Chapter 85

Emmalie feigned curiosity, glancing behind Max. "I just wanted to chat with you, but I couldn't find you. I asked around and learned you were in the surveillance room. What's going on? Why did you come here suddenly?"

Max smiled warmly, maintaining his composure. "It's nothing. Someone mentioned a suspicious person at the party, so I came to check the surveillance. I didn't find anything unusual, so it was probably a false alarm." Emmalie nodded.

She lowered her head slightly, appearing embarrassed. "I've been thinking about today's events. Although Thea was wrong, I don't want her to be spoken ill of. So, I've made a plan. Tomorrow, I'll call the media and personally explain that the gift—"

Hearing that she planned to involve the media, Max's brows furrowed, then relaxed. He didn't refuse, sighing instead. "Emmalie, you're always so kind-hearted."

Seeing his agreement, Emmalie playfully clung to his arm. "Max, don't worry. I'm not a pushover who'll let Thea bully me. But I remember Mom wanted family harmony, and I want that too. If bowing my head achieves that, then I will."

Max sighed helplessly. "If only Thea were half as sensible as you, I wouldn't be so troubled."

Emmalie beamed, tilting her head playfully. "Then I'll bring the media to Thea's room tomorrow and give her a little surprise. I hope she won't be upset and will get along with us."

After Emmalie left, her assistant hesitantly stepped forward. "Mr. Rowland, is this really appropriate? Should we hold off on letting the media in?"

Max's tone turned cold. "What's inappropriate about it? Thea and Jake have been a couple for years. Everyone in our circle knows that. If the media captures something, even if Thea doesn't want it, it'll be too late. The Hendrix family will have no choice but to accept it." The assistant nodded, still uneasy. "But even if Miss Rowland marries in, the Hendrix family might resent her for this. Their relationship may not go well."

Max scoffed. "That's the consequence of her own stubbornness. I've given her plenty of chances. If she hadn't been so defiant, I wouldn't have resorted to this. Enough, let's not talk about this anymore. Just make sure someone is stationed near her room."

"Understood," the assistant replied.

At this moment, Thea's body was burning and weak. She could only watch helplessly as a dark figure approached. Although her mind was clouded, she retained some awareness. Seeing what was happening, Thea understood everything. She closed her eyes, letting tears fall. When she opened them again, her gaze was filled with cold resolve. "The Rowland family wants to sell me for their own gain, but I won't let them have their way," she vowed internally.

11:13 Mon, Oct 28

Chapter 83

Slowly, with great effort, Thea inched toward the corner until she grasped a vase. She held her breath, focusing on the approaching man. He moved leisurely, as if already knowing she was his prey. With her last bit of strength, Thea swung the vase at the man's head.

SEND GIFT

Changes Made:

• Corrected grammar and punctuation throughout.
• Removed unnecessary words and phrases.
• Improved sentence structure for clarity and flow.
• Added missing words (e.g., "with") to complete sentences.
• Standardized capitalization and punctuation.
• Clarified ambiguous phrasing.
• Removed the awkward "TM" after "false alarm".
• Corrected inconsistencies in character names (Emmalie/Emmale).
• Improved paragraph breaks for better readability.

The revised passage is significantly clearer and more professional.