Rejected Heiress, Reigning Queen novel Chapter 1

"Professor, it's completely fine that you couldn't make it. It's just an engagement party today."

Emma smiled warmly, chatting affectionately with her mentor overseas, a highly respected titan in the global medical field.

"Exactly. When I actually get married, you and the rest of the team have to be there. Otherwise, I'll be furious, and no amount of apologizing will fix it."

Emma hung up the phone with a laugh, hurriedly smoothed out the skirt of her gown at the urging of the event staff, and stepped into the banquet hall.

Today was the day she was officially getting engaged to the heir of the Harrington family.

Having been sent abroad by her family at the age of seventeen, this was Emma's first time back in the country.

For the past six years, she had drifted alone overseas, her heart constantly yearning for the parents who used to dote on her and the brothers who had always spoiled her.

"Mom, Dad," Emma walked over, her voice trembling slightly with excitement as her eyes searched the room. "Where are my brothers? Why aren't they here?"

She was so focused on looking for them that she completely missed her father's ice-cold expression and her mother's conflicted, hesitant demeanor.

"You're calling them Mom and Dad, so what the hell am I supposed to call them?"

A girl about Emma's age stood up, striding over to her with an arrogant, dismissive glare.

Emma looked her up and down. "And you are?"

"I'm the only daughter of the Lockwood family. The true heiress, Gillian Lockwood."

Emma froze, assessing the girl once more before her eyes curved into an amused smile. "Is this some kind of joke?"

The moment the words left her mouth, Gillian grabbed a wine glass from the nearby table and threw the red wine directly into Emma's face.

Emma tilted her head with lightning reflexes, but she still couldn't avoid getting her hair and half of her shoulder drenched.

"If I were you, I'd be too ashamed to ever show my face in this country again," Gillian sneered in disgust.

A faint smile still lingered on Emma's lips, but in a flash, her left hand shot out, grabbing Gillian by the hair before delivering two sharp, echoing slaps across her face.

The once-bustling banquet hall plunged into a dead silence, the sudden violence leaving the crowd utterly stunned.

Gillian was completely dazed by the blows, clutching her stinging cheeks as she stared at Emma in a mix of shock and fury.

Emma's expression hadn't shifted in the slightest; she still wore that faint, even-tempered smile.

She even gently smoothed out Gillian's messy hair, her voice soft and measured. "You dare cause a scene at the engagement banquet between the Lockwoods and the Harringtons? Are you tired of living a comfortable life?"

"Ah! Dad! Mom!" Gillian finally snapped out of it, screaming as she looked toward Mr. Lockwood and Violet.

"You ungrateful brat! How dare you hit my daughter?"

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