Emma was dumbfounded. She knew things would be different after so many years abroad, but she never imagined it would be like this. Why was no one listening to her anymore? She could argue with Finnian, but she couldn''t openly defy Mr. Everly. A storm of anger and frustration swelled in her chest, threatening to burst.


    Finally, at her breaking point, she screamed, "Fine!" She marched to the window. "If you won''t marry Liliana, if you insist on upsetting me, then I''ll just jump! Once I''m dead, no one will be able to force you to do anything!"<fn3d56> Fresh chapters posted on Find[?]ovel</fn3d56>


    Several maids rushed over to pull her back as she tried to climb onto the windowsill. Emma thrashed and wailed, striking out at them. The scene instantly descended into chaos.


    Finnian watched it all, his eyes cially cold. He could see that while Emma was putting on a show of jumping, her eyes kept darting toward him, gauging his reaction. His expression grew even darker. Then, under her incredulous gaze, he turned and walked out.


    The cold air outside cleared his head slightly. He took out his phone and saw several missed calls from Dorian. He called him back. "What''s up?"


    "Want to get a drink?" Dorian asked. "I need to vent."


    Finnian needed one too. He got the address of the bar and drove over. It was a rtively quiet ce. When he walked in, he saw Dorian already at the bar, drinking by himself. Finnian sat down next to him. Dorian pushed a freshly poured drink toward him and then downed his own in one gulp.


    The two miserable men exchanged stories of their recent woes. "Why is your mom so dead set on you marrying Liliana?" Dorian asked. "Is she that desperate for grandchildren?"


    "She doesn''t like Amara," Finnian said simply.


    Dorian understood immediately. It was no secret in Wye''s upper circles that Finnian had feelings for Amara The fact that he had risked his life for her twice was proef enough. Emma must have figured that if Finnian married Liliana, there would be no chance of him bringing Amara into the family. That''s why she was pushing so hard.


    But why did Emma hate Amara? It couldn''t be because the SullivanR family wasn''t good enough for the Everlys, they were a wealthy family in their own right. The Porters, on the other hand, were nobodies.


    Just as Dorian was about to ask, a shy man in his early thirties approached


    them. "Mr. Everly, Mr. Hawke, you two are here for a drink?"


    Finnian nced over. The man was Hans Davis, the idle eldest son of


    the Davis family, who spent his days drifting between bars and


    UT


    nightclubs. It was no surprise to see him here in the middle of the day. They werent in the same circle, but they knew of each other Finnan gave a curt nod and turned back to his drink.


    But Hans''s eyes darted around mischievously. He leaned in and lowered his


    voice. "I just saw both of your wives in a private room back there. Are you all here together?"


    Wives?


    The phrase "both of your" made Finnian and Dorian look up at the same time. "What did you say?"