Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

Jason's words had this vibe, like he was about to spill some deep, dark secret.

I freaked out and shoved him away.

"Jason, let go of me."

He always seemed so polished and kind-like, super polite and gentle, never pushy.

But right now, he was a whole different person. Even drunk, Jason was strong; his arms felt like iron, and the only thing changing was his eyes.

The smell of booze filled the space between us with every breath he took, and his slightly tipsy gaze locked onto me, with all sorts of emotions swirling in his eyes.

He shook his head, his eyes darkening, like he'd made up his mind about something.

The next second, he grabbed my jaw and kissed me hard. I struggled, and he pinned my hands down with his other hand.

From the strength of his grip and the wildness of his kiss, I could feel his determination.

I remembered the first time Ethan and I hooked up on the mountaintop; I couldn't resist his strength when he was drunk.

Tears streamed down my face in panic, and I tried to kick him. But he saw it coming and pressed his leg against mine.

I finally turned my head away, and his lips brushed my ear. His breath was all over the place as he leaned against my shoulder, his hoarse and excited voice whispering in my ear.

"Emily, I love you. Give me a chance, okay?"

My mind exploded, and I struggled harder. "Jason, please, wake up. Let go of me."

I tried to appeal to his reason.

"Emily, I love you. I love you. Please don't resist me. Love me just once, okay?"

At this moment, he was numbed by alcohol, devoid of willpower, or maybe he just didn't want to hold back anymore.

Actually, Jason had confessed to me in Riverdale Falls. He'd been drinking that day too, but not as much as today. He had a small impulse that day, which I think led him to confess. He was mostly sober and rational. We even stayed in the same hotel room that night, and nothing happened between us.

He was a gentleman, and I admired him, so even though he said "I love you," it didn't change much between us.

But today, if something irreversible happened between us, everything would change completely.

Not only would things change between us, but also with Ethan.

"But I don't love you," I cried.

Jason's bitter laughter echoed in my ear.

"I know, I've always known it was one-sided. It's okay, I've gotten used to it over the years. My love for you is enough." "Jason, you."

He silenced me again with his lips.

In desperation, I bit down, drawing blood, the metallic taste spreading in my mouth.

He slowly stopped and looked at me with a smile.

"Emily, you're just like when you were a kid, sometimes like a little cat that scratches."

My bite didn't bring him back to his senses. He tore open my shirt, his burning hand touching my skin without any barrier.

I screamed in panic, "Jason!"

Suddenly, there was a loud noise at the door.

I turned and saw Lacey standing dumbfounded at the bedroom door, the noise from something she had dropped.

Jason stopped but didn't panic or look at the door, maybe knowing who it was. Lacey froze for a moment, then slowly picked up the bag from the floor, placed it on the table, and fled. Jason stared at me, his chest heaving rapidly, his eyes filled with a dreamlike confusion as if the frenzy had left him.

"What am I doing?" He slapped himself. "What am I doing?"

He collapsed heavily beside me.

I clumsily fixed my disheveled clothes and got out of bed.

Jason grabbed my hand again. "Emily, I'm sorry!"

I didn't respond.

He continued. "Emily, don't go. Let's talk calmly. I won't do anything to you again. I was wrong just now."

I didn't insist on leaving.

Although his actions today disappointed me, I wouldn't condemn him to hell for this one incident. I could only see it as him losing his mind due to alcohol. I still wanted to believe he was a gentleman. "Call Lacey. She ran out so impulsively just now, I'm worried something might happen to her," I said.

Jason stared at the ceiling, shaking his head slightly.

"She's not a fragile woman. She'll be fine."

But I was still worried. After hesitating for a while, I took out my phone and called Lacey.

I thought she wouldn't answer, but she picked up quickly.

"Lacey."

"Emily, I'm fine. By the way, the things I bought are for breakfast. You guys handle it yourselves."

Even though Lacey deliberately made her voice sound light and cheerful, I could still hear the nasal tone that came after crying."I..."

At that moment, no explanation could outweigh what she had seen with her own eyes.

"I'm driving, so I'll hang up now."

The dial tone quickly followed.

While I was on the phone, Jason had gotten up from the bed and staggered to the bathroom.

Now, he stumbled back out and collapsed onto the bed.

His face was wet, and his shirt was damp at the chest, likely from splashing cold water on his face.

Seeing the buttons he had torn off the bed, I grabbed them and stood up, saying, "I'm going back now."

As I ran to the door, I heard Jason's voice behind me. "Emily, I'm sorry."

He was very calm now.

I paused for a moment, then ran out of his room even faster. It wasn't until I got back to my own room and closed the door that I leaned against it, gasping for breath.

After calming down, I walked to my desk and opened the drawer, where I kept the sewing kit my mom used to use.

Threading the needle, I took off my shirt to sew the buttons back on.

"Emily, what's wrong?"

Sophie's voice suddenly came from behind me, startling me and causing me to prick my finger.

Holding my pricked finger, I felt a pang of guilt, as if I had been caught doing something wrong.

"My buttons fell off, so I'm sewing them back on," I said.

Sophie responded, "Well, sew them up and get some sleep."

After sewing the buttons, I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. The pain on my lips from Jason's rough kiss still felt vivid.

Touching my lips, I felt a deep sense of guilt towards Ethan.

And at that moment, I found myself desperately missing him!

I took out my phone and texted Ethan: [I miss you!]

It was late; his drinking session should be over by now, right? Maybe he was already asleep?

To my surprise, he replied quickly: [I miss you too. I'm almost at your place.]

I jumped up and ran downstairs, my heart racing like a woman in love rushing to her lover.

I saw a tall figure heading towards Broadway Alley, the cigarette in his hand glowing in the wind.

Without a word, I ran over and threw myself into his arms.

Ethan stepped back, startled by my enthusiasm. I hugged his waist tightly, pressing my face against his chest.

He held me, chuckling softly and breathing into my ear.

"One night apart and you miss me this much?"

I leaned into his embrace, not moving, and said, "Yes."

He loosened his hold on me a bit, lifting my chin to kiss me.

I guiltily turned away.

"What's wrong? Didn't you miss me?"

He turned my face back, staring at me seriously.

"Something's off. What's going on?"

Ethan's scrutinizing gaze made me nervous, but thankfully, the night concealed it.

"Nothing, it's just that I found Sophie today, and seeing her not doing well made me sad," I said, making up an excuse.

He didn't doubt me and leaned in to kiss me again. This time, I didn't resist, but my body tensed up instinctively.

"Have you been drinking?" he suddenly asked.

"I had a little bit with dinner when I was out with Dakota."

I buried myself in his chest, not wanting him to see through me. We walked out of Broadway Alley together and drove home.

The whole way, I felt guilty about my lie but also understood Ethan's frequent dilemmas and helplessness.

The next day, I bought some household items, clothes, and toys for Abby and then headed to the old house. I made sure not to arrive too early.

Passing by Jason's door, I saw it was tightly shut-he must have already gone to work.

Sophie had been diligent, cleaning the house early in the morning. I handed her the household items to place where they'd be convenient.

Abby, who had been running around, was delighted with the new toys and immediately sat on the couch to play with them.

After putting everything away, Sophie came over and taught Abby to say, "Thank you, Auntie Emily."

Abby looked at me with her big, innocent eyes and said in a sweet voice, "Thank you, Auntie Emily."

I patted Abby's head and played with her for a while. I also brought Sophie a computer, some books, and the USB drives Aurora had given me, encouraging her to study whenever she had time. Sophie accepted them with a determined look and said, "Don't worry, Emily, I won't let you down."

She placed the computer and books on the desk and then turned to me, as if she had remembered something.

"By the way, Jason came by looking for you early this morning."

I was taken aback and responded, "Oh."

"But when he saw you weren't here, he didn't say anything and left," Sophie said.

A week later, a wedding invitation arrived on my desk.