The CEO's Empathy Pregnancy Pains

"Who do you love then? That girl Sophia? Let me tell you, as long as I'm around, she will never be my granddaughter-in-law. What's wrong with Emily? Why are you still thinking about another woman?" Mason snapped, kicking out in anger. Michael wobbled a bit but quickly knelt back down. "Grandpa, she saved my life. I owe her," Michael said firmly, bowing his head.

Seeing he couldn't change Michael's mind, Mason turned to Benjamin. "Go get the family whip."

Benjamin, sensing the gravity of the situation, tried to step in. "Mr. Mason Smith, is this really necessary? Mr. Michael Smith, just admit you were wrong," Benjamin said, giving Michael a meaningful look.

But Mason was set on teaching a lesson. He glared at Benjamin. "Are my words meaningless now?"

Benjamin didn't dare defy him. Both were stubborn, so he had no choice but to comply and walked away.

Emily was taken aback by what Michael said. 'So Sophia saved him? I had no idea. No wonder he's always liked her. So he's liked her since I first met him in high school,' she thought.

There were things she didn't know. While she was lost in thought, Benjamin returned with the whip. It was thick and looked terrifying, like one lash could tear the skin.

Emily's heart tightened, but then she thought, 'It's not me getting hit, so why should I care?'

But the sound of the whip cutting through the air was followed by a muffled cry of pain. Mason really put his strength into it, no surprise given his military background. With one lash, blood appeared on Michael's back, but he didn't utter a single word.

"Fine, you want a divorce that bad? Then I'll beat you to death. In the Smith Family, men can be widowed, not divorced." Mason raised his hand for another lash, and Michael fell to the ground. Mason seemed ready to strike again, but suddenly a small white figure rushed out to protect Michael.

She used her back to block Mason's final lash. Luckily, Mason had already reduced his strength when Emily rushed out, so the last lash wasn't too painful, but it still left a bruise on Emily.

"Emily, why are you here?" Mason immediately dropped the whip and helped Emily up, concerned.

At that moment, Michael was shocked and filled with mixed emotions. He didn't expect Emily to protect him from the whip.

Emily gasped in pain. Although there was no blood, it still hurt a lot. She regretted her impulsive decision to run out and shield him.

"Emily, did it hurt? Why did you protect him? I should have beaten him to death," Mason snorted, glaring at Michael.Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

Emily endured the pain and calmed Mason down, not giving Michael a single glance, "Grandpa, even if you beat him to death today, this marriage still needs to end. I'm sorry, grandpa, but I've already signed the divorce papers." Mason didn't expect things to have gone this far. "Emily, tell me, did this bastard threaten you? Speak up, and I'll stand up for you."

Emily forced a smile. "Grandpa, no. I know you can force him to stay married to me, but that's not what I want. If he doesn't love me, making him stay will just make us both miserable. It's better to end it now."

Mason thought about what she said and looked at Michael, still kneeling.

Mason scolded, "Look at what you've done. You wanted to get married to her, and now you want a divorce. Do you really deserve to be the head of the Smith Family? Do you even know the responsibilities that come with it? Clearly, you haven't copied the family rules enough. Go to the family chapel and copy them a hundred times. No food until you're done."

Michael was stunned by Mason's words and regretted his impulsiveness, especially hearing Emily talk so calmly about the divorce.

He felt uneasy, not knowing why he was so agitated.

"Grandpa, tomorrow is the family banquet. Michael has to host it. If he goes to copy the family rules now, he won't make it in time. Besides, he's injured," Emily softly pleaded. Michael looked up at her, surprised she was pleading for him. Mason shouted, "In his current state, he doesn't look like the head of the Smith Family. He can spend tomorrow's banquet in the family chapel."

Mason was truly angry this time and didn't let Michael off, sending him to the family chapel to kneel as punishment.

The commotion finally ended. Michael was helped to the family chapel to kneel, and Emily was sent to apply medicine by Mason. Because she was pregnant, she didn't dare to use any medicine, so she endured the pain, thinking it wouldn't be a big deal.

She had no appetite for dinner, so she just ate a few bites and returned to her room, not wanting to face Scarlett and Veda's cold stares and obvious anger. But because Mason was present, no one mentioned the afternoon's events. Sure enough, as soon as she returned to her room, Veda followed, her face full of anger. "Are you happy now? Michael got beaten by grandpa. Are you pleased with yourself?"

Emily felt nauseous, probably from the greasy food she had eaten earlier. She looked at Veda coldly, suppressing her nausea. "Yes, he wanted a divorce. He deserved to be beaten."

Veda stared at her in disbelief, as if she couldn't believe she was the same quiet and weak Emily.

"Michael should never have married you." Veda, being only eighteen, couldn't say anything too harsh, so Emily never minded her.

But now she felt she couldn't let her continue. Emily said seriously, "What right do you have to interfere in our relationship? You're young, so I won't argue with you, but watch your words." Hearing this, Veda's face turned red with anger.

"She may not have the right, but what about me? I didn't expect you to be so sharp-tongued now. I underestimated you before," Scarlett said, appearing at the door.

Veda immediately ran to Scarlett to complain, "Mom, Emily is so arrogant now. She doesn't even care about Michael. Maybe she instigated Grandpa to punish Michael." Emily looked at them coldly, feeling increasingly nauseous.

"Emily, did you instigate his grandpa to punish Michael today?" Scarlett demanded harshly.

So they came to confront her.