Chapter 26

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Richard kept staring at Emily, but his mind was far away.

'Richard? Richard? Is everything okay?' Emily asked, waving her hand in front of him.

Richard snapped out of his thoughts and said, 'This all makes sense. That woman and Robert planned the murder together somehow. She must be the one we saw in the footage. But from what I know, Charles had already left her and their son before returning to you. Why would she want him killed if they weren't even together anymore?'

'Maybe for vengeance,' Emily said softly.

'Hmm. I'll talk about it with the officer tomorrow morning, and we can look into Robert and that woman in detail,' Richard replied.

'I'll make coffee for you. Can you give this milk to the kids? They're in the playroom,' Emily said, standing up.

'Yeah, sure,' Richard replied with a smile. It felt as if they were very comfortable in each other's company.

Hayden and Lily were with Mrs. Swan in the playroom. Richard gave them their mugs of chocolate milk. As he was leaving, Mrs. Swan called him, 'Master Richard, may I have a word with you?'

Richard looked at her, puzzled. The kids looked at them as well. 'Yes, please,' Richard said.

'This house has never been so complete before. Neither has your life. With Emily and Lily here, this family seems more complete and happy. Please make sure you don't let them leave now. Don't let go of any chance if you get one,' Mrs. Swan said warmly.

Richard was speechless. He looked from Mrs. Swan to Hayden to Lily, who were all looking at him with happy and expectant eyes.

When Richard didn't reply, Hayden said, 'Dad, it would be so nice to have them here forever.'

Mrs. Swan continued, 'You need someone by your side, and so does Emily. You will both make excellent partners for each other.'

'And my mom deserves to be loved by someone like you, Mr. Sterling. I know you can take care of her,' Lily added.

They all went silent, looking at Richard. Richard smiled and said, 'I'll see into it.' Then he left the room. Closing the door behind him, he stood there thinking.

He knew he loved Emily and wanted to take care of her for the rest of their lives. But he was scared—of marriage and commitment. He knew Emily was different from Vanessa, but his experience with marriage had left a big scar on his heart. He wanted to stay close to Emily. He wanted to love her. But he didn't know how Emily would take all this. If she wasn't into this relationship as he had imagined it to be, then it would break him even more.

'Emily had her share of disappointments from her married life as well. Will she be up for another commitment? What if I do not come up to her expectations? What if I don't turn out to be how she has expected me to be?' Richard thought to himself.

Emily came upstairs with Richard's mug of coffee. Seeing him stand outside the playroom zoned out, she got puzzled.

'Are you okay? I have been waiting downstairs to give you this coffee,' Emily said, coming to stand in front of him.

Richard shook off his thoughts and said, 'Yes, sorry, I was just thinking about something.' He took the coffee mug from Emily's hand, adding, 'Thank you for the coffee.'

Emily smiled at him. 'I'll see the kids,' she said, entering the playroom.

Richard, however, went to his room, still lost in his thoughts. The aroma of the coffee did little to calm his swirling mind.

The next morning, Richard left for the courthouse early, skipping breakfast and avoiding any interactions. 

Jake was already there. While they waited for their hearing, Richard called the hospital.

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