" Rhea tried to act normally. She doesn't want Eleanor to know her true intention.

"She went out for a moment." Eleanor sat back on the couch, facing her laptop on the coffee table in front of the TV. A National Geography channel was on the air. She was writing a report when Rhea came knocking on the door.

No wonder Emery's car was not in sight. Maybe Erza has droves it away? Rhea thought silently. Now… what will she do while waiting for Erza to be back?

Look for Emery? Definitely not! She's not ready to face him. After the incident at her workplace last time, Emery still hasn't spoken a word to her. After all, they already live separately. So they didn't have any chance to bump into each other.

Therefore, Rhea sat quietly while looking at Eleanor's determined look while doing her work. Emery also has that look when he is concentrating on doing something. Like mother, like son!

Eleanor Harris was a woman in her 50s who looked younger than her age. She had a slim and fit body thanks to her regular yoga and jogging sessions. She had long brown hair that she usually tied in a bun or a ponytail and brown eyes that sparkled with intelligence and kindness. She had a smooth and clear complexion, with only a few wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. She was a high school principal who dressed in smart and professional outfits, such as suits, skirts, and blouses. She wore minimal makeup and jewelry, preferring to keep her look simple and elegant. Her two sons and daughter are her pride and joy. A year ago, she had married off her eldest son to Rhea to fulfill her late father's will. She had known Rhea since she was little.

Eleanor had hoped that the marriage would work out, but she soon realized that her son was unhappy and trapped in a loveless relationship. Although she felt guilty and helpless, wondering if she had made a mistake, she wouldn't let the divorce happen. She will do everything in her might to keep his son's marriage. It is hard nowadays to find a suitable woman to be her daughter-in-law. She often heard that many of her friends were having difficult relationships with their daughters-in-law. Mostly because the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law want to monopolize her son's and her husband's attention, respectively.

To avoid the same situation, she has given her son and daughter-in-law ample space and time for them to nurture their feelings. She does not force them to live at the main house even though, in the beginning, his son was willing to live there. Eleanor was happy, but when she saw Rhea's reaction at that time, she changed her mind and asked Emery to live in their own house. But they must spend their weekend here if they don't have any plans.

So she thought everything was alright until Emery showed up at her door last week. It looked like the happy marriage she had hoped for for his son, and Rhea was far from reach.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs made Rhea raises her head in that direction. Her face turned pale for a moment when she looked at Emery. What kind of disaster is this? Where could she hide?

Upon hearing the same thing, Eleanor did not turn her attention to both of them and continued with her work. She will only meddle if things get out of hand.

"Actually I want to talk to Er. It's better for me to wait for her in the garden." With long steps, Rhea hurried to the garden yard in front of the house. She was willing to sit under the pergola watching the koi fish rather than facing Emery's scary face.

Eleanor sighed deeply and looked at Rhea's back, who then disappeared behind the wall. Then she turned to Emery, who was about to enter the kitchen.

"Em." Eleanor's voice was quite loud.

"Yes ma'am?" Emery reluctantly turns his steps away from the kitchen. He knows very well what Eleanor wants him to do. Damn that woman! Why does she have to show up now? If she wants to meet Erza, just call her. No need to show her face here!

Eleanor gave Emery a meaningful stare to signal her son to follow Rhea. She wants them to make up! Emery gritted his teeth. He felt sorry for himself for coming downstairs earlier. With a heavy step, he followed Rhea to the garden yard.

Rhea, who was reading messages from Erza, was shocked when she saw Emery appear suddenly in front of her.

"I do not want to see you. But mom told me to. So... please ignore me as I will ignore you." Nonchalantly, Emery reached for the fish food packet and started to feed the fish in the decorative pond. He's killing time while waiting for Erza to return home.

Rhea was stunned by Emery's indifferent behavior. So this is Emery's dark side which she hasn't seen before. Indeed he is the devil. Doesn't even bother or care about her anymore. He must still be angry about that incident with Desmond.

"Mer... I'm sorry about Desmond." Without halting for a second, Rhea speaks up. Although Emery had warned her not to speak again about the incident, Rhea still thought she needed to clear things up with him.

"Save it, Rhea. I don't really care." Emery's reaction is cold and distant. He did not bother to look at her. Feeding the fish is more important than discussing their relationship.

"But... I do care. Forgive me for embarrassing you in front of Preston." Rhea does feel guilty. She has no intention of involving Emery. All that was a misunderstanding and Samuel's badmouth.

"You did that because you want me to let you go, right?" This time Emery raised his sharp gaze.

Rhea shook her head. "I wouldn't do something despicable just to get free from you. Everything that happened was a very unfortunate coincidence. It's true that I don't want this marriage but I'm not deliberately made the scandal just to force you to divorce me." Rhea's eyes were watery. Her heart sank.

She had hoped for so much in life, but things didn't turn out as expected. Why isn't her life as happy as the ones portrayed in TV series? Or the ones she used to read about in romance novels when she was younger? She married a wealthy and handsome man, but happiness still eludes her. What is wrong with her life?