Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 71

Chapter 71: A Cat That Cares
“Why do you look like someone died?” Dimitri barked out over breakfast, staring stonily at Amelia over their breakfast. “You’ve been moping for several days.”

“Excuse me?” Amelia asked, wondering if the early hour was affecting her hearing. Or it could possibly be the lack of sleep.

It was hard to get any sleep after Ronan had reminded her of the engagement party. Matteo was getting married to Emmeline despite whatever he told her. Her invitation continued to burn a hole in the rucksack she had haphazardly tossed it in when she moved out of Matteo’s apartment, and she had not found herself the courage to open it again.

Needless to say, Amelia knew she would not be invited. Horace Hawthorne would have to be insane to allow for her to come within ten feet of his family after all that had transpired.

Her heart gave a painful twinge. It was one thing for Emmeline and her mother to slander her, but she didn’t want Horace to believe she was a gold-digger responsible for leaking Emmeline’s nudes. No matter how much she disliked her, there were lines she wouldn’t cross!

“Your expression ruins my appetite,” Dimitri Sullivan said without mincing any words. “You look like someone died, or defecated in your breakfast. This does not bode well, since you were the one who made breakfast.”

He then glanced down at his plate, an expression of distaste at the simple egg and toast Amelia had made. Since she was effectively free-loading and putting Dimitri out of his room, she thought she might as well do the chores to make up for it.

“No, no, the breakfast is perfectly fine,” Amelia said, taking a big bite of her toast to prove that it was delicious and not-poisoned.

Then she choked at the dryness of the bread. It might not have been poisoned, but it was certainly a bit too burnt for her liking. She had gotten lost in her thoughts and toasted the bread for too long.

Dimitri let out a sigh. “My brother has briefly updated me on your issues. You would do well to sue Caleb Walton for fraud and deceit.” He then handed her a stack of name cards.

‘Apex Law Firm’

‘LWM Legal Advice’

‘Regal Law Associates’

This time, Amelia choked for a different reason. “These are… lawyers?”

“Of course. Do you think I would carry around a stack of name cards for janitors?” Dimitri replied, as though she had asked a foolish question. Amelia flushed in embarrassment.

“These are the lawyers that specialize in cases like yours, albeit none of their clients were as brazen as Walton. You can get a hefty amount of settlement and live the rest of your life as a wealthy woman.”

Amelia blinked, wondering if she was hallucinating.

“I… thank you?” she said bemusedly. “But I have no money to hire any lawyer.” And she didn’t want to borrow money from Matteo, Ronan, or Cherry. This feud was between her and Caleb alone. “Not to mention, with the way things are now…”

She had too much on her plate to even think about suing Caleb. She hadn’t even realized it was an option.

“Keep them for the future then,” Dimitri said with a casual shrug. “Whether you use them as coasters or line them on the floor, it doesn’t matter to me. Either way, I’m not taking them back.”

“Thank you, then,” Amelia said meekly, pocketing them all. “It means a lot that you made so much effort for me when we hardly know each other.”

“Don’t take it the wrong way,” Dimitri warned. “I’m just doing this because I hate men like Caleb Walton. And your demeanor makes your father upset, which in turn upsets me.”

In these past few days, Dimitri had formed a strange friendship with her father over chess out of all things. They often played matches in the evening, after Dimitri had returned for work.

“Got it,” Amelia said with a small smile. “Then I must thank you for accompanying my father in the evenings. He doesn’t have many friends.” And what little friends he had had all but left him after Amelia’s scandal hit the news.

Dimitri coughed slightly, the back of his ears turning red. “You’re welcome. Now eat your food. You’re looking too skinny, and your father worries. I bought a shipment of organic vegetables for him― they will aid his recovery.”

“Yes, yes.” Amelia nodded in amusement, and she wondered if that was how having an older brother felt. “And what about Ronan? Did you get him anything?”

“He gets to stay in this house, isn’t it enough?” Dimitri retorted with a raised eyebrow, staring at someone in the doorway. Amelia turned around to see Ronan give his older brother the middle finger before leaving the house for work.

“Ronan, breakfast!”

“Leave him, he never wakes up in time to eat his morning meal. That’s why he has indigestion.” Dimitri sighed.

“I do not!” Ronan’s voice yelled from outside. “Don’t slander me! I’ll sue you!”

“With what lawyers?” Dimitri retorted. “And don’t forget to bring your keys and your phone!”

“Got them!” Ronan yelled back. “Bye! Both of you!”

“You care for him a lot,” Amelia observed, with a soft curl of her lips. “It’s sweet.”

“Someone has to,” Dimitri grumbled, his face red as he buttered his toast aggressively. She wanted to laugh. Somehow, Ronan failed to mention how cute his older brother was when he was flustered. Amelia was reminded of a haughty cat that pretended it didn’t care when it actually did. “It’s not like our parents were fantastic caregivers.”

“Oh…” She had heard from Ronan, but she was surprised to know that they didn’t care much for their oldest either.

“It is what it is,” Dimitri said, with the voice of someone who made peace with it. “Now eat your food.”

The rest of the breakfast was spent in companionable silence until it was broken by Amelia’s ringtone. She looked at it and nearly fell to the floor in surprise.

It was Horace Hawthorne.

Dimitri raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to answer that for you?”

“No need!” Amelia squeaked, but she couldn’t deny that the offer was tempting. Dimitri seemed like someone who would be able to stare down a natural disaster, let alone Horace Hawthorne.

“Put him on speaker then,” Dimitri said and Amelia did so.

“Hello?” Amelia asked hesitantly. There was heavy breathing on the other end, and Dimitri immediately grabbed a notepad and began scribbling. Amelia’s eyes widened as she read his words.

‘If this is a prank call, I will sue under Law 540 of Charter 323―’

Thankfully, there was no need for Amelia to resort to suing, as Horace Hawthorne’s reedy voice came from the other end of the line.

“Amelia? Are you there?”