Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 288

Chapter 288: Return Home
“Come on, Emmeline. She doesn’t want you anymore,” Aiden said, his tone of exhaustion palpable. “You saw how she acted when you visited her.

Amelia guessed this must be what Emmeline was crying about in the car ride.

“She’s just confused now!” Emmeline exclaimed in desperation. “When her head’s clearer, she’ll understand… she’ll have to… Grandpa, can you do something? Say something to my mom? I don’t even care about the inheritance, but you can’t just ask my mom to abandon me!”

Horace had a pained expression as he gazed at his once beloved granddaughter. She had erred tremendously, but her crimes paled in comparison to his own. His stubbornness and poor decisions had negatively impacted three generations of his family, and the reverberations were now still causing aftershocks.

He paused as he couldn’t help but blame himself. He stopped Benjamin from marrying for love, which in turn influenced Elaine’s decision to run away. And now she was dead, and his family was in a mess.

This must have been karma for his sins.

Compared to him, Emmeline was only a young girl who wasn’t even close to thirty. How could he treat her so harshly?

“I cannot deny that I had a part to play in this mess. If I had not objected to Benjamin’s relationship with Catherine… perhaps we would not have this tragedy play out in front of us,” Horace said.

“I cannot guarantee that Annalise would accept you again, Emmeline, but what I can do is make sure that your mother will be given the support she needs, whether it is to divorce Benjamin or to start over with him.”

“Screw it!” Emmeline yelled. “I don’t want her to stay with my father! He cheated on her for twenty years!”

Then a manic gleam entered her eyes.

“Grandpa. I have an idea. Mom is now upset because I’m not her daughter, but surely she’ll accept me if I find her actual daughter for her, right? How about you let Mom divorce Dad, and then pay us to find her?”

She directly fell to her knees, slipping from the chair. Her knees made a thud as it crashed onto the carpet, but for a prissy princess who grew up not knowing what pain was, she didn’t even flinch even when her three peers flinched at the impact.

“We just need some funds,” Emmeline said. “Once the girl is home, Mom will forgive me.” She then turned to Aiden, and before he could dodge from her grip, she grabbed the edge of his shirt. “Right, Aiden?”

Aiden winced, looking pleadingly at Matteo and Amelia for help, only to see their sympathetic expressions.

“Emmeline…” Aiden trailed off. “You can’t force the poor woman. Besides, what if her real daughter is actually dead―”

“She can’t be!”

“My child, sometimes in life, you need to learn how to take no for an answer,” Horace said with a sigh. “I can give you the money, manpower, and resources to find this girl, but it’s like Aiden says― we don’t know if she’s even still alive. And what if we find her? How will that change Annalise’s opinions of you?”

“But I would’ve brought her home…” Emmeline trailed off as she sobbed. Her fingers slowly fell from the corner of Aiden’s shirt and landed on the floor beside her. “Then how is it my crime… I didn’t ask to be switched… It’s not my fault…”

“It’s not your fault, but you cannot blame Annalise for not wanting to see you,” Aiden reminded.

“Your room hasn’t been touched since you left,” Horace Hawthorne said. “Why don’t you have some rest, Emmeline? You need to rest after your procedure.”

Emmeline did not respond to Horace’s words. Instead, she allowed Aiden to pull her to her feet as she stared numbly at the floor, muttering inaudible words the entire time. Aiden had to practically drag her out of the room, and with the help of the staff working at the estate, he returned her to her bedroom.

Amelia and Matteo watched as the duo left. Only after the door closed did Horace Hawthorne sigh out loud once more, drawing their attention.

“Grandpa?” Amelia asked hesitantly.

“I am fine,” Horace said, staring wistfully at the door. “These are just the fruits we reap from the seeds we sowed.”

Amelia’s lips parted, wanting to say something more, but Horace spoke up before she could speak her mind.

“I’m feeling a little tired already,” he said. “I think I will take a short nap. Won’t you stay for dinner?”

“We would love to, Grandpa, but unfortunately, Amelia and I already made some plans,” Matteo said instead.

Horace merely nodded before smiling gently at them. The couple said their goodbyes and left soon after.

As they exited the front gates of the Hawthorne family estate, Amelia said, “I didn’t realize we had plans.”

“We didn’t,” Matteo said.

“We could’ve stayed for dinner, then?” Amelia looked out the window at the majestic mansion, quickly disappearing in the distance. “I am not sure if we should be leaving my grandfather alone during this time.”

“Aiden will stay for dinner with Horace, don’t worry,” Matteo said. “We didn’t have plans before, but we do now. Check my phone.”

Amelia did as told. She unlocked Matteo’s device and instantly, the topmost notification had her eyes wide with surprise.

“So quickly?” she asked, her lips parted in shock.

“I’m not surprised that the onlookers at the hospital leaked the information to the press,” Matteo said as Amelia scrolled through the article. News of Emmeline’s true parentage had been released to the public. The comments were brutal, and this time, Annalise wasn’t going to be with Emmeline through all of this.

For a moment, Amelia didn’t know whether to pity the pair or to feel relieved that karma had finally gotten to them. She couldn’t deny that she did feel more of the latter than the former.

Yet, that wasn’t the only thing that was in Matteo’s notifications.

“Ronan dropped you a message,” Amelia said, frowning as she pressed on it, opening the chat. Then, her eyes widened. “Caleb…” She nearly dropped her phone in shock. “Ronan… He found Caleb. How?”

“Private investigators are much more effective than the local police,” Matteo said as he made a turn back onto the main street. The car started to cruise down the highway. “It seems like Caleb Walton has decided to return home.”