Master of his heart (Max and Brielle) novel Chapter 890

Emma thought Dustin would come back, maybe in a day, maybe in a week. After getting everything settled with her mother, she noticed a pile of firewood in the yard, chopped by Dustin himself.

She was swamped with endless chores daily, with gathering herbs, drying them, and selling them taking priority. When Dustin felt a bit better, he had offered to help by chopping some wood, carrying the axe with determination to ease her burden. But since he was still recovering, the task took him the entire morning.

As Emma stoked the fire to cook dinner, she couldn't quite place the emotion stirring inside her. The sound of coughing from inside the house snapped her out of it, and she pushed aside her thoughts; after all, he would come back eventually.

However, come evening, a neighbor popped over with news that someone had visited her home yesterday, seemingly a relative of Dustin's.

"They looked pretty wealthy, waited here all evening, but you were off to town selling your herbs, weren't you?" the neighbor jeered.

"I reckon they're just some rich folks passing through. Don't get your hopes up; someone like that would never fancy you."

"I bet he's got a fiancée back in the city."

The neighbor had always enjoyed belittling Emma, and now with the dashing man gone, they relished tossing these barbs her way. Clutching the axe, Emma split several logs with a ferocity that sent shivers through the neighbor, who then awkwardly excused themselves and left.

"Emma, cough, cough."