Just a moment ago, they’d tried everything to get Charles to talk, but he didn’t say a single word to any of them. When Emily was here, he turned into a total chatterbox, going on and on without stopping.


    ‘Seriously, how could anyone be this much of a double-standard grandpa?’ they all thought.


    Emily couldn’t care less about the res around her. She just kept chatting away with Charles, as if no one else even existed.


    Only then did she realize what this so-called “family dinner” was about. It was actually the big day Xavier was supposed to show up as Emily’s future husband and meet her parents.


    What a joke!’ Emily scoffed inwardly. She clenched her hand so tightly her nails dug into her palm, forcing herself not to let any trace of anger or disappointment show on her face.


    But Charles still caught the hint of tension on her face and asked, puzzled, “Emily, what’s up?” He couldn’t help feeling his heart sink.


    When he found out Emily had a boyfriend, he did feel a pang of loss, like his precious little girl was being taken away. But more than anything, he was genuinely happy for her.


    He knew his own health was failing, and he wouldn’t be able to stay by Emily’s side much longer. As for the Bet family, hose brainless fools had stopped being any real support for her a long time ago.


    If Emily could find someone truly trustworthy, someone without messy ties or drama, then he could leave this world with no regrets.


    So, before agreeing toe back to the Bet residence for dinner, he’d made sure to thoroughly look into Xavier’s background.


    Xavier was an only child, gentle and easygoing. There was nothing particrly remarkable about him, but he was decent, humble, and had no drama in his life.


    If Emily married him, and with the inheritance he would leave her, she’d be set for life, no worries about money or anything else. But all of this was only possible if Emily agreed on her own free will.


    What he’d found out was that Emily and Xavier had genuinely liked each other before. The reason they broke up was that Sofia thought Emily wasn’t worthy of her son anymore, since she was no longer the Bet family’s heiress.


    This was an easy problem to solve. As long as he transferred all his assets to Emily’s name, she’d end up with far more than just the title of the Bet family’s heiress.


    But at that moment, seeing the look on Emily’s face, he couldn’t help but worry that something had gone wrong.


    He’d been out of the game for years, and his influence wasn’t what it used to be. If people were deliberately keeping things from him, there was always a chance he’d gotten something wrong.


    Seeing the sudden change in Charles’s expression, Emily quickly reassured him, “I’m fine, Grandpa. I’m just hungry. When are we eating?”


    She wanted to just throw herself into Charles’s arms like when she was a kid, act all cute, and cry about how unfair everything was.


    But she knew how much he’d been worrying about her future ever since Bob passed away. That was why he let the Bet family talk him into leaving the hospital so easily.


    38


    If he ever found out they were messing with her love life, using him as leverage to force her to go along with their ns, he’d be absolutely furious.


    She didn’t want to see that happen. So, she had no choice but to go along with the Bet family and see this charade through. But as for how this show would end, it was up to her.


    As she helped Charles toward the dining table, Emily nced back at Lydia, just in time to catch the smug look on her face before she could hide it. She knew it was definitely Lydia’s scheme.


    ‘Why can’t she ever just let me go?’ Emily thought bitterly.


    Emily’s movement was so subtle that even Charles, standing right next to her, didn’t notice. But someone else did.


    Lucas followed her gaze. And as luck would have it, he also caught the smug look on Lydia’s face before she could hide it.