Rejected Heiress, Reigning Queen novel Chapter 5

Gillian marched back to her bedroom, practically glowing with triumph, and quickly dialed a number on her phone.

"Pamela, that bitch Emma is still strutting around my house like she owns the place. She must think Percy will back her up. She even demanded my parents take a paternity test with her. I know she's just trying to humiliate me!"

Gillian seethed as she spoke. Why was it fair that she had to scrounge for scraps and live in absolute squalor for years, while Emma got to live a life of utter decadence, waited on hand and foot?

Even after she had been rightfully returned to the Lockwoods, Emma was still draining their bank accounts to attend an Ivy League-level university abroad.

She listened intently to the voice on the other end, her face slowly darkening. "You're right, Pamela. Paternity tests can be easily faked. I refuse to believe she spent all those years living as a Lockwood without suspecting a thing. She definitely rigged everything before she flew back."

She paused to listen for another moment before replying, "Mhm, I'll do exactly as you say. But what about her engagement to Percy? Would the Harringtons seriously welcome a woman with such a shady background?"

While that phone call dragged on, Emma was already sitting on the narrow bed in the maid's quarters, tossing her ruined, wine-stained gown straight into the trash.

She had fully grasped the Lockwoods' stance. Now, there was just one last loose end to tie up.

"Percy, there's something we need to discuss."

The moment the words left her mouth, an incredibly impatient voice barked through the speaker.

"What's there to discuss? I already heard everything about your family drama. Let's just make this crystal clear right now—as of today, our engagement is officially canceled. We're done."

Emma gripped her phone tightly. She wasn't entirely shocked by the answer, yet a morbid curiosity compelled her to ask.

"Percy, do you even realize what you're saying right now?"

He clicked his tongue in obvious disgust. "Do you honestly think I would have gotten engaged to you if you weren't the Lockwood heiress? Look, I'm busy. Lose my number."

The call abruptly disconnected to the dead tone of a dial-up, leaving a fleeting trace of melancholy on Emma's face.

By phrasing it that way, Emma was firmly drawing a line, permanently severing herself from the Lockwood family tree.

Violet, completely oblivious, entirely missed the subtext.

Her face instantly lit up with relief, and as if trying to toss her a consolation prize, she added, "You're just as understanding as you were when you were a little girl. Your father and I just discussed it. Since your identity is out in the open, if Percy is still willing to marry you, our family won't stand in your way."

Emma simply raised her hand, cutting off the rest of Violet's sentence.

"We broke up."

Violet gasped in shock. "Broke up?"

She watched Emma give a curt nod and immediately let out a soft sigh. "Well, for a family like the Harringtons, canceling the engagement is to be expected. After all, that marriage alliance was technically meant for Gillian anyway."