Emline had chosen her prettiest white dress. It had always been one of her favorites, a dress she and Kelsie had picked out together while they were out shopping in Paris a year ago.
A year ago.
One year ago, there was no Alia Kentwood. Matteo Montgory was on the way to becoming her fiancé and soon-to-be husband, and she was still the prized jewel and sole successor of the Hawthorne fortune.
Everything was perfect one year ago. That all changed when Alia arrived in their lives. Her marriage plans were ruined, she was kicked out of the family by the grandfather who had doted on her since young, and she had to resort to such dirty tactics in order to get the man she was always promised.
Her hand landed on her belly. A small bump had already ford, and maybe in a month or so, this bump would no longer be hidden behind puffy dresses and long skirts. Tenderly, she ran her hand down the surface.
This child was her ticket back to the Hawthorne family ho, albeit that was not the first thing on her agenda when she chose to conceive. It was only ant to tie Matteo down. While there wasn’t much progress on her grandfather’s end of things, at least she had managed to win the Montgorys over.
Matteo Montgory had no choice but to show up for dinner with her tonight in the Montgory mansion. And best of all, Aiden was not anywhere near the estate.
She picked up her phone from her bed, her fingers keying in the words with a smile on her face.
’Your idea is brilliant. Everything is going perfectly. Matteo is coming for dinner, and my guess is that his parents will insist he takes as his bride.’
She hit the send button and her eyes watched the blinking line in the text box. Then, she continued to draft another ssage.
’How are things with Caleb? Has he replied?’
She hit ’send’ again. Her thumb scrolled through the very long list of ssages. However, everything she could see in the last two weeks was all ssages from her end. Kelsie hadn’t replied to a single ssage ever since they last ran into each other at Alia’s charity gala.
Emline had no clue what was going on with Kelsie and how things were between her and Caleb.
Guilt nipped at her fingertips.
If things went south between Alia and Matteo, it would make Alia open for Caleb again. With Alia’s current identity as the sole heiress of the Hawthorne family, wouldn’t that make her a more appealing partner than Kelsie?
"Emline?" A knock sounded at her door, causing her to jump a little in surprise. "Dinner is almost ready. Charles checked with Matteo― he will be here any mont now."
"Coming!" Emline replied. She tucked her phone into the pocket of her dress before smoothening out the fabric. Then, she held her chin high and stepped out of the door.
Catherine was waiting for her right outside, a face full of smiles as she scanned Emline up and down, nodding in approval.
"Like a true princess," Catherine crooned. "Co. Let us head downstairs for dinner. We wouldn’t want to keep the husbands waiting."
"Husbands?" Emline echoed, her eyes widening a little. "Did Matteo finally agree?"
"Well, isn’t it just a matter of ti?" Catherine asked. "He will have no choice but to marry you. After all, you are the mother of his child. He can’t just leave you two to the wilds, can he? Matteo has always been a responsible boy."
That he had. Matteo Montgory was always a responsible man. Which was why it was all the more infuriating that he hadn’t imdiately caved and married her the mont the test results ca back positive.
Emline wore a smile but internally, she had already cussed Alia out a thousand tis over. If she had never entered their lives, everything would’ve been so much simpler.
When they finally headed downstairs, Charles Montgory was already at the dinner table. He was scrolling through his smartphone while the household staff bustled around him, setting up the dinner table with the final details.
Catherine helped Emline into her seat before sitting down herself on Charles’s right. Now, they only needed to wait for Matteo to show up.
"Will he co?" Catherine murmured to Charles as she sat down, keeping her voice low in worry that Emline might hear her.
"He will," Charles said. "I promised him sothing he cannot refuse."
"What?" Catherine asked, frowning.
Charles rely looked at Catherine enigmatically. He said not another word, returning his eyes to the email. When he spoke again, it wasn’t about Matteo.
"Where’s Aiden?"
"He ran off," Catherine said with a huff, rolling her eyes. "This boy. He only knows how to make his mother worry."
"Ran off where?" Charles pressed, glaring at Catherine from the corner of his eyes. "We know all of his residences. Bring him ho."
"He isn’t living in any of them," Catherine replied. "We tried looking for him, but Aiden has made it very difficult for us to track him down, especially with his ridiculous mode of transport."
His motorcycles served him all too well, swerving in and out of the heavy traffic and making it difficult for cars to tail him. Ti and ti again, they managed to lose track of Aiden after work. Even the moving trucks he called took complicated and crafty routes.
"Find him then," Charles snapped. "This is ridiculous. He’s the current CEO of X’el, not a delinquent who can spend his ti outside doing who-knows-what."
Catherine rely nodded. She didn’t have the ti to say anything more when the doors to the dining room opened, and in walked Matteo. His face was as dark as a thundercloud, his eyes scanning the dining room before landing on the only other spot at the table that was set up― right beside Emline.
Without even sparing her a glance, he chose to sit right at the opposite end of the table, far away from her.
"Oh co on now, Matteo," Catherine said, "Don’t make things difficult for the staff. Your seat is already set up for you."
"There’s no need. I won’t be eating anything tonight," Matteo coldly said.
He looked straight at his father, completely refusing to make eye contact with Emline and Catherine any longer.
"You said you’ll give it to if I show up tonight. Where is it?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)