Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

Oliver's brow furrowed, and he bit his lower lip, looking super conflicted. I totally got why.

Leonard had split them up, so of course, Oliver hated him. But Leonard was Bella's dad, and if something happened to him, Bella would be crushed. Oliver couldn't stand seeing Bella sad.

So, when he sensed something was off with Leonard, he followed him. Good thing he did, 'cause he pulled Leonard back from the edge.

Oliver wanted to help Leonard but didn't feel like he had the right to.

Oliver left first, and Ethan and I followed shortly after.

The only fix for Leonard's problem now was money.

We drove home, and I whipped up a couple of dishes real quick.

We sat at the dining table, but I wasn't really hungry.

Bella was my best friend and had always been there for me. Now that her family was in such a mess, I naturally wanted to help.

I kept thinking about how to bring it up with Ethan.

He was the best person to help Bella.

"Emily," Ethan suddenly called out.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at him.

When he called me like that, it usually meant he had something serious to say.

"This time, I can't help your friend," he said bluntly.

I felt a wave of disappointment but also got it.

Fixing Leonard's problem would take a ton of money.

Helping was a favor; not helping was understandable.

I lowered my head, poking at my food, and mumbled, "I understand."

Ethan put down his fork and patiently explained, "His company's problems are huge. Throwing money at it won't fix them. I could buy them out, but I don't want to. After all, I'm a businessman, and it wouldn't make any sense. The only reason to do it would be to make you feel better."

Ethan had made his point, so I couldn't push him.

I forced a smile. "It's okay; I get it. Lots of people face tough times every day; we can't help everyone."

"Also, this is a good chance to repair their father-daughter relationship."

Ethan's words suddenly made sense to me.

If Zachary solved Leonard's big problem this time, Leonard might genuinely accept this son-in-law from the bottom of his heart.

The next day, I went to the hospital to see Bella. She seemed unfazed, still as carefree as ever.

I told her Ethan might not be able to help, and she nonchalantly said, "It's okay. Zachary said he'd handle it, and I believe him."

I actually understood Bella pretty well; she didn't care about her dad's money and company.

Bella craved real family love more than anything material.

Now that her dad had lost everything overnight, it might actually be a relief for her. Because now, she was all he had.

Maybe this disaster could turn into a blessing and help them fix their father-daughter relationship.

When I got home, Ethan mentioned they had booked a hotel for New Year's Eve dinner.

I wasn't thrilled about it because Victor never liked me, and I didn't want to make things awkward.

I kept my head down and stayed quiet. Ethan pulled me close, letting me lean on his shoulder.

"I know you don't want to go, and honestly, neither do I. We'll have dinner at home."

I sat up straight and looked at him. "I don't want to go because I'm not welcome, and I don't want to ruin everyone's New Year's Eve. But you should go; after all, he's your dad. It's a family reunion dinner, and if you don't go, Victor will only hate me more."

Ethan looked at me for a moment, then gently hugged me, rubbing his cheek against my earlobe.

"Honey, you're so understanding. I suddenly feel like the luckiest person in the world."

I smiled knowingly, feeling a warm flutter in my heart.

After a while, he let go of me.

"My dad also personally invited Grandpa for the reunion dinner, but Grandpa didn't want to come. How about we pick a day to go to Greenfield Village and have a reunion dinner with Grandpa?" Thinking of Grandpa's kind face, I felt much better and nodded happily. "Okay."

Aurora's beauty center started its holiday on New Year's Eve, and she gave everyone a New Year's gift.

Everyone was packing up, ready to go home and celebrate.

I was fiddling with a mannequin, going over what Aurora had taught us.

"Emily, why aren't you packing up? It's the holiday, hurry up and go home for New Year's Eve," Nora called out.

I looked up and gave her a faint smile. "I'm not in a hurry; you guys go ahead."

Honestly, I hadn't felt the New Year's Eve vibe for years. Since my dad's incident, New Year had lost its charm for me.

Compared to the liveliness of other families, I felt more cold, lonely, and sad.

Even after marrying Arthur, New Year didn't feel particularly exciting.

Nora, my middle school classmate, knew about my family situation and probably realized something, sticking out her tongue. "Emily, I'm sorry!"

I smiled and shook my head. "It's okay."

"By the way, don't you have a tall, handsome husband? Hurry home; maybe he's already made dinner."

I didn't say much, just nodded. "Okay."

Aurora's beauty center was usually buzzing with activity. But today, because of the holiday, it emptied out fast. I sat down to review, thinking about Aurora.

If I could be as successful as her, I'd feel way more confident at the Windsor family reunion. Maybe then, Victor would treat me better. I was really working hard towards this.

I had been hunched over for so long that when I tried to straighten up, my neck was stiff.

Rubbing my sore neck, I grabbed my bag and was about to leave when I noticed Aurora's office light was still on.

The office door was open, and I saw Aurora lying in her chair, gasping for breath.

I rushed in. "Aurora, what's wrong? Where's your medicine?"

Aurora weakly raised her hand and pointed to the desk.

I opened the drawer, found the medicine, and helped Aurora take it with some water.

After a few minutes, she felt better, though still pale.

"Emily, why haven't you left yet?" Aurora asked weakly.

I said, "I'm not in a hurry. I haven't fully grasped what you taught us today, so I stayed a bit longer."

Aurora took a few more sips of water and then let out a heavy sigh. "Emily, God won't let down someone who works hard enough. Keep it up."

I asked, "Aurora, why haven't you gone home?"

Aurora smiled. "I'm different from you all. There's no one waiting for me at home, so it doesn't matter where I stay. New Year's Eve is no different from any other day."

I wanted to ask if she had any family, but I didn't. It felt impolite to pry, and everyone had their own life. Just because Aurora looked glamorous didn't mean she hadn't faced hardships. Often, those experiences led to success. She might have had a painful past, so why bring it up?

"You should go home; your husband is waiting for you," Aurora said gently.

"But..." I was worried about Aurora's health.

She seemed to understand my concern and smiled. "Don't worry. I have my medicine. As long as I take it on time, it won't be fatal."

She insisted I leave first, so I eventually left.

Downstairs, Faris had called several times, but I hadn't answered.

He was very persistent.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and picked it up. "What do you want?"

The voice on the other end was different from his usual flippant tone.

"Emily, will you come to my grandma's house for the reunion dinner? She has already accepted you as her granddaughter-in-law."

"No," I said firmly and hung up.

This time, I wasn't going to give Faris a chance to threaten me. I was tired of being manipulated by him.

Fortunately, he didn't call back.

Knowing Ethan wasn't home, going back alone felt pretty lonely. But with every family reuniting for the New Year, I didn't know where else to go. Standing by the roadside, I thought of Benjamin. He had been alone for years, and New Year's Eve must be lonely for him too.

So, I bought some things and took a cab to his house.

After getting out of the cab, I walked into the alley and saw someone else walking towards me.

The figure looked familiar, and as I got closer, I realized it was Jason.

"Emily, you're not celebrating New Year's Eve?" Jason seemed just as surprised to see me.

I shook my head, glanced at the fruit basket in his hand, and asked with a faint smile, "Are you also going to Mr. Thomas's house?"

He looked a bit uneasy and nodded. "Yeah."

I led the way since he didn't know Benjamin's exact house.

When Lacey opened the door, she looked surprised to see us. "You two?"

I quickly explained, "I ran into him at the alley entrance."

Lacey's surprise was brief, and she soon smiled. "Come in."

She then called inside, "Dad, look who's here?"

Benjamin, who was busy in the kitchen with an apron on, came out and was pleasantly surprised to see me. "Emily?"

"I'm here to mooch a meal," I said with a smile.

Benjamin wiped his hands on his apron and then looked at Jason.

Lacey linked her arm with Jason's and introduced, "Dad, this is my boyfriend, Jason."

I was stunned and looked at Jason.

That night at the villa, Lacey said she would try hard. Was it really that easy for a girl to pursue a guy? Did she succeed already?

Jason put down the fruit basket and politely introduced himself to Benjamin. "Hello, sir, I'm Jason."

Benjamin looked Jason up and down, and his expression showed he was quite pleased.

A handsome, polite man like Jason seemed to fit Benjamin's ideal.

Benjamin nodded with a smile. "Alright, everyone sit down. Dinner will be ready soon. We're having a Crawfish Boil tonight. How does that sound?"

We all thought it sounded great.

So Benjamin went back to the kitchen to continue cooking. Feeling in the way, I went to the kitchen to help Benjamin. But he wouldn't let me, so I just kept him company.

Once the Crawfish Boil was ready, Benjamin moved the pot to a small table with an induction cooker in the living room.

I brought out the vegetables. He even heated a few bottles of beer, clearly in a good mood, relieved about Lacey's boyfriend.

As we ate, the snow outside got heavier, and the wind blew it into the house.

Sitting closest to the window, I got up to close it and saw a figure standing outside.