Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 287

Chapter 287: Emmeline Is Home
“Mom? What did you just say?” Emmeline couldn’t believe her ears.

No, it was more accurate to say she refused to believe it.

She stared into her mother’s eyes and realized they were staring at her with uncharacteristic coldness. It was as though Emmeline was nothing more than a piece of garbage on the floor.

“Get out,” Annalise repeated without hesitation. “Now.”

“You heard her,” Aiden said with a sigh.

He half-expected this to happen. Emmeline had not seen how Annalise Hawthorne had broken down into desperate sobs at the reveal of her true daughter’s disappearance, and the mournful wailing when she heard of her death.

Now, the person Annalise wanted to see was her real daughter. Not Emmeline, who unknowingly took her place.

“No, that cannot be, Mom, it’s me, Emmeline. I’m your daughter, remember? It’s me!” Emmeline exclaimed in shock. “You sang me lullabies, read me stories, bought me dresses… You’re my mother!”

Annalise closed her eyes as if she couldn’t bear to look at her a moment longer. However, the heart monitor continued to beep relentlessly as her heart rate shot up. Emmeline gave a desperate cry of pain. Aiden couldn’t stand it anymore and dragged her out of the room.

In their ensuing chaos, no one noticed the small tear that rolled out from the corner of Annalise’s eyes.

“Are you trying to give her a second heart attack?” Aiden asked as he closed the door to Annalise’s ward with a definite bang. “She’s clearly not in her right mind! Come on, go back and rest. We’ll think of something later.”

“I…” Emmeline didn’t seem to be all that rational either. Her eyes were wide with loss and she didn’t have much resistance to Aiden tugging her along like a doll. Her entire world had overturned itself, and when they arrived back into her ward, she sank to the floor, hugging her knees.

Her mother didn’t want her anymore. Tears filled her eyes.

Then, Aiden’s phone rang. He saw, with great surprise, that it was Amelia. So of course he hurriedly picked it up, hoping that this was a dinner invite. Or at least some good news.

“Aiden, is Emmeline still with you?” Amelia asked without even a hello. “Can she be discharged?”

Aiden’s heart sank. Clearly, this was a business call.

“Yeah, she’s right in front of me now,” Aiden said reluctantly. “I’m not too sure about her discharge as she’s not in the best state mentally. What’s the matter?”

“Our grandfather wants to meet us,” Amelia said apologetically. “He found out about the affair, and he’s determined to get to the bottom of this.”

“Fuck,” Aiden groaned out. “Is his heart alright?”

“It has seen better days,” Amelia said frankly, after a long pause. “But that’s also why he’s all the more frantic to resolve this… before he can’t anymore. Bring Emmeline back to the mansion. We’ll see all of you there.”

With that final note, Amelia hung up the phone.

“What is it?” Emmeline asked, not liking the pinched expression on Aiden’s face. It almost seemed like he felt sorry for her, a fact she found incredibly grating. How low must she have fallen for Aiden, scummy playboy to feel sad for her?

“If you’re feeling up to it, let’s leave the hospital. Good old Horace Hawthorne.”

Emmeline’s face paled, but she hurriedly went to change out of her hospital gown.

***

Meanwhile in the Hawthorne mansion…

Amelia could only look at her poor grandfather, who was poring over her mother’s old diary with tears beading in his eyes. She highly doubted he could read a word with how fogged up his vision was, but the sight of her writing must have hurt him hard. She had handed him the diary after he had heard about Benjamin’s affair with Catherine.

The news had spread all over Sol City, and Amelia could barely warn him about the affair before news that Catherine got shot had hit the airwaves. Amelia herself was shocked at how quickly things unraveled. After that piece of news, she received a pleading call from her grandfather, asking her to make sense of matters for him.

The blow to Horace Hawthorne was severe. Things had escalated too quickly for him to make sense of, and no one around him dared to give him the unfiltered news. He could only turn to Amelia and Matteo for help.

“Amelia, take this book away. I… have no need for it any longer,” Horace Hawthorne groaned weakly into his hands.

“Grandpa?” Amelia asked hesitantly as she took the diary back. “What are your plans now?”

“I’ll let you know when everyone is here,” Horace Hawthorne said tiredly. “Is Emmeline coming along?”

Amelia nodded and hurriedly helped him to lie back down. “According to Aiden, they are on their way. Emmeline is distraught over the news that Annalise is not her real mother.”

“Who wouldn’t be?” Horace could only smile bitterly to himself. “Annalise had treated her like she was her own flesh and blood for so long. If anything, I wished Annalise would have treated her more unkindly― that would have at least prevented Emmeline from growing up spoiled and pampered, and it would have made this blow easier to bear.”

Amelia could only sigh and wait quietly with her grandfather for Aiden and Emmeline to appear. Thankfully, Matteo had arrived before them and he made his way to sit next to her, dropping a quick peck on her cheek.

Emmeline arrived without fanfare, but her voice was as shrill as it was pleading. Amelia noticed that her eyes were swollen as though she had cried on the way here.

“Grandpa! Can I still call you ‘Grandpa’? Or did you call Aiden to bring me back here so you can throw me out for real?”

“Emmeline, please take a seat,” Horace Hawthorne said, closing his eyes. “I have something to say to all of you.”

Emmeline sat down, her body trembling.

“As it stands, Emmeline, I have disinherited you from the Hawthorne family for your past behavior,” Horace began, and Emmeline shifted as if she got struck. “But I cannot fault you for the crimes of your parents. It was your father who chose to have an affair with a woman I deemed unsuitable for the family. You have the blood of the Hawthornes running through your veins, even if Annalise was not your mother.”

“Annalise is my mother!” Emmeline burst out, upset, her hands clenched into fists. “I have no other mother!”