Breaking out of the Cocoon

After three years abroad, Emma Fowler returned to her homeland and found herself sent to Nathan Tate's bed as a courtesan.

Their night of passion revealed that Nathan didn't recognize her at all.

He became utterly captivated by this new version of her. Emma chose not to reveal her true identity and instead sent him a discreet message, asking if the marriage promise he once made still held.

"I've always seen you as a sister," he replied coldly. His words stung her heart. "Those promises were just to ease your mind while you were getting treatment abroad. We're done. Don't contact me again."

Emma quietly turned off her phone, severing a decade of longing.

Yet on the day she planned to leave, Nathan's eyes reddened as he knelt before her, pleading softly. "Emma... please, don't leave me. You said you'd marry me..."

She shook off his grasp without hesitation. "You said I was just a sister to you."

...

The day Emma returned, a storm soaked her through as she arrived at the hotel where Nathan was celebrating his birthday.

Her drenched clothes did nothing to stop Nathan from devouring her completely.

On the large bed, their bodies intertwined. Her shy whispers teased his ears.

The intensity made Emma's brows furrow as she pressed her hands against his chest, pleading brokenly. "Please... not so rough..."

But Nathan, like a wild stallion, couldn't hold back.

When she felt close to fainting, he finally stopped, his gaze roaming over her with near greed.

He grabbed his phone and stepped into the bathroom. Emma struggled to sit up on the bed.

"Where did you find this one? I'm beyond satisfied. Not only is she untouched, her face and figure are flawless!" His voice, laced with amusement, mingled with the sound of the shower, piercing her ears.

Shock hit Emma like lightning.

She and Nathan had been childhood friends, knowing each other since elementary school. She had loved him for nearly a decade.

But three years had passed since they last saw each other. She had transformed from an obese girl to a slim girl.

During their intimacy, she thought for a moment he recognized her.

Though her heart ached, she convinced herself it was normal for him not to know her.

She debated confessing her identity when their eyes met.

Unlike her flustered state, Nathan seemed calm. He sat beside her, gently stroking her hair with a tenderness she had never seen in his eyes.

"What's your name?"

Emma stared at his face, momentarily lost, before deciding not to reveal the truth.

"Snow," she said.

Pushing aside her tangled emotions, she wanted to enter his world as someone new, to see what his life had become.

Nathan made a call to have clothes delivered for her, then drove her to meet his friends for a late-night meal.

Three handsome men sat at the table, each with two women pouring drinks and feeding them fruit.

Emma frowned, wondering if these were the people who had corrupted her Nathan.

He pulled her close by the waist and sat her down, speaking to a silver-haired man. "Thanks, Felix. This one's a keeper. Way better than the one you sent me last year. Next time, I'll pick one out for you."

All eyes turned to Emma, but she remained still, her mind replaying Nathan's words. Did they trade women like gifts?

In the three years she was gone, had Nathan been with countless others?

She recalled arriving at the hotel earlier, drenched from the rain. Felix Lee, mistaking her for someone else because of his hair color, had pressed a room key into her hand. "Hurry up, Nathan's waiting in the room."

Hearing Nathan's name, she thought he had planned a surprise for her.

The memory twisted her stomach, her face paling.

Nathan looked at her with concern, taking her hand gently.

Felix spoke up. "Nathan, isn't that obese fiancée of yours coming back soon? You've got to bring her out so we can see her. I've never seen a woman that big."

Emma looked at Nathan, only to catch his grimace of disgust. "You'd lose your appetite for days just looking at her. Thinking of her face still makes me sick."

Their laughter cut into Emma's heart like a knife. She gripped her skirt tightly, burning his expression into her memory.

"And..." Nathan toyed with her hair absently, "she's not my fiancée. Mention her again, and I'll make her your problem."

Felix waved his hands in protest. "She gained all that weight from the hormone pills she took to save you. You've got no conscience. If she comes back a beauty, she won't want you anymore."

Emma's thoughts drifted to middle school. To save Nathan from drowning, she had stayed too long in the freezing lake.

At a young age, she developed chronic illnesses. To manage the pain and inflammation, she took heavy doses of hormone medication, ballooning to twice her original size in a few years.

Whenever she felt ashamed of her weight or was mocked by classmates, Nathan reassured her. "You'll never be unwanted. I'll marry you."

He said it from age 14 to 18, even on the day he saw her off abroad, his face full of sincerity. Emma held those words close.

During her years of treatment abroad, no matter how grueling, the thought of Nathan waiting for her gave her strength to wipe away tears and keep going.

But the Nathan before her now seemed indifferent, a stranger compared to her memories. He squeezed her cold fingers and leaned close with concern. "Your hands are freezing. Put on my jacket."

Emma pulled her hand away and stood. "I'm going to the restroom."

As she turned, tears welled up and slid down her face.

In the restroom, she composed herself before taking out her phone to call her mother.

"Mom, I don't want to stay here and build a career. After signing the transfer contract next week, I'm coming back to get engaged to Louis..."

A pause lingered on the other end before her mother asked cautiously, "What about Nathan? He doesn't want to marry you? You've loved him for so long, and for him you..."

"Mom!" Emma's voice trembled as she cut her off. "I'm the one who doesn't want to marry him."

After hanging up the phone, Emma's tears spilled over again.

She had loved Nathan Tate for a full decade, always seeing him as her future husband. Saying she didn't want to marry him felt like tearing her heart apart.

Her phone buzzed relentlessly with messages from Nathan.

"Emma, when exactly are you coming back?"

"If you've set a date, send me your flight details. I can pick you up."

"It's been three years. I'm really looking forward to seeing you."

She stared at the messages, stunned. Before this, Nathan's replies were always curt, indifferent "okay" or "sure."

She used to comfort herself with excuses about his busy schedule or time differences. Now, it all seemed laughable.

Wiping her tears, she typed a response. "Can we get engaged when I'm back? I don't want to wait anymore."

After the message was sent, Nathan didn't reply for a long time.

She sent another message. "You promised to marry me. Doesn't that count anymore?"

Her eyes stayed glued to the chat, as if scared to miss his response.

She didn't know why she did this. Was it lingering hope? Or a need to crush that hope completely?

After a long wait, Nathan finally replied. "I've always seen you as a sister."

The words alone carried his coldness.

"Those promises were just to keep you calm during your treatment abroad. We're done. Don't contact me again."

Emma held her breath, pressing the power button until her phone shut off. Only then did she gasp for air.

New tears slid down her tear-streaked cheeks.

She leaned over the sink, splashing cold water on her face to calm herself.

After composing herself, she left the restroom and saw Nathan laughing with the other men. "I never reach out to her on my own. If you hadn't dared me to mess with her, I wouldn't have been spooked by her talk of getting engaged!"

Felix laughed so hard he nearly choked on his drink. "A sobbing pig hiding under the covers, her fat trembling. That image is too much. I'm dying!"

Nathan glanced back and noticed Emma standing still. He waved her over.

She lowered her eyes and sat, asking casually, "What's so funny?"

Felix jumped in eagerly. "Just Nathan's got this clingy girl, a very obese one..."

No one noticed Emma's shifting emotions. Nathan cut in. "It's been three years. She could gain hundreds of pounds by now."

Emma couldn't listen anymore. She stood to leave, but Nathan grabbed her wrist. "You haven't given me your contact info yet."

She waved her powered-off phone in front of him. "It's broken. Won't turn on."

Nathan made a call, and within two minutes, someone delivered the latest model phone to her.

Thankfully, she had gotten a new number at the airport the day before. She gave it to him and left without looking back.

Nathan watched her go, a faint sense of familiarity stirring in his chest, but he quickly dismissed it.

Emma returned to her hotel, washed away the day's exhaustion, and sank into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, Emma hurried to her best friend's house.

During her three years abroad, she balanced treatment with creative work. Her friend Lila George had been her champion, turning her designs into reality.

She returned not only for Nathan Tate but also to build a company with Lila.

The two, reunited after so long, embraced tightly. Lila gasped at Emma's transformation. "My goodness, Emma, you're absolutely stunning now! I barely recognized you!"

Emma smiled, and after chatting for a while, she grew serious. "Lila, I don't want to stay and build a career here. I'll transfer my shares to you."

"Why?" Lila looked puzzled. "Can you really let go of Nathan?"

At the mention of Nathan's name, Emma's smile froze. After a moment's hesitation, she told Lila about seeing him the previous day.

Lila's expression grew complex. "I support your decision."

Emma hugged her. "We can still work together and expand overseas."

She was no longer the insecure Emma of the past. Whatever she set her mind to, she would achieve.

After dinner with Lila, they parted ways. Emma noticed Nathan had called her multiple times.

She meant to ignore him, but a message from him arrived. "If I can't reach you, I'll have to report you missing."

Fearing her identity might be exposed, she called him back. Within minutes, Nathan arrived.

Despite her saying she already ate, he took her to an upscale restaurant and ordered several dishes.

Noticing her distant demeanor, Nathan asked, "Snow, why are you suddenly so cold to me?"

She didn't know how to answer.

As she sat in silence, a woman passed by, glaring with hatred. Suddenly, she stumbled, splashing scalding water toward Emma's face.

"Watch out!" Nathan lunged forward, shielding her with his arm, taking most of the water.

The hot liquid soaked his clothes, but he immediately checked on Emma.

Seeing her forehead slightly red from stray droplets, his anger flared. He grabbed the woman.

Emma recognized her as their high school classmate, Karen Holt, who once wrote Nathan countless love letters.

Back then, Karen bullied Emma for being close to Nathan, giving her cruel nicknames and tossing out her lunch, calling her a pig who didn't deserve to eat.

Insecure, Emma never fought back.

Nathan, aware of it, brushed it off lightly. "She doesn't mean any harm. Just teasing, right?"

But now, Nathan's face burned with rage as he forced Karen to apologize.

Karen refused. Nathan pressed her head down, banging it against the table until her forehead reddened.

"You jerk! Nathan, we were together for years, and now you're with this vixen right after we broke up?"

Her words stunned Emma, making her think hard.

Nathan had been in a years-long relationship with Karen, who tormented her?

As Nathan threw Karen out of the restaurant, Emma felt he was a stranger. Was this really the Nathan she knew for over a decade?

Facing her gaze, Nathan remained calm. "Don't listen to her nonsense. She chased me for years, on and off. We were together for barely half a year total."

Since his clothes were soaked, Emma went with him to his hotel to change.

As soon as they entered, he pinned her against the wall and kissed her lips.

Without hesitation, she pushed him away and slapped him. After calming herself, she opened the door and stepped out. "I'll wait outside."

After Nathan changed, he took her to a mall. "My friend's coming back soon. I want to pick a gift for her. Help me choose."

Was the friend he mentioned her?

With that thought, Emma followed him into a luxury store.

The man who usually spent lavishly picked out a cheap Hello Kitty necklace. "She loves this childish stuff..."

Emma stared at the necklace being wrapped, her eyes welling up.

She adored Hello Kitty. If Nathan saw her phone now, he'd see its wallpaper and profile picture were Hello Kitty.

When she was obese, Nathan said her round face was like Hello Kitty's, and she fell in love with the round-faced cat.

He mocked her to his friends yesterday and told her not to contact him. So why buy her a gift now?

Watching him pay, she asked dazedly, "Is she important to you?"

Nathan dodged the question. "Jealous over a gift for her?"

To hide her reddening eyes, she turned and walked out.

Nathan followed, explaining, "It's just a cheap trinket. I just want her to behave when she's back, not cling to me like before and mess up my dating life."

Emma stayed silent, thinking to herself. "Don't worry. I won't cling to you anymore. After I leave this time, I'm never coming back."