A Call That Changed Her Entire Life

Chapter 346 I Love You

Jacob and Emily left the venue together, and neither of them spoke one word along the way.

When they got to the parking lot, Jacob suddenly grabbed Emily's hand and took her into his car. "Let me drive you back," he said.

"I have a car, and I can drive home by myself," Emily refused, as she still had some misgivings about Jacob's intentions.

Jacob was a dominating man and he could not tolerate being refused by his woman. He fastened the safety belt for her and said, "The road is a little rough. Sit still and don't move."

As soon the words had left his mouth, he locked the car doors.

"You..." Emily said angrily, as she struggled but could not open the car door. She slapped at the window with rage, demanding him to open the door.

Jacob sat in the driver's seat and fastened his seat belt. He looked into her eyes with tenderness and said, "I just want to spend some time with you, Emily."

Suddenly, Emily fell silent. She looked away from Jacob's eyes and wondered what to do next. She couldn't let Jacob drive her home.

For some reason, Emily didn't want him to meet Beryl. Perhaps it was because she thought that since Beryl was Jack's daughter it would be best if Jacob did not find out about her.

Beryl's safety was all that mattered and that was why Emily was afraid of Jacob seeing her.

Emily wasn't willing to leave anything to chance.

All the while, Emily did not know that Jacob, had already seen Beryl with her the other night, and figured out that Beryl was their daughter. More importantly, she did not know that Jacob was happy and excited to know that their child was still alive. If Jack had not meddled and prevented Jacob from finding out about Beryl's real identity, he would have known that Beryl was Emily's daughter a lot sooner.

When Jacob saw Beryl's picture, he remembered that she was the special, little girl he had already met twice just recently. Once, in his heart, where there was only darkness and despair, now was the light of love and hope burning bright as ever.

Nothing in the world could stop him from seeing Beryl. Regardless of whether he knew that she was his daughter or not, their paths were destined to intertwine.

Silence befell the car and made the air unbearable between them. Emily scrambled in her head, trying to come up with a suitable excuse to get away from Jacob, but her mind was all over the place. Stressed, a sudden fit of dizziness overwhelmed her. "Jacob, please slow down. Don't drive so fast, " she insisted.

"Okay," Jacob replied, and cast a short glance at her. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

Emily sensed an oddity in Jacob's facial expression. Perhaps, it was the short flashes of light on his face from the cars that passed by. "What's wrong, are you feeling okay?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"It's nothing," Jacob replied eagerly, as he raised his lips and smiled. But before long, his smile faded away and was replaced by a serious expression.

Emily realized that something was wrong, and her face contorted with confusion. "Jacob, why are you still speeding up?" she asked.

Jacob slammed his foot on the brakes, but the speed of his car remained unchanged. "The brakes have failed," he said nervously.

"What?" Emily cried out. Fear had gripped her from all sides. She was too frightened to look out of the car window. Panic-stricken, she whimpered, "What are we going to do now? I don't want to die…" The thought of Beryl waiting for her at home flashed through her mind.

"Everything will be okay, Emily. I will protect you," Jacob said, as he gripped the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles turned pale. By then, Jacob deeply regretted having brought Emily along in his car. It wouldn't take a world-class detective to figure out that someone had deliberately tampered with his brakes. Unfortunately, it was too late for regrets. Getting Emily out of danger was his first and foremost priority.

"Jacob…" Emily muttered, trembling in her seat. Outside the window, the street lights whirled past in a flash as the car swerved through. Emily had gone completely numb with spine-gripping fear. The car weaved through dangerously, speeding like a bullet, causing Emily's heart to pound inside her chest like a jackhammer.

"Don't be afraid, just calm down," Jacob tried to comfort Emily. Jacob pressed the button and unlocked all the doors. Although, he did not show any signs of fear on his face, his heart was telling a different story. "Check the door and try to open it," he ordered.

Had he been alone in the car, he wouldn't have cared about death. However, he had already lost Emily once, he could no longer endure the sadness of losing her all over again!

In the grip of silent panic, Emily took a deep breath and opened her door. The night wind whirred in and the next thing she heard was Jacob's hoarse voice, "There are speed bumps coming up in the next crossing. Focus your attention, and when we pass though there, you'll have to jump out of the car. Remember to cover your head with your hands," Jacob said, sounding serious as ever.

Puzzled, Emily looked at his face and asked, "What about you? I can't leave you here alone…"

Jacob interrupted, "Get ready!"

"What about you? Answer my question!" Emily roared out in an agitated voice.

Jacob was taken by surprise for a second. With a soothing smile on his face, he comforted, "I will be okay. I can get out of the car when the remaining gasoline in the car's tank runs out."

Emily bit her lips as she wasn't convinced, but she did not dare to ask him. What would he do if the car had an accident before the gasoline ran out.... How could he keep himself safe?

Tires squealing, the car was completely out of control, and its back end skidded out wildly around the corners. Emily could never leave him like that and flee to safety.

"Emily, get ready right away!" Jacob reminded her again, as his expression became anxious.

"Jump with me," Emily said firmly.

"Emily, we are running out of time, don't be silly!" Jacob urged.

"We must jump together then!" she said. Emily looked him straight in the eye, and said in a loud and assertive tone, "Just jump with me!"

Sweats drained from Jacob's face, as his sweaty palms desperately struggled to steer the wheel. "Emily..." he begged her to jump.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear your excuses!" Emily shrieked, and her voice was hoarse from screaming.

While they were talking, the car drove past the speed bumps and they had missed the best time to jump out of the car. By then, Emily no longer feared what was going to happen. She looked at Jacob

with determination and said, "There must be other speed bumps ahead. We can jump together then."

"Okay. Let's jump together," Jacob replied, holding on to Emily's hand tightly.

Their hearts thudded furiously, as the car skidded through whipping branches and all sort of things on its way. "It will be all right," she whispered not only to Jacob, but also to herself.

But, life was full of unpleasant surprises.

Suddenly, Jacob realized that not only did the brakes fail, but the steering wheel had followed suit!

Jacob had never been so afraid in his life. Death was not something he feared. The thought of losing Emily was a punishment far worse than Death or a lifetime in Hell, to Jacob.

"Emily!"

Just as the car was about to run off the railings, Emily heard a desperate cry. It was like an animal that had lost its loved ones, shrill and penetrating, almost perforating her eardrums!

Everything happened so quickly that they could not think of a way to escape. Their eyes were wide, letting in every ounce of fading light and their hearts beat so fast, it was as if they would pop out of their chest at any moment.

At the last second, Jacob jammed on the brakes and took Emily into his arms.

"I love you!"

These three words could be the sweetest thing a person could tell another, but now, it was his final words of farewell.

Trapped in a steel prison, Emily and Jacob both closed their eyes and awaited their fate. But nothing happened. The sound of brakes screeching filled their surprised ears.

Right before the car was about to drive off the railings of the bridge, the braking system suddenly returned to normal. By some miracle, the car stopped just in time in front of the railings. Under the bridge, was a cold, deep river, its current deceptively swift and strong. If they had fallen into the river, no one would have been able to find their bodies from their watery grave.

Overwhelmed with fear, she was knocked unconscious. She buried her face in Jacob's arms, hiding away from the world, unable to see or hear anything. She leaned on Jacob, motionlessly, like a statue.

Jacob squinted one eye open and then fluttered both eyes wide open, shaking in utter disbelief. Stunned, he sat there in awe, unable to understand just how they had managed to narrowly escape with their lives. Soon, he pulled himself together and carried Emily out of the car. When he laid her down on a safe spot, he patted Emily on the face.

"Emily, open your eyes. We are safe now..." he said.

Emily did not respond. She stayed nestled in his loving arms, eyelids sewn shut. It was as if the color had disappeared from her face, and something had sucked the life out of her. C0ntent © 2024 (N/ô)velDrama.Org.

Jacob pressed his lips to hers, and quickly administered CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. A few minutes later, Emily began to cough violently, gasping for air. Eventually, her breathing stabilized and she calmed herself down, but she was still suffering from shock and PTSD.

"We... We..." she stammered.

"We've made it alive. There's no need to be afraid anymore..." Jacob comforted.

"Jacob…"

"I'm here," Jacob replied gently. He wrapped his loving arms around her shaking body, giving her a sense of security within his embrace.

Emily finally came back to her senses as the tears started materializing in her eyes. A few minutes ago, she was sure that she was going to die, even though she didn't want to die at all. She hadn't settled old scores yet, and most importantly, she had a daughter and the family members of the Lu clan she didn't want to leave behind...

She didn't want... Jacob to die.

Fortunately, they were both alive.