Rejected Heiress, Reigning Queen novel Chapter 60

Emma left for Garrison City that very day, taking a detour to check on the Jennings' pharmaceutical plant, which had completely ceased operations.

To Emma's surprise, it wasn't Violet who showed up to meet her.

Instead, Logan, her cousin Sebastian, and Gillian arrived.

Emma genuinely hadn't expected the Lockwood siblings to tag along. A profound wave of irritation flashed in her eyes.

"Em! It's been way too long. Why have you lost so much weight? Come on, dinner's on me."

The moment Sebastian saw her, his eyes filled with brotherly concern, eager to take her out.

"What are you craving? You've been abroad so long, you must be dying for some local comfort food, right?"

As Sebastian asked, Emma offered a polite smile. Before she could speak, Gillian cut in.

"Sebastian, I want a steak. Let's go get Western food, okay?"

Gillian whined in a sickeningly sweet voice, shooting Emma a territorial, triumphant glare.

Sebastian frowned imperceptibly, his gaze shifting to Logan.

Logan turned to Emma. "Emma, what do you want to eat? If you don't have a preference, Western food is fine. It suits your tastes anyway."

Emma let out a soft, unreadable laugh.

'Suits my tastes?' That was just a convenient excuse because Gillian demanded it.

Finding the entire charade exhausting, she reached for her bag to leave, but Sebastian snatched it up first.

"Tell you what, Logan. You take Gillian out for steak, and I'll take my cousin out for some real food."

He turned to Emma, arching an eyebrow with a warm smile. "Let's go. I know a great private kitchen right around the corner."

The irritation bubbling in Emma's chest smoothed out slightly.

"She lacks security, so that means Emma had it easy? You guys feel guilty, but stop projecting your family's sins onto Emma." Seeing Logan still looking completely torn, Sebastian waved his hand dismissively. "Forget it. Stay out of it. I'll handle this."

As the two men spoke, they caught sight of something near the car out of the corners of their eyes—Gillian was violently shoved to the ground.

Logan immediately bolted over, while Sebastian sucked in a sharp breath.

What the hell happened now?

By the car, Gillian was sprawled on the ground, glaring up at Emma with pure, venomous hatred.

"My brothers and Sebastian belong to me! Don't you even think about trying to steal them back."

Emma smiled, a chilling, mocking curve of her lips. She stared down at Gillian with absolute, crushing disdain.

"Only children fight for favor. The things you're so desperate to claim mean absolutely nothing to me now."