Rejected Heiress, Reigning Queen novel Chapter 9

Bright and early the next morning, the doorbell to Emma's suite chimed aggressively.

"Ms. Lockwood, Mr. Harrington instructed me to deliver these to you immediately."

Emma grabbed the bags in utter shock, but before she could even formulate a question, the assistant spun on his heel and vanished down the hall.

Thoroughly bewildered, she hauled the massive paper bags over to the sofa. Tearing them open, she found an entire wardrobe of brand-new, ultra-high-end dresses, dazzling accessories, and designer bags.

[If the sizing is off, let me know immediately.]

Her phone screen lit up with the incoming text.

Emma was completely lost. What exactly was Carter playing at?

Still, Percy's absolutely unhinged behavior from the day before was burned into her memory, and she was entirely opposed to ever wearing anything he had purchased for her again.

Stepping out of her room in one of the breathtaking new dresses, she shot Carter a quick text.

[Thanks for the assist, Carter. How much do I owe you? I'll wire the funds right now.]

The reply came almost instantaneously.

[Don't bother.]

Emma let out a heavy sigh, but when she casually looked up the retail prices online, her jaw nearly hit the floor.

Just the few outfits and bags alone easily totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Gifting a virtual stranger something this obscenely expensive was borderline psychopathic levels of luxury.

She attempted to add his personal social media accounts to force a transfer, but the requests went entirely ignored. Deciding she didn't have the bandwidth to stress over it, she rushed out the door—her main priority was dominating the medical summit on behalf of her colleague.

Emma arrived at the prestigious venue, only to be completely blindsided when she practically bumped into Gillian and Percy in the lobby.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Gillian sneered, digging her claws deeper into Percy's bicep. "Are you seriously pathetic enough to stalk Percy?"

A highly conflicted flicker flashed through Percy's eyes, but he quickly masked it by pulling Gillian closer against his chest, smirking at Emma. "Really finding it that hard to let me go?"

Emma stared at the deeply nauseating couple, making absolutely zero effort to hide her violent disgust.

"You really need to get over yourself."

She narrowed her eyes and attempted to brush past them toward the VIP entrance, but Percy fiercely threw his arm out to block her.

Emma had never been blessed with a long fuse, but since she was currently representing her senior colleague on native soil, she generously decided to offer these two idiots exactly one final warning.

If they were too stupid to take the hint, they only had themselves to blame for the impending bloodbath.

A sudden jolt of terror sparked in Gillian's chest. She violently remembered that Emma had been wearing this exact same chilling smile right before she publicly slapped her across the face twice at the banquet.

Pure survival instinct screamed at her to let go, but her toxic pride vehemently refused to let her back down in front of Emma.

Just as the tension hit a boiling point, Carter emerged from the corridor, flanked by an intimidating entourage of highly distinguished executives.

His face was carved from solid ice, his piercing gaze radiating sheer displeasure as he locked onto Percy.

Desperate to flip the narrative, Gillian finally dropped Emma's arm and shrieked, "Emma is violently trying to crash the event!"

Carter shifted his focus to Emma. The moment he realized she was wearing the exact dress he had picked out for her, a fleeting, undeniable warmth softened his dark eyes.

But the incredibly imposing older VIP standing next to Carter abruptly cut in.

"Emma Lockwood? You aren't on our fiercely vetted guest list. This isn't some cheap lounge for you to act out your little romantic dramas. I must ask you to leave the premises immediately!"