Tamed By Love: Mr. Ryan's Mute Bride

Emma Bennett stared at the clock on the wall. It was already midnight, and the meal on the table had gone cold again.

She took the dishes into the kitchen and reheated them.

At ten to one in the morning, the door turned, and she turned her head to look. Ethan Blackwood was back.

He had his suit jacket hanging over his arm, and there was a bit of drunkenness on his handsome face. He walked towards Emma Bennett.

Emma Bennett stood up and poured him a bowl of hangover soup, but he knocked it over as soon as she handed it to him.

Then, he grasped her jaw and kissed her on the lips.

The smell of alcohol rushed over, mixed with the scent of a woman's perfume. Emma Bennett pushed him twice but couldn't move him. Instead, he picked her up horizontally and rushed straight to the bedroom.

The man turned her face towards him. His deep eyes stared at her, and his fingers gently stroked her face. "Why don't you say anything?"

Emma Bennett stared straight at him. He knew she couldn't speak.

She was mute.

But he would always ask her this question tirelessly.

Sometimes, Emma Bennett couldn't tell whether he was humiliating her or sighing.

She grasped the hand on her face, tilted her head, and rubbed it against the man's palm, just like a kitten trying to please its owner.

The man's dark pupils darkened, as if a surging undercurrent was about to burst out. He grasped her hand instead and kissed her on the lips again.

When Emma Bennett opened her eyes, it was already dawn outside. The bed was empty, but there was the sound of water coming from the bathroom.

She picked up the clothes on the floor and put them on. When she was putting on the last piece, the mobile phone on the bedside table rang. It was Ethan Blackwood's.

Emma Bennett glanced at the blurry figure visible through the bathroom door and then at the screen of the mobile phone.

Sophia Hart: Are you back?

Sophia Hart: You always do this. Do you have to go to that mute to annoy and disgust me?

Emma Bennett's eyelashes trembled.

The bathroom door opened, and Ethan Blackwood came out wrapped in a bath towel.

There was still steam rising from his body. His wet hair hung down, and the tips of his hair were still dripping water, which dropped onto his chest one by one and gathered into a water line along the lines of his abdominal muscles.

Emma Bennett withdrew her gaze and lowered her head to button up her clothes.

Ethan Blackwood came to the bed, picked up his mobile phone, and then glanced at Emma Bennett, who was dressing with her head down.

"Did you see it?"

Emma Bennett pulled a smile at the corner of her mouth and shook her head.

On their wedding day, he told her: "You should always be obedient. Don't love me. We'll be like before. I'll take care of you for a lifetime as your brother."

He said not to love him.

So what if she saw it?

He wouldn't care. He didn't care whether she would be jealous, sad, or hurt.

People who aren't cared about don't have the right to be angry.

On the contrary, her love and her emotions would only be a burden to him.

She was afraid that he would even trample on her heart.

Emma Bennett was afraid that he... would abandon her.

She gestured in sign language: I'll go make breakfast.

Emma Bennett dragged her aching body, got up, walked out of the bedroom, and went to the kitchen.

Ethan Blackwood stared at her thin back and then looked at his mobile phone. He deleted the messages sent by Sophia Hart.

Emma Bennett prepared breakfast and brought it to the table. She served Ethan Blackwood a bowl of porridge and placed it in his seat.

After a while, Ethan Blackwood was neatly dressed and came to the dining table.

The room was very quiet. Ethan Blackwood used to say that talking to her was like talking to himself.

Over time, Ethan Blackwood hardly talked to her anymore. For a moment, only the sound of bowls and spoons colliding could be heard on the table.

"Come back to the Lu Residence with me later." Ethan Blackwood suddenly spoke.

Emma Bennett's movement paused, and she placed the spoon on the edge of the bowl.

Emma Bennett: Okay.

Ethan Blackwood glanced at her. There was always that unchanging meekness on her face.

She didn't make a fuss, wasn't impetuous, and could still greet people with a smile even after suffering great grievances.

Suddenly, Ethan Blackwood felt that the porridge in the bowl was tasteless.

He threw the spoon back into the bowl, making a crisp collision sound. It wasn't loud, but it was very abrupt in the quiet dining room.

Emma Bennett trembled slightly when she saw this. She thought he was angry and quickly gestured in sign language: Is the porridge not to your taste?

Ethan Blackwood tugged at the collar of his shirt, looking rather impatient. "No, eat quickly."

Since he didn't eat, Emma Bennett didn't eat either. She stood up and began to clear the dishes.

Ethan Blackwood watched her coldly and didn't say anything.

When she had finished clearing up and came out, then went upstairs to change her clothes, Ethan Blackwood was already waiting for her in the car.

The car was driving on the road, and the scenery on both sides quickly receded. Emma Bennett turned her head and looked at the scenery passing by outside.

Emma Bennett came to The Ethan Blackwood Family when she was very young. It was William Harrison who took her back. William Harrison doted on her and treated her like his own granddaughter.

Before William Harrison passed away, he always worried about Emma Bennett.

Three years ago, when William Harrison was on his deathbed, he forced Ethan Blackwood to marry her before he could close his eyes in peace.

William Harrison said that with her situation, he wouldn't be at ease if she married someone else. Only if she married Ethan Blackwood could he rest in peace.

At that time, Ethan Blackwood had a girlfriend.

It was Sophia Hart.

Perhaps because of growing up together, or perhaps because of the promise to William Harrison, Ethan Blackwood was forced to marry her. He didn't treat her coldly or deliberately make things difficult for her.

But that was all. He didn't love her.

He would never call her Emma Bennett tenderly again.

They became the most familiar strangers.

The Ethan Blackwood Family was very lively today because Ethan Blackwood's sister had given birth to a son, and today was the 100-day-old banquet for the baby.

Emma Bennett followed behind Ethan Blackwood, walked through the crowded front yard, and came to the main hall.

In the main hall, Margaret Carter was holding her nephew and teasing him, with a big smile on her face. But when she caught sight of Emma Bennett, her face immediately darkened.

Emma Bennett greeted her, but she acted as if she hadn't seen it and just talked to her daughter on her own.

"People always say that a nephew looks like his uncle. Don't mention it. This little guy looks exactly like Ethan Blackwood when he was a child."

Chloe Carter touched the baby's cheek and smiled. "You all say he looks like Big Brother. I don't see it at all."

Margaret Carter held the child's little hand and shook it, smiling kindly. "Of course you can't see it. When Ethan Blackwood was this age, you hadn't been born yet."

Emma Bennett, who was being ignored, wasn't annoyed. She just stood quietly aside.

"Mom." Ethan Blackwood called out to her.

Margaret Carter then turned around and replied indifferently, "Here? What are you standing there for? Sit down."

Chloe Carter glanced at Emma Bennett. As soon as Ethan Blackwood sat down, she suddenly said, "Brother, you two should hurry up. When are you going to have another baby?"

Before Ethan Blackwood could speak, Margaret Carter snorted coldly: "Don't encourage him. Having a mute in the family is embarrassing enough. If we have another little mute, how can our The Ethan Blackwood Family show its face?"

Hearing these words, Ethan Blackwood looked at Emma Bennett beside him. She had her head down, and it was impossible to see the emotions on her face.

Chloe Carter brought up the topic of having a child at this time, and of course, she didn't have good intentions.

Everyone knew that Emma Bennett had been pregnant last year. Margaret Carter was afraid that she would give birth to a little mute, so she forced her to have an abortion.

After Ethan Blackwood found out, he didn't say anything, which made Emma Bennett, who already had little sense of presence, even less important in The Ethan Blackwood Family.

If that child had been born, it would be almost half a year old by now.

Except for William Harrison, no one in The Ethan Blackwood Family liked Emma Bennett.

Chloe Carter hated her, even more than Margaret Carter did, ever since they were very young.

Emma Bennett came to The Ethan Blackwood Family when she was five years old. Chloe Carter bullied her because she couldn't speak. She locked Emma Bennett in the storage room, burned her hair with a lighter, and once pushed her down from the stairs. Ethan Blackwood saw it.

Ethan Blackwood scolded Chloe Carter. She already hated that Grandpa favored Emma Bennett, and now even her beloved big brother scolded her because of the mute. How could she not hate?

At that time, Emma Bennett didn't know sign language, couldn't write, and didn't know how to complain. Later, Chloe Carter bullied her even more wantonly. Whenever she was a little unhappy, she would take it out on Emma Bennett.

Now that they had all grown up, Chloe Carter wouldn't use such low-level means anymore. Her usual trick now was to hurt people's feelings deeply.

"Muteness is a recessive inheritance. As long as regular check-ups are done, the chance of inheritance isn't that high." Chloe Carter said.

Margaret Carter pinched her temples and said somewhat headache-y, "All right, what's the point of talking about this? I was also doing it for Emma Bennett's good. If there was something wrong with the child, wouldn't she be the one suffering? Ethan Blackwood, don't you think so?"

Ethan Blackwood stood up. "Chloe Carter, we've left the gifts here. We're leaving now."

Chloe Carter got a bit anxious. She also stood up and said, "Brother, why are you in such a hurry? There are still people who haven't arrived yet. At least have a meal before you leave."

"No, I still have things to do at the company." Ethan Blackwood took Emma Bennett's hand and left The Ethan Blackwood Family without looking back.

Chloe Carter was even angrier in her heart. She didn't even understand what Ethan Blackwood meant. In the past, it was okay that he protected the mute.

Later, although he had a girlfriend, after being forced to marry the mute, not only did he not make things difficult for her, but he also moved out for her.

If you say he liked Emma Bennett, he didn't say anything when the child was aborted, and he was still entangled with that woman outside.

If you say he didn't like Emma Bennett, he protected her everywhere and didn't divorce her.

Ethan Blackwood got back into the car and lit a cigarette. It could be seen that he was a bit irritable.

Emma Bennett sat quietly in the seat, waiting for him to finish smoking.

After finishing smoking, he turned to look at Emma Bennett.

She still had that obedient appearance, with a faint smile on the corner of her mouth, just like a servant waiting for the master's instructions.

Ethan Blackwood felt even more choked up.

He couldn't say why. Clearly, she was no different from before.

"What do you think about what Chloe Carter said just now?"

Emma Bennett: What?

Ethan Blackwood grasped the steering wheel and stared straight at her. "Having a baby."

He clearly saw that the smile on Emma Bennett's mouth froze. It took her several tries to restore the smiling look.

She gestured: Mother is right. Let's not have a baby.

From childhood to adulthood, Emma Bennett had understood a truth. Everything she had expected would eventually shatter like broken glass.

The more beautiful the fantasy, the more painful it would be when it broke.

Just like when she was a child and wanted a birthday cake. Grandpa bought one for her. When she was full of joy and ready to make a wish, Chloe Carter pushed her head into the cake.

She lifted her head in a mess, with cake all over her face. There were people's laughter all around. They thought it was lively.

Emma Bennett could only secretly stick out her tongue and lick the cake at the corner of her mouth. It wasn't as delicious as she had imagined.

They thought the cake wasn't for eating, just like Ethan Blackwood didn't really want to have a baby with her.

"We didn't take precautions last night, did we?"

Emma Bennett: I took the pill.

Ethan Blackwood looked at her gesturing fingers. Her fingers were probably because of frequent movement, long and slender. When she gestured in sign language, her fingers seemed to be dancing, which was especially beautiful.

Ethan Blackwood looked at her for a moment, withdrew his gaze, started the car, and said, "That's good."

Emma Bennett lowered her head. He was still testing her.

He was just like Margaret Carter, afraid of being embarrassed if a little mute was born.

She was glad that she had restrained that momentary throbbing and hadn't made her love known to the public.

He told her not to love him, but he didn't know that every time he lent a helping hand to Emma Bennett, he had planted the seeds of love in her heart.

Sometimes, Emma Bennett thought that it would be better if he bullied her like those people. In that case, only her body would hurt, and her heart wouldn't.

Ethan Blackwood drove her to the coffee shop where she worked. As soon as the car stopped at the entrance, he found Sophia Hart standing there.

Sophia Hart always had a way to find him.

Sophia Hart was very beautiful, with long legs and curly hair spread out behind her head. Wherever she stood, she would attract others' attention.

She watched Ethan Blackwood and Emma Bennett get out of the car, and her anger reached its peak in an instant. There was fury dancing in her eyes.

Those who didn't know would think that she was the legitimate wife.

"Why are you here?" Ethan Blackwood wasn't surprised to see her and didn't show any guilt either.

Obviously, this kind of scene wasn't the first time.