"Emma, put that down," Vanessa carefully urged, taking a cautious step forward. Her voice trembled with apprehension.
"You are a lowly druggie," Emma mocked, her eyes holding digust. "Have seen yourself desperately beg and pant like a pathetic dog when they cut off your supply? They do that to you in the rehab, right?"
Liam's expression darkened, but the tremble in his knees betrayed his fear.
Emma's head then tilted, pondering. "Come on, beg like that now, and I will let go of you?"
"E-Emma, let go of that knife when I am being nice. If my dad sees this, do you think we can get away?" Liam shaky stutter came out, cracking under the pressure.
Emma pulled her lips into a thin line thoughtfully. "Sure, I will let go of you."
Liam's eyes brightened up for a second, hope flickering through them.
But before he could feel relieved, Emma added, "If you get down on your knees and kowtow thrice to me."
"What?" Liam was in disbelief; his face was flushed with humiliation. "Don't go too far."
The blade of the knife pressed deeper.
Liam's legs quivered in fear, and Emma kicked on his knees with her heels. The young man's knees buckled backwards, losing strength in them, as he fell down with a strangled cry. Emma bent down, maintaining the blade right at his neck.
She raised one of her brows, urging him to carry on.
Although Liam felt indigniant and humiliated, there was nothing he could do. The dangerous look in Emma's eyes showed how she would lose her control if he dared to defy.
"Vanessa, start the recording," Emma calmly said. "We wouldn't want this glorious moment to m=be missed."
Vanessa showed hesitation. "This doesn't seem so good, Emma. Can you please stop?"
"Nessa, you're supposed to be my obedient dog." Her gaze hardened. "you know what happens to dogs that doesn't listen."
Vanessa bit down on her lower lip before taking out her phone and started recording the video.
Liam suddenly lunged, fury boiling over
"YOU! MOTHER-"
Before the words could land, the sharp edge of the blade delicately slid across his neck.
Horrified gasps spread through the room, and everyone stared at Emma in fear.
All of their reactions strangely amused Emma. None of these were her original ideas. She had learned these from them in her previous life.
Why were they acting as though she was the monster now?
Her grip around the knife tightened.
Liam's body instinctively reacted before his mind could catch up, and without another second's delay, he crashed his forehead against the floor, obeying her words. He lifted his head and repeated his actions.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
Each thud was louder than the previous.
"What a loser," Emma muttered with contempt.
Before she could carry on torturing him, the door was pushed open.
Ellie was the first one to rush in. Worry was written all over her face as she came over to grab Emma's hands. The knife slid down from her hand, and Liam grabbed his bleeding neck, immediately scurrying away next away from Emma.
"Are you alright? I heard you were attacked," Ellie expressed in panic. "Which bastard dares to attack you!? Let me take care of him!"
Ellie turned back to glare at the gathered youths only to find their pale faces. There was Liam standing with his trembling legs, unable to get over his fear yet. His injured bleeding neck was obvious.
"You took care of them it seems," Ellie quietly added.
"What happened here?" James Gu asked, appearing with her father and rest of the parents.
"Emma, are you hurt?" asked Charles Lin urgently, crossing the room to his daughter.
Emma shook her head.
"Uncle Gu, Liam here humiliated my boyfriend. When I tried to confront him about it, he attacked me with a broken bottle. Fortunately, Daniel hadn't stepped in to protect me, I might have been the one hospitalized. I can see that he is not in the clear mind. I don't know what junk he is snorting this time, but I hope you can take care of it," Emma calmly informed.
"You, Psychopath, it was you who tried to kill me! Everyone here saw it! They can testify!" Liam yelled in aggravation, pointing his finger towards Emma.
Emma didn't flinch.
"The rest here is also responsible for hurting my boyfriend. No one here will escape accountability," Emma vocalised.
No matter how much he spoiled Liam, James wasn't blind to Liam's nature. He heard about how Daniel was sent to the hospital earlier and knew he was to blame.
Heavy disappointment crossed through his eyes, especially when he saw the signs of intoxication- red eyes, slurred words, and unstable demeanor. Simply from his state, he could see he wasn't mentally stable or else, no matter how arrogant Liam was, he wouldn't dare be this reckless.
"Liam, I expected better from you," James expressed. Then, focusing his gaze on Emma, he continued, "I will have my son apologize to Daniel. Blame my incompetency for not being able to educate him well."
Emma knew about James partiality towards Liam, understanding he was doing this to protect him.
Charles then chided, "No matter how brave you are, how can you handle this on your own? You should have called for help. What if you got injured?"
Emma lowered her head and obediently admitted in a soft voice: "I worried you, Dad. I am sorry."
Then, her father's anger filled eyes directed towards Liam, pinning him down. "If you are not fond of my daughter, stay away from her path. For the sake of James, I am sparing you this time, but next time, prison wouldn't be the worst case scenario."
The corner of lips curled up to form a smile.
The familiar feeling of her father protecting her brought her warmth.
After everything was handled, Emma felt an inexplicable sense of exhuastion hit her. A sharp pain travelled through her head, followed by a sense of dizziness. The next instant, her consciousness blurred, and her body lost its balance, falling towards the ground.
"Emma!"