A Call That Changed Her Entire Life

Beryl muttered, "I don't know. I just like him."

"You are still a little girl. You don't know anything about adults..." Emily whispered. She did not want to indulge Beryl's fantasies. At the same time, Emily did not take her words seriously thinking it was just her temporary infatuation. From her point of view, Beryl was a child and her interest in Jacob was just a passing fancy, soon to be forgotten after a few days. "I'll take you to wash your face and brush your teeth. Don't be unruly any more, okay?"

"Okay," Beryl replied quickly. She attempted to placate her mother's anger.

After putting Beryl to sleep, Emily tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Riddled with guilt, she gave in to the urge of calling Jacob's number, but she regretted it as soon as he answered the phone.

A jovial voice came from the other end of the phone. "Emily!"

Somehow, Emily calmed herself down and apologized, "I'm sorry for what happened today. I was so worried about Beryl that I lashed out at you without any reason. I didn't mean to do that, but please don't ever take her anywhere without my permission. You know, if something happens to Beryl, I'll go crazy."

It was quiet on the other end of the phone. Jacob did not speak, so Emily eventually assumed that he had hung up the phone. Then Jacob's voice rang through the phone again. "I know how you felt," he said in a low voice.

"Thank you for your understanding. If there is nothing else to discuss, I will hang up," she said.

"Okay," Jacob whispered. And just as she was about to hang up, he suddenly added, "Emily, I miss you very much."

Suddenly, Emily experienced a sharp pang of pain in her heart. The nausea swirled unrestrained in her stomach.

Neither of them hung up. Bereft of speech, they listened to each other's quiet, regular breathing. Moments later, their hearts beat faster and their breathing became irregular.

Finally, the silence was broken by Emily's words. "Jacob, let's forget the past.

The past is gone. It doesn't matter what happened back then and who is Beryl's father. She will always be my daughter and the most important person in my life. No one can take her place in my heart," she explained softly.

Their relationship was doomed from the start and there was no way to turn back time.

If they continued to fight their fate and persist on being with each other, it would only make them both miserable.

hung up the phone. She paused to close her eyes and take a deep breath, entombing her memories of him in thick walled ice. Her lungs struggled for breath against ribs of stone and her heart was shattered into tiny pieces.

she do the right thing? At this moment she wasn't so certain about the

……

fingers turned pale. His

the past? That's impossible. I can never forget the

Emily his heart and all his

the sweet girl from the past, who was always dependent on him, who acted like a spoiled child in front of him. He missed the sweet times they had spent together in

affection belonged to Beryl.

both stuck in the past, unable to move forward into the future with the person they were deeply in love with.

forbiddingly cruel woman.

in?" Just then a gentle voice came

replied, and he gazed unseeingly out of the window without looking back.

bright moon outside cast a pale light on Jacob's handsome face, illuminating his gloomy and desolate demeanor. As if lost in dismal thoughts, he stood

and handed it to him. "Mr. Gu, there's been a serious deterioration in your mental condition," he said.

to read

and the fear that you will lose her. If you

inaccurate. "Nonsense. Emily is

showed signs of mental instability, as if he would fly into a rage any

was still calm. He pushed his spectacles up his nose and continued, "I also found it strange when I got the test results. In the ordinary course of nature, your mental condition should have gotten better, but in fact, it's just getting worse. After a thorough analysis, I've figured out what's causing the

Jacob said,

return was unsuccessful and perhaps even counterproductive. When you discovered that Miss Bai was still alive, your heart was overwhelmed with great joy. But in addition to that, it had undesired side effect. You started to worry that you would lose her

away. So your only hope is to suppress your desires and your abnormal love..." the psychiatrist broke down the

Suddenly, Jacob went off like a time bomb. Everything went red. His

his demons back in its cave, because he knew that what

anxious. The constant fear of her disappearing as she did four years ago, haunted his thoughts even when he wasn't consciously thinking about it. In his desperation, he even wanted

he could keep her by his side forever.