Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 193

Chapter 193: Bad Parent
“I would like to think that at least my standards are higher than yours.” The old man all but rolled his eyes. “Back then, Caleb Walton pretended to be a penniless orphan. How could you allow Amelia to marry someone like that?” Horace scolded her father.

“Unlike certain people, we do not judge people by their wealth but by their character,” Michael swiftly retorted, raising an eyebrow pointedly at his own father-in-law. “Besides, that Walton brat had a perfect little pretense. It also matters more if Amelia liked him or not.”

Amelia stiffened a little at her father’s response, which sounded awfully familiar. Why, wasn’t that what her grandfather had said just now when she was deciding whether or not to add the gratin to her wedding menu?

She wasn’t the only one who had realized either. Horace Hawthorn’s eyelid twitched ever just the slightest, his irritance fully incurred. He huffed, the grip on his walking cane tightening before Amelia abruptly stood between them.

“Now now,” she said. “I’ve already moved on, and I’ll soon be marrying someone else. He’s just right outside that door, and isn’t it a little inappropriate to discuss this right now?”

The Hawthorne patriarch said to Michael, “From what I know, Amelia married Caleb Walton fresh out of college. She was no bigger than a child at that age.”

“Actually, I was already twenty―”

“As her parent, you were supposed to make sure your child would not make any rash decisions,” Horace continued, entirely speaking over Amelia, who shrunk back to her spot with Carlo.

From the corner of Amelia’s eyes, she could see the various staff members slinking back into the shadows. It was one thing to watch and gather drama about the rich, and another to be caught in their deadly line of fire. They were all minimum-wage workers for the most part― one target on their back and they were done for.

As such, the room soon became very empty and very quiet, except for the ongoing fight between her father and grandfather.

“Because you know everything about being a parent, don’t you?” Michael Kentwood shot back. “So much so that you sat one side and did nothing but watch your daughter die when she needed your help―”

Amelia frowned, appalled. “Dad!”

“She chose you,” Horace Hawthorne roared, slamming the cane against the ground. “She chose you over her family, her friends, her entire life― Elaine chose to abandon life as she knew it. She would’ve never died if it weren’t for you! If you had just taken the money and scrammed back to wherever you came from, my Elaine would still be alive today!”

“You bastard!” Michael Kentwood growled before he shot to his feet. He grabbed the lapels of Horace’s shirt, gripping it hard. “You just didn’t care!”

Amelia and Carlo instantly went over as well, with Carlo steadying Horace Hawthorne and Amelia holding her father back.

“Dad, calm down!” Amelia said. He was still wobbly on his feet with how he was recovering from his injuries― it wasn’t difficult to separate these two men.

“You imply that Amelia married a penniless man and that was a mistake, but if money was power that made the world go round, why didn’t you spend more to try to search for her?!” Michael Kentwood yelled. “You had money― you have money! Lots of it! It would’ve been a drop in the ocean for you to search for her. We never even left the country. How hard could it have been?!”

Michael Kentwood continued, “Admit it, Hawthorne, you’re nothing but a coward and an arrogant, insufferable prick! So much for the most powerful man in Solara― you can’t even keep track of your daughter’s whereabouts. You could’ve set her free and let her live her life while still protecting her from the shadows. But all you wanted was a bird in a golden cage!”

“Dad…” Amelia muttered. She hadn’t even realized that there were tears running down her eyes until she tasted the salt against her lips. “Dad, please. Stop… Just stop…”

“You know nothing about Elaine if you ever thought it was easy to find her,” Horace seethed. “She didn’t want to be found, and if she set her mind to it, she would make it work. Evidently, from how she chose to elope with you!”

Carlo tightened his grip, preventing Horace Hawthorne from rushing over as quickly as he could to slam the walking cane onto Michael Kentwood’s head.

“You were the husband she chose, no matter how unfit for the role you were! You were the man who was supposed to keep her safe after she chose to give up everything just to marry you.”

There was red in both Michael and Horace’s eyes, and Amelia’s blood ran cold. Both her father and grandfather had histories of heart attacks and strokes. If this went on any further…

“That’s enough!” she yelled, making sure to use all of her air to spit those words out.

Surprisingly, there was silence that followed her words. No one tried to talk over her. She glared hard at Horace Hawthorne, holding her father close to her body.

“Grandfather, my mother lived a happy life with my father even though we were anything but well-off,” she steadily said.

She watched as Horace’s eyes slowly moved from Michael’s face to hers, his expression softening when his vision raked over her familiar features.

“We may not have grown up with the money the Hawthorne family would have provided, but we were content. My mother knew what she signed up for if she chose so determinedly to leave a life of wealth behind for a life of simplicity, especially after all the years outside.”

Amelia continued, “My father raised me very well, and he loved my mother dearly. My mother loved him too if she was willing to exchange all of this―” she gestured to the grand space they were in, “―for us.”

Then, she touched her own chest where her heart was. “I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for them and the decisions they made. My father was right― we don’t judge people by their wealth but by their character, which was why I married Caleb originally.”

“Millie…”

“Amelia…”

Horace and Michael said at the same time but were cut off by Amelia.

“I thought he was a man of character. I was willing to bet on him, but unlike my mother, I lost the gamble. It was a risk I chose to take.”

She wiped the tears from her cheeks and then turned to her father.

“And likewise, I am judging Matteo by the wealth of his character, not the size of his wallet. I like him― I really do. So please… will you let me take this risk again?”