“What do you mean, Emery’s going to work at thepany?” Adam’s face twisted the moment the


    words left his mother’s mouth. “Mother, I know you’ve always coddled her, but this-


    “I’m still the chairman, Adam,” Mary said tly. “I don’t need your approval.”


    “You’ve retired.”


    “And yet I still have voting rights.” She met his re without blinking.


    Adam stood abruptly. “You can’t be serious. She’s not qualified. She’s-‘


    タチ


    “She’s your daughter,” Mary cut in. “If Emery isn’t qualified, then who is?”


    Adam didn’t answer.


    “She’ll be assisting James,” Mary continued. “It’s time she took her ce. She’s a Be. She should’ve been involved years ago.”


    Adam mmed his palm on the table. “Even as an assistant? It’s absurd.”


    Mary stayed seated. “What’s absurd is you acting like your own daughter isn’t capable. Now sit down.


    This conversation is over.”


    “Ma!”


    “She studied design. Strategy. That’s not the same as running a multinational firm-”


    “She has double majors,” Mary cut in. “And a higher GPA than you ever had. She’s not just qualified- she’s overqualified.”


    Deana, sitting nearby, put down her ss. “But she’s always been so… stubborn. She never listens. How can she follow directions in a boardroom if she thinks she knows everything?”


    Mary folded her hands. “You mean like


    Our husband?”


    Deana’s mouth parted slightly, but she didn’t respond.


    Mary continued, “She’ll start working next week. That’s final.”


    Adam gritted his teeth. “How is that even possible? Emery is nowhere to be found. She’s always off somewhere doing her own thing-”


    “She’s pregnant,” Mary interrupted.


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    Adam froze. His expression cracked for a brief second. Then, strangely, he sat back in his chair. “Pregnant?”


    “Yes,” Mary said.


    He was quiet for a long moment. Then he asked, “Is it Samuel Dwight?”


    Deana gave him a sharp look, but Adam didn’t seem angry anymore. He looked… thoughtful.


    Mary watched him. “Why are you calm?” She narrowed her eyes at her own son’s reaction.


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    Adam rubbed his jaw and didn’t answer right away. Then he said, “If she’s pregnant, then wouldn’t it


    be better if she marries the father of her child?”


    “Her marriage isn’t your concern,” Mary said sharply, her eyes narrowing. But even as she spoke, something about Adam’s demeanor nagged at her. Just days ago, he’d nearly exploded when Emery


    refused to marry Carl. Now, he was calm-too calm.


    Was it possible he had been hoping for something else all along?


    “I didn’t know you had a change of heart about Samuel Dwight,” she added, watching him closely. “You were the one who pushed to sever all business ties with the Dwight family. You seemed rath. pleased about it, too.”


    Adam opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Deana ced a hand on his, quietly urging him


    to hold back.


    “What’s the point of getting angry now?” Deana said, her voice quiet but firm. “Emery’s already pregnant. There’s nothing to be done. Let her marry into the Dwight family.”


    Mary’s gaze sharpened. “Who said she’s marrying into the Dwight family?”


    Adam’s brow furrowed. “Wait-does that mean Samuel still refuses to acknowledge her? That arrogant- She’s a Be. How dare he look down on her?”


    “Samuel isn’t the father,” Mary said. At least, that’s what Emery told her during their call that afternoon. She hadn’t revealed the father’s name, only made it clear it wasn’t Dwight.


    Adam’s face stiffened. “Then who is?”


    “You’ll have to ask your daughter,” Mary replied. “Her wedding is in three days. The invitations arrive


    tomorrow.”


    The room fell silent. Both Adam and Deana stared at her, visibly thrown. Watching their stunned


    expressions, Mary couldn’t help but recall her own reaction earlier. It wasn’t often she found herself at a loss-but Emery had managed it.


    Mary watched the shift happen almost instantly.


    The silence snapped as Adam pushed back from the table. “She’s out of her mind,” he said, voice rising. “What kind of reckless decision is this? She’s marrying someone we don’t even know?”


    Deana followed quickly. “Exactly! She’s making a mockery of our name. Of the entire family. Who marries like this? Secretly? No introductions? No background checks? What about a prenup?”


    Mary said nothing, her hands still calmly folded on the table.


    Adam paced across the room now, his anger rekindled. “Is this her way of punishing us? is that it? Did we wrong her so badly that she thinks marrying a stranger behind our backs is how she wins?”


    “Ma, please stop her. This is rebellion, in and simple. She’s always been difficult, but this? This is beyond.”


    Mary remained seated. She watched both of them-her son, red-faced and fuming, and her daughter- inw, whose nerves frayed every time Emery’s name came up. The same cycle. me, insult, repeat. They never stopped to ask why Emery was doing what she was doing. They only ever asked how it would affect them.


    “She’s impulsive. She always has been,” Adam continued. “But now she’s dragging the family into it. Into scandal. Into rumors. And we’re supposed to sit here and do nothing?”


    “That girl! Where is she?” Adam snapped, storming across the room. “I need to speak with her. Does she actually want to drive her own father into an early grave with all this chaos?”


    “Adam, calm down,” Mary said firmly, though she knew it was pointless.


    “Where is she, Mother? I need to speak with her!” he demanded again, voice rising. His fists clenched


    at his sides.


    He couldn’t believe it. He thought the pregnancy would finally straighten things out. That Emery, after everything, woulde to her senses and marry the father of her child.


    After the public fallout with Samuel, the answer seemed obvious-this was Emery’s chance to marry


    the love of her life.


    So why the hell wasn’t she marrying Samuel? Was it because Samuel still looked down on her for being an orphan? Why didn’t she tell Samuel about her identity then?


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    In Adam’s mind, there was only one exnation. Emery had found some stranger-some nabody from a bar-to y the part. To spite him. To humiliate the family. To make a statement.


    That girl was always defiant. But this? This was war.


    “I swear, she’s doing this on purpose,” he muttered, pacing again. “Dragging some man into this just to make a fool of me. She wants to push me until I snap.”


    Mary didn’t speak. She watched her son unravel.


    “I need to talk to her,” Adam said again, angrier now. “No more games. I’ll tell her exactly why! wanted her to get married in the first ce.”


    Before Mary could respond, a knock sounded at the door.


    Adam stopped mid-step.


    Deana turned toward the entryway.


    Mary finally stood. “Sit down,” she said to Adam, her voice steady. “Ranting won’t change what’s already in motion.”


    Another knock came. Sharper this time.


    “Come in,” Mary said. Almost immediately, Darlene came in.


    “Sir, we have some people iming to-” Darlene awkwardly looked at Adam, then toward Mary.


    “Say it, Darlene! We have no time for this!” Adam hissed.


    “Sir,” the staff member said cautiously. “There are a few people outside. They arrived in several cars, and they im they’re here to deliver the betrothal gifts to the youngdy. Should we let them in?”


    A heavy silence fell over the room.


    Even Mary was momentarily stunned. She blinked, then cleared her throat. “Betrothal what, now?”