Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 36

The Hawthorne Princess
“So… are wedding bells on the horizon? Should I be calling your Mrs. Montgomery soon?” Kelsie asked mischievously.

In front of her sat Emmeline Hawthorne, the precious jewel of the prestigious Hawthorne family, the woman who had grown up with Matteo and his younger brother.

In Kelsie’s opinion, Emmeline was a tad bit soft in the head and easy to manipulate, too undeserving of her position in the Hawthorne family.

But those were the very factors that made it easy for Kelsie to befriend her and remain her friend. Why would she miss the chance to build a relationship with the Hawthornes?

At her words, Emmeline blushed so brightly she almost put the roses on their table to shame.

“Kelsie, don’t tease!” Emmeline exclaimed, but she couldn’t help the smile that formed on her face. “Nothing has been confirmed yet…”

“Really? Your mother seems to be hinting at your engagement already.”

“Mama is a little too eager,” Emmeline said with a sigh, her delicate lips pouted in a shy display of petulance. “All those rumors have made her antsy. She wants me to marry him so that he would stop carrying on with his secretary.”

“Which mother wouldn’t be anxious?” Kelsie asked, her eyes lighting up as she found an opening to get rid of her newest eyesore.

Despite divorcing Amelia Kentwood, Caleb seemed to be spending more time thinking about how to ruin her life than he did worshiping Kelsie.

Kelsie Friesent was not a woman meant to play second fiddle to anyone, let alone some poor peasant! She was going to destroy Caleb’s ex-wife by any means necessary.

“Emmeline, I have to let you know something about that woman Matteo was involved with,” Kelsie said, beckoning her closer. Emmeline leaned in, enraptured. “That woman used to be with Caleb! She’s an utter gold-digger!”

Emmeline’s mouth fell open in shock. “A gold― gold-digger?”

Kelsie nodded firmly. “Caleb found out about her true nature, and he broke up with her before she could get his property. He tried to warn Matteo but he wouldn’t listen. I wouldn’t be surprised if she purposely took the job as his secretary to seduce him. She filled his head full of lies! You have to stop her!”

A steely glint entered Emmeline’s eyes. She had always been dementedly protective over people she considered hers, a trait Kelsie loved to exploit to her utmost advantage.

“I understand. I’ll get Mama and Grandpa to push forward with the wedding,” Emmeline said. She pulled out her phone, presumably to send a message, but then she caught sight of the trending article on the news sites.

Her phone fell on the table with a loud clatter, the headline visible for anyone to read.

‘Matteo Montgomery Announces Marriage to Secretary!’

“This can’t be happening!”

Next to her, Kelsie’s eyes bulged out with disbelief. “Is Matteo insane? Is he really marrying her? Oh god―”

“I have to stop him!” Emmeline vowed, clenching her fingers into fists. “He’s making a big mistake!”

***

After Amelia finished updating the doctors and Matteo about her father’s condition, there was no putting off the inevitable.

She had to move into his home. Her old home was still swarmed with reporters, desperate for another scoop since the first one led to such great success. The news of their engagement was blasted on every single news site, both legitimate and dubious, and Amelia had no doubt she would be hounded to an inch of her life if she went back home.

Matteo came to a similar conclusion as he drove her back to his place, handing her a black card and the keys to his apartment.

Amelia stared at it uncomprehendingly. “Why are you giving me this?” she asked.

“So that you can buy what you need,” Matteo said firmly. “We are sharing a home now. I want you to be comfortable. If there’s anything you need to buy to ensure it, use my card. Price is not an issue. You can call Cherry if you need help.”

Amelia gulped, taking the card with shaky hands.

“As for the keys, we will input your biometrics when we have the time,” Matteo calmly said as he navigated the road. “For now, you will have to make do with the physical key.”

“Thank you. I promise I’ll pay you back!” she said fervently, not wanting to accept his blatant charity for nothing. After all, he had gotten into this mess because of her.

The black card seemed to gleam under the light, promising a life of extravagance. However, Amelia was doubtful if she would ever use it. Matteo’s house was furnished a lot better than her own.

Perhaps she would only buy some new clothes and toiletries since it wasn’t as though she could go home to pack. And she would buy cheaper ones.

Matteo looked like he wanted to say something more, but then his phone rang again. Whoever was on the other end of the line caused his face to pinch together, as though he had sucked on a lemon.

“Excuse me, I have to take this call,” Matteo said reluctantly.

Amelia nodded in understanding, deciding to make a mental catalog of the things she needed to buy, but she couldn’t help but find herself distracted by Matteo’s conversation.

Admittedly, Matteo didn’t seem to care that he was easily overheard. This was his car after all.

“Father. How nice to hear from you,” Matteo growled out, a muscle twitching in his jaw.

“Don’t give me that nonsense!” His father’s voice boomed loudly from the other end of the call, causing Matteo to frown slightly at the panel. “What’s this I hear about you breaking off the engagement to the Hawthornes for your secretary?”

“There was nothing between Emmeline and I to begin with,” Matteo said simply. “Why are you surprised?”

“I don’t care! You better undo your engagement right now, or there’ll be hell to pay!”

Amelia froze, stunned by the vitriol in his voice. Was Matteo going to get into more trouble because of her?

However, Matteo was unfazed, rolling his eyes at the threat.

“The news of my engagement has saved the company’s stocks from plummeting. I checked, and we’re actually doing better than ever. Undoing this will cause shareholders to lose faith in us. If Emmeline Hawthorne is worth that much trouble, you can offer Aiden instead.”

“You can tell her that yourself!” His father raged. “She and her mother are camped right at our house now, demanding an explanation. Bring that girl along― I want to see how she has bewitched you!”