Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 488

Theodore glanced at Anna, then burst out laughing. Anna didn’t seem bothered at all; in fact, she was smiling.

Renee was completely baffled. *What is wrong with these two? Why are they laughing?*

She shot Emma a look that screamed, *Do you have any idea what’s going on?*

Emma just shrugged helplessly.

That dinner at the Pearsons’ house revealed a lot to Emma. It turned out that whenever Theodore was back in the country, he would stay with them, bringing Anna along. He had his own place to sleep, but he spent all his waking hours at their home. The two elders treated him with such warmth and affection, it felt as though he were their own son.

Watching him interact so naturally and intimately with them, Emma had a strange thought: this man was good at everything except being a husband. He was a good boss, a good friend, a good brother, and a good surrogate son. He just wasn’t a good husband.

Of course, watching him with Anna, she amended the thought. Perhaps he just wasn’t a good husband *to her*.

The main purpose of the visit had been to check on the Pearsons, and seeing them doing so much better put her mind at ease.

As they were leaving, Theodore offered to give her and Renee a ride.

“No, thank you,” Emma said coolly.

She used to hate having bodyguards follow her, feeling it cramped her freedom. But after the kidnapping, and with that lunatic Cecilia Chambers still at large, she never went out without them now. They hadn't come into the Pearsons' house, of course; she’d given them money to get dinner nearby and they were already waiting in the car.

As Theodore walked her to the gate, she couldn’t help but remark, “You’re a strange one. Sometimes I think you’re worse than an animal, and other times you almost seem human.”

Without waiting for a reply, she took Renee’s arm and walked away. The bodyguards her brother had hired opened the car door for them.

Theodore watched her leave, a bitter smile on his face.

“Worse than an animal?” Anna repeated, mimicking the phrase with a foreign accent. “What does that mean?”

Theodore’s smile turned even more pained. “It’s not a nice thing to say. You don’t need to learn it.”

“Where were you?” he asked.

Emma told him the truth. “We went to visit Bart’s parents.”

Renee nudged Emma, her eyes twinkling. “Ooh, the sickly-sweet smell of new love.”

Emma smiled, but she didn't feel it was sickly sweet. Lately, she’d been feeling a little suffocated, and she had a sinking feeling she knew what was coming next.

Sure enough, Sebastian’s tone turned sour. “He’s gone, and you’re still fussing over his parents.”