"Oh dear," Alia and Matteo exchanged wary glances.
"Perhaps it was simply an accident," Matteo said. "We don’t need to open this door―"
As if to spite his words, there was the sound of Emline’s indignant screeching, followed by Aiden’s loud yelling.
"Now I really don’t want to open this door," Matteo mumbled under his breath. Unfortunately, Alia was quicker. She had already walked over, her hand twisting the handle before pushing the door open.
Right as she did, Alia’s eyes widened in horror as she quickly dodged, just in ti for a vase to soar over her head before crashing on the floor behind her. She hurriedly turned back to look at Matteo and saw that he had stepped to one side as well, the vase narrowly missing him.
They shared a look before glancing outside― it didn’t escape their notice that Emline and Aiden seed to be alone. Horace and Annalise were missing. No wonder Emline and Aiden dared to kick up such a fuss.
"Ha!" Aiden pointed right at Emline’s nose as he childishly said, "You missed!"
Emline stomped her foot, her teeth gritted tightly together as she clenched her fists tightly.
"I don’t understand why Grandfather would force to marry soone like you!" Emline cried out. "You are a disgusting, filthy excuse of a human being. A waste of oxygen, if I must say. You will never be half the man your brother is!"
"And you will be half the woman your cousin is?" Aiden retorted with a snort without missing a beat. "Face it, Emline Hawthorne. You may have been born as the Hawthorne heiress, the princess of Solara’s high society, but now that Alia is here, you are nothing but a forgotten bygone!"
"Should we stop them?" Alia leaned into Matteo and asked, only to see that there was a wicked grin on his lips.
"No," he casually said before folding his arms across his chest. "This is rather entertaining."
"Rich of you to say," Emline spat out the words like it was poison, hissing through gritted teeth. "At least I have tasted what it’s like to be on top. How do you like living in your half-brother’s shadow for all of your life?"
Even though Aiden was a pretty happy-go-lucky drunk, Emline’s words had struck a chord in him. He clenched his fists to match hers before stepping forward. Aiden had an arm raised, plenty ready to land a slap right across Emline’s face before a figure hurriedly charged forward.
"What do you think you’re doing?!" Annalise scread, pushing Aiden to one side.
Not entirely sober, Aiden stumbled a little due to the sudden force, accidentally knocking over so decor on the side table. More crashing sounds echoed through the tiny boutique, followed by Emline’s sobbing as she collapsed to her knees.
"Mama!" Tears fell quickly from Emline’s face as she bawled, hugging her mother tightly. "Look at him! He tried to hit ! How can I marry a man like that?"
"Oh, my poor baby," Annalise muttered, holding Emline tenderly to her body as she stroked her hair. She glared at Aiden, and if looks could kill, he would’ve been sent straight to the gates of hell right then and there.
"Don’t worry," Annalise said to Emline while maintaining her gaze on Aiden. "Your grandfather will hear about this. I will see to it that your marriage to Aiden Montgory is canceled."
"Good fucking riddance!" Aiden cussed. "You will be doing us both a favor! As if anyone wants to get married to soone like you. Good luck finding a husband without your grandfather coercing the groom to take your hand in marriage!"
"Aiden," Matteo grimly said, walking over. "What happened?"
Aiden’s frown deepened even further at his older brother’s voice. It only lightened slightly when his gaze landed on Alia, but the change was brief and not at all permanent. He scowled.
"After you and Alia went in, Horace Hawthorne received a call from the hospital," Aiden explained. "They said they received so news about his previous heart attack, and Annalise left with him."
"Grandfather’s at the hospital alone now?" Alia asked, hurrying over. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at Annalise, who was still consoling her beloved daughter. "Shouldn’t she be keeping him company in that case?"
"Beats ," Aiden said with a shrug. "Both mother and daughter are equally nefarious. I should’ve never helped Emline Hawthorne do her little dirty deed, temptations be damned!"
"Temptations?" Alia echoed in confusion. However, whatever train of thought she had was quickly cut off when Jenna stord out of the separate fitting room, her eyes wide with horror.
"What has happened here?" she exclaid in shock, her eyes scanning across the boutique to see the ss that was created in her absence. When they finally found Emline and Annalise standing in the eye of the hurricane, her gaze darkened and her cheeks reddened in fury.
"This is a waiting area!" Jenna said. "It’s not ant for our guests to create an absolute wreck of the boutique!"
Manners be damned! While the custor was always right, Jenna Ruby had fa clinging onto her na. Unlike most designers, she did not need to bow down to her custors if she didn’t see a need to. To top it all off, Jenna Ruby was Horace Hawthorne’s personal friend.
Friendships, however, weren’t enough to cover the damages incurred to her shop. If this ss had caused any of the dresses to be damaged, there would be hell to pay!
"I think my daughter has had enough ti waiting around," Annalise growled, rising to her feet with Emline in her embrace. "Alia has had enough ti trying on gowns and whatnot. It’s Emline’s turn."
"But Mama!" Emline exclaid. "I thought we were going to re-discuss this engagent with Grandpa―"
"Whether or not he will accept it is one thing, securing a good dress is another," Annalise said, cutting her daughter off. "Even if your grandfather agrees, this dress will eventually co to good use."
She then coldly glared at Alia.
"Unlike certain people, I am here to make sure that my daughter will have the wedding of the century, no matter who the groom is."
Then, Annalise’s eyes landed on the white fabric that was in Jenna’s arms. Her eyes glittered as she stood up a little straighter, pointing a finger firmly in its direction.
"Now that looks like sothing that can match my daughter’s beauty!" Annalise said. She stomped over and made a grab for the wedding gown in Jenna’s arms. "Emline, let’s have you try on this dress!"
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