Chapter 140: Three Guesses
"You... You’re disowning me?" Emmeline’s mouth fell open, despair overwhelming her features. Her glassy eyes stared at her grandfather, hoping to see a semblance of a smile, a cheeky grin― anything to prove that he was simply joking.
Because he couldn’t be serious. He could not be threatening to disown her over... over this farce of a marriage announcement!
"You’re choosing Amelia over me?" Emmeline continued, her voice reaching unprecedented highs. Every servant in the Hawthorne household would have heard the news.
"Father! You must be joking!" The sheer ridiculousness of Horace Hawthorne’s words resulted in Annalise loosening her tongue. If she did not speak up now to defend Emmeline’s right to inherit, she might as well kiss her status in the family goodbye.
"Aiden isn’t terrible, but he’s definitely not a good enough match for Emmeline. If you must marry Emmeline off, please consider picking someone else!"
"Mother! I don’t want anyone else!" Emmeline wailed, nearly beating her fists on the floor as though she was a five-year-old child throwing a temper tantrum. "I only want Matteo! Not his idiot brother!"
"Silence!" Annalise scolded, her eyebrow twitching at her daughter’s childish behavior. The shocking news must have caused her to take leave of her senses― couldn’t she tell that Annalise was desperately trying to buy time for her to find an alternative? With Horace’s old age and failing health, stalling a possible engagement was a viable tactic to use.
But her daughter couldn’t think that far ahead. When it came to Matteo, she had taken leave of all her senses.
"My mind is made up," Horace Hawthorne said gravely in response. "If Emmeline wishes to marry anyone else, she is free to do so, as long as she gives up all claim to the Hawthorne fortune. The choice is hers."
Emmeline’s hands clawed down her face. This was no choice at all!
Then Horace took a look at his watch and sighed. "I’ve wasted enough time on this. Emmeline, your dress fitting is scheduled for next week. If you do not show up, I will assume your decision is made, and act accordingly. I shall be off."