Emma had altered her emotions to curry favor with Betty. But her father's words resonated in her mind and a part of her came back to reality.
She had promised herself not to forsake her own emotions to suck up to others before coming on to this cruise.
She was tired of neglecting her feelings and pretending to be someone she was not.
She was tired of taking on the persona of a perfect socialite but instead was losing herself in the process.
She was sick of herself for not having the guts to show the world what she thought.
But she was also afraid of the stares that might be directed toward her if she revealed her thoughts.
Betty said that she was impressed by her confidence in pursuing the things that she liked. But that wasn't the truth at all and Emma knew better than anyone else.
She had lost an integral part of herself while trying to put herself in others' shoes too often.
Now, she did not even know what she wanted to do or how she used to behave.
She was slowly losing her human touch with herself, becoming a stranger to herself gradually.
Emma stood there, in the middle of the huge hall, doing her best to act like a young, enthusiastic, sunny heiress who could care less about what people thought of her.
She approached Betty because she wanted to know about her aunt but ever since she saw her, she had been trying to make herself likable to Betty, which should not even matter in this case.
Was it necessary? What was she doing? What was her purpose? What was she trying to achieve?
Emma's head started to hurt due to these abrupt questions. She even forgot what she was trying to do.
She tried her best to put her thoughts together and not let them disturb her plan. But she had long lost control over them.
Maybe she lost it when she put on a fake mask or they might have been swirled away from her since the beginning and she never had any command over them.
Just a few moments ago, she had repeated the same mistake which she swore she would never make.
She had walked up to Betty and tried to customize herself to Betty's liking.
She had vowed to put herself first no matter the situation but now she had transgressed her limits without even realizing it.
It was as if it was engraved in her bones to subconsciously tailor herself to the other's personality.
Emma contemplated her choices and exhausted all her efforts to put a stop to her thoughts.
She did not want to have a panic attack in front of these people who could slice people's throats without letting the part involved know.
Finally, she was able to put a barrier to her negative convictions and think rationally.
It was undeniable that she wanted to know about her aunt as well as her relationship with Max but she was not willing to achieve her goal at the cost of her health and inner peace.
After a while, Emma looked straight into Betty's eyes. In her mind, she was scolding herself for letting her musings take control of her in front of Betty.
She made up her mind and decided to test the waters by being direct in her request.
"Ms. Betty, I think you are well aware that I intentionally approached you."
Betty was a bit taken aback as she had thought Emma would linger for a while before stating her purpose.
Although it was unexpected, she did not particularly dislike it as she was also interested in knowing what it might be that she could offer Emma.
She smiled and put on the airs of an elder before saying, "Here I thought that Yama might come for me before you spouted your motives. I'm all ears."
Emma wasn't surprised as she had already guessed that Betty was just playing along with her act and knew she had something in mind.
"Just as I thought, you are a smart person."
Emma praised Betty but it lacked the authenticity which you might expect to find in the words of someone trying to ask for a favor.
It was as casual as telling the time and even a bit sarcastic.
Betty wasn't used to being disrespected in such a low-key way. She took it as an insult to her ego and scoffed.
"Whether or not, I'm a smart person doesn't concern you."
Although Betty was an expert in hiding daggers behind amicable smiles, she never heard people saying sharp words to her face due to her status.
Hence, her tone went down a bit but she still maintained her kind exterior and spoke in the sweetest retorting voice Emma had ever heard.
Emma laughed at her immediate change of attitude. But it was perfect for her.
She would be able to get her work done much easier than beating around the bush rather than catching the bird in it.
"It does concern me, Ms. Betty. Because based on your level of cleverness, I'll decide how to deal with you to be able to achieve my aim easily."
Emma threw all her politeness out of the window and said in an almost threatening manner.
She had concluded that Betty was an old shrew and was not an easy woman to deal with.
She would not have been the center of the social circle if she was an easygoing person because these people were the first ones to get killed in their circle.
"Are you trying to threaten me?"
Betty was sure that Emma was crazy. If she had a favor to ask then she should put the demeanor of someone willing to even polish her boots if necessary.
She found the previous Emma much pleasing to the eye. Even if she glared a hole in her head, she did not outrightly behave like a bandit.
Emma smiled at her words. She felt free when she scolded people despite their age. She settled on giving Betty a run for her life.
"I guess I am bad at reading people. I'll have to work on it harder in the future."
Betty's blood boiled and her anger fumed to the brain. How could this nobody dare to call her stupid? Half of the C country's social circle respected her and didn't dare to raise their head in front of her.
And this shameless girl who was still wet behind her ears, called her an idiot.
Even if she died, she would not give her whatever she wanted from her.
"You are shameless!" Even after thinking for a while, Betty failed to find any suitable words to refute Emma's comment.
This shameless vixen spoke like a saint. There was no way to find any fault with her words.
And she could not unilaterally scold a person if she wanted to keep her reputation intact.
Hence, all Betty could do was grit her teeth and curse out Emma inside her heart.
She must not give Emma any favor no matter what it was that she wanted from her.
Emma smirked at Betty's words.
What Betty did not know was that Emma was a psychological patient and she knew more about psychology than a psychologist would.
She was gradually building a pressure vet around Betty and making her so curious about what she might want from her that she would come knocking on her door to fulfill her aim.
"Indeed, I am! Otherwise, I would not be able to bid on the Koteka which others find repulsive and deplorable."
Emma said in a single breath. She wanted Betty to get curious about her purpose and then she would lead Betty by the nose into the trap she had prepared for her.
Emma used to have a dissociative identity disorder until she was 13. The psychologist said that her personalities have merged now.
But Emma could feel both of them trying to take over her whenever she was in a state of weak emotional administration.
This was what happened at the Ball too. She loved Max too much to be able to hit him in the face.
But she did and broke her hand also.
She would never have been able to defend herself against Ana Smith also but she successfully did that.
All credit goes to her dual personality. They were almost merged but still raised their individual heads whenever she was in a weak mental state.
Just now, she had a small reversion also. But luckily, she was able to overcome the burden and help herself out of it.
Emma smirked as she saw Betty getting red at her reminder.
"By the way, you haven't asked me about my purpose for approaching you." Emma left a soft note which would be engraved in Betty's mind.
She was aware of Betty's interest in her because Betty was the one who made small talk with her in the reception room.
Although Emma was the one who needed a favor from Betty, somehow Betty was the one who was curious about her aim which Emma was going to utilize heavily.