Rejected Heiress, Reigning Queen novel Chapter 195

By the time the two of them stepped out of the car, Emma's face was flushed a deep, vibrant red.

Carter kept a protective hand hovering near her waist as he asked, "What just happened?"

"Someone cut us off. The car already sped away, but we're calling the cops now," Jeff replied.

They didn't let the minor accident delay their trip back to the capital. The moment Emma stepped out of the car at the Harrington estate, Hayden was already waiting at the door to greet her.

"You know my grandfather wants you to get a divorce, right? Where is your head at?"

Hayden asked, cutting straight to the chase.

Emma pressed her lips together, the heated kiss in the car flashing vividly in her mind.

"My grandfather's logic is that since you're suffering indignities here at the Harringtons, you might as well marry into our family. At the very least, no one would dare give you grief."

Emma nodded. She certainly didn't doubt that.

"As for my feelings, you don't need to worry about them. If you nod your head, I won't object."

Hayden maintained his nonchalant attitude. He wasn't romantically interested in Emma, but as long as it made his grandfather happy, treating her like royalty in their home was hardly an inconvenience.

Hearing this, Carter's face darkened completely. He pulled Hayden aside.

"Do you like her?"

Hayden shrugged and threw his hands up. "Nope, not really. But my hands are tied."

Carter frowned, studying him sharply. Hayden explained, "Don't get the wrong idea. I have no interest in fighting you for her. But my grandfather reminded me that when my father went overseas a few years ago, Emma was the one who saved his life. She stayed by his bedside and personally took care of him for an entire week."

"You mean that time Marcus was critically injured working deep cover?" Carter vaguely remembered the incident from a couple of years back.

Hayden nodded. "He was on the brink of death. Because of our family's sensitive background, we couldn't just fly out to take care of him, and hiring random nurses was too risky. During that time, foreign syndicates were actively hunting down his safehouse. If Emma hadn't stepped up and worked tirelessly to hide and heal him, forget about the mission succeeding—my father probably wouldn't have made it back alive at all."

Hayden wasn't blind; he knew Carter was in love with Emma. But Emma had saved his family in the most profound way possible.

Forget just marrying her and treating her well—if she asked him to lay down his life for her, he would have to do it.

"So, if she refuses to divorce you, that's the best-case scenario. It keeps me from offending anyone. But if she actually agrees with my grandfather's plan, don't blame me, man. I owe her way too much to say no."

Carter's lips set in a grim line as he cast a complicated look at Emma.

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