Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 267

Chapter 267: Cold Man
“What is the meaning of this?!” Annalise barked, slamming the back of Aiden’s seat and shaking it vehemently. “Until the results are out, there’s a possibility Emmeline is carrying your kid! You can’t just throw her here―”

“I didn’t realize the Hawthorne family home is shabby enough to be described as though it’s a rubbish dump,” Aiden quipped. “You literally stay here,” he said to Annalise, “and you grew up here,” he said to Emmeline. “Why should I send you two anywhere else other than the Hawthorne estate?”

“You―!” Annalise said, her finger jutted out and in Aiden’s face. But before she could say anything, the sound of footsteps caught their attention.

The car door to the backseat was pulled open, and before Annalise could react, she was yanked sharply out of the car. Her heels weren’t exactly the most comfortable, and she wasn’t able to find her balance after being pulled so roughly, causing her to stumble a little against the small stones on the ground.

However, she wasn’t even allowed the chance to stand upright, a slap met her cheek, causing her head to veer sharply to the side. Inside the car, Emmeline let out a gasp, while Aiden’s eyes widened with surprise.

“I told you to convince Emmeline to get rid of the baby!” Benjamin Hawthorne all but roared at Annalise. There was no greeting and no warning. “What is Aiden Montgomery doing here?”

“Benjamin…” Annalise trailed off, her voice barely even audible as she cradled her tender cheek.

Her husband, on the other hand, towered over her. Benjamin Hawthorne was a man who kept to himself more often than not, and he hardly appeared in public spaces other than professional settings. There were little to no rumors about him, and as such, Aiden hadn’t seen much of the man other than the few times they happened to be in the same venue.

Now that he finally had a close-up on him, even Aiden pursed his lips just the slightest. Benjamin Hawthorne was someone with an impressive aura, and now filled with rage, that domineering energy was easily doubled.

“Dad, I just―”

“Have you forgotten that you’ve been disowned by your grandfather?” Benjamin said to his daughter, though his voice was significantly softer and kinder than when he spoke to Annalise― albeit not enough to make it entirely kindly.

“Am I not your daughter?” Emmeline asked, her eyes suddenly filled with tears.

In the short two hours Aiden had spent with her, he had seen her mood swing from angered, to deranged, to ballistic, and now, a sobbing wreck. Not even an award-winning actress would possess such a range of emotions.

“Emmeline―”

“Why am I not allowed to return home?” she asked. “I am carrying a child and the family of my baby’s father refuses to let me stay! Are you going to kick me out too?”

Then, to add to her theatrics, she got out of the car. With wobbling feet, she took a step back as though she was about to bolt for the gates.

“There’s no more place for me in this world…” Emmeline murmured under her breath, her lip wobbling. However, it may be a murmur, but everyone present heard every single word clearly. She wasn’t even trying to hide it. In fact, she wanted nothing more than to broadcast her performance.

“Emmeline, don’t be ridiculous,” Annalise said, going over to her daughter. She held her tightly in her arms, carefully holding her as though Emmeline was a fragile doll. “Of course you have a place in this world. This is your home. You’re a Hawthorne.”

In the car, Aiden snorted. This was what he said just now, but Annalise was all too eager to rip him a new one for even suggesting the truth.

He reached back, prepared to pull the car door closed, but suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted two very familiar figures.

Unfortunately, Aiden wasn’t the only one who had noticed them. Emmeline’s eyes quickly went from watery to bloodshot as she stared fixedly in the direction that Matteo and Amelia were in.

“What are you doing here?!” Emmeline screeched, worming out of Annalise’s hold just to storm to where Amelia stood.

Aiden immediately bolted out of the car, scrambling over before firmly wedging himself in Emmeline’s warpath. He used his body to block Amelia from view, and likewise, Matteo just ever so subtly shifted Amelia behind him so that if there was ever a need, he could just kick Emmeline straight off the steps leading to the front doors if she dared to come close.

“I was visiting Grandfather,” Amelia answered breezily. “I didn’t realize I needed your permission to come home.”

“This isn’t your home,” Emmeline hissed out. “You’re not a Hawthorne; you’re a Kentwood! Your mother eloped long ago and let go of her claim to the family fortune!”

From where Emmeline couldn’t see, Benjamin Hawthorne’s expression turned darker.

“Emmeline, sweetie,” Annalise tried to say, “Let’s go inside. You need your rest―”

“I want her gone!” Emmeline yelled, losing all her rationality. Gone was the demure princess― with her hormones a tangled mess in her body, she no longer had care for pretenses. “She needs to leave―!”

A second slap rang through the courtyard, leaving Matteo, Amelia, and Aiden wide-eyed and jaw-slacked as well. They stared at Emmeline as Annalise’s horrified gasp rang through the air just as Emmeline’s face was turned to one side.

Benjamin Hawthorne’s hand was raised, his expression alarmingly murderous as he looked at his own daughter. Whatever minimal warmth and kindness he had when he previously spoke to her was gone.

“She is your cousin and a rightful Hawthorne,” Benjamin said, his voice dangerously low, causing Emmeline to shiver. “You’ve made your choice when your grandfather gave you the chance.”

Emmeline looked up in disbelief. She had lived for over two decades and never had her dad ever hit her. She was always the princess of the household, and now, for Amelia, he laid his hands on her.

“Dad…”

“If you wish to come home, abort the child,” Benjamin coldly said.

He then cast a glance at Annalise― his words were meant for both mother and daughter to hear.

“I don’t care if the baby is a Montgomery or conceived from the sperm of some random dirty mongrel― get rid of the child or else, don’t even think of coming back here.”