Emily looked at her as though she had just said the most innocent and foolish thing imaginable. "Even if he were married, he would still sleep around."
Cixi's jaw dropped. For several seconds, all she could do was stare at Emily, because the bluntness of the statement had struck her harder than the accusation itself. "Are you telling me," she asked slowly, trying to keep her temper from snapping, "that I would allow Rafael to come near me?"
"He convinced you to drive with him," Emily accused at once, as though that single fact was enough to build an entire case against Cixi's character.
Cixi felt something hot rise inside her chest. Emily had ignored her calls, ignored her messages, left her to manage alone in a Palace placed so far from the city that even taxi drivers looked offended when asked to come here, and now she stood there accusing Cixi of accepting the only help available at that moment.
