Chapter 146

EMILY

By the time the car pulled into the driveway of the Cavendish mansion, I felt emotionally drained.

The meeting with Mateo had gone exactly the way I’d hoped it would. He had agreed to get me the files I needed, and for the first time since I arrived in Hong Kong, it finally felt like I was taking back a little control over my own life.

Still, the victory felt hollow because none of it would’ve been necessary if one person hadn’t decided she had the right to dictate everyone else’s lives.

Cecelia.

Everything somehow led back to her.

I climbed out of the car without waiting for anyone to greet me and walked through the front doors. The house was unusually quiet, but the silence didn’t last long.

“Emily.”

I stopped the moment I heard my grandmother’s voice.

She was sitting in the living room with a cup of tea resting on the table beside her, looking as composed as ever.

Anyone walking in would have mistaken her for a harmless old woman enjoying a peaceful afternoon, but I knew better. That calm exterior hid the same woman who had stolen years of my hardwork without losing a single night’s sleep.

“Where did you go?” she asked.

I looked at her briefly before turning my attention back to the staircase.

I wasn’t in the mood for another conversation with her.

Without saying a word, I continued walking.

“I’m talking to you, Emily.”

Her voice carried across the room, firmer this time.

I stopped on the second step and slowly turned around to face her. A tired sigh escaped my lips as I looked at the woman who had spent weeks insisting that everything she did was for my own good.

“I went to clean up your mess.”

A frown settled on her face.

“My mess?”

“Yes, your mess.”

She stood from the sofa, smoothing the front of her dress as though that would somehow make this conversation less uncomfortable.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

A humorless laugh escaped me.

“I met Mateo.”

Something flickered across her face before it disappeared just as quickly.

“I told him the marriage isn’t happening.”

She stared at me without speaking.

“I also told him that I’ll get your money back,” I continued. “Whatever fortune you’re so desperate to recover, I’ll help you recover it.”

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat.

“And after that, I’m leaving.”

Her expression finally changed.

“Emily…”

“No.”

I shook my head before she could continue.

“You’ve spoken enough for both of us.”

The room fell silent.

Even the house staff quietly disappeared from view, clearly sensing that this wasn’t an argument they wanted to witness.

“You took my bakery away from me.”

The words came out quietly, but they carried every ounce of pain I’d been holding onto.

“You took away the life I spent years building.”

Her shoulders dropped ever so slightly.

“I’m sorry.”

I blinked.

She rarely apologized.

“I’m sorry about your bakery,” she said again, and this time her voice was softer. “But it had to be done.”

I stared at her, unable to believe what I’d just heard.

“It… had to be done?”

“I couldn’t let you stay in America.”

My chest tightened.

“I needed you back here.”

I let out a bitter laugh and shook my head in disbelief.

“You needed me?”

“Yes.”

“No,” I corrected. “You wanted someone to use.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but I wasn’t finished.

“You didn’t care that I’d finally built a life for myself. You didn’t care that I had a business I loved or that I was raising my daughter the way I wanted to. None of that mattered because the only thing you cared about was getting me back here.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“It was exactly like that.”

I could feel my emotions threatening to spill over, but I refused to cry in front of her.

“You wanted something from me, and instead of asking, you destroyed everything I had until I had nowhere else to go.”

“I was trying to protect this family.”

I laughed again, this time louder.

“Protect this family?”

My voice echoed through the living room.

“You burned down my bakery.”

She flinched.

“You forced me into an engagement with a man who doesn’t even want to marry me.”

Another flinch.

“You made decisions about my life as though I wasn’t even a person.”

“Emily, please—”

“No.”

I took a slow breath, trying to steady myself.

“You could’ve just admitted that you wanted me back because I was useful to you.”

Her lips parted, but no words came out.

“That’s what hurts the most,” I whispered. “I thought you wanted me because I was your granddaughter.”

Tears burned behind my eyes.

“I thought…” My voice cracked despite my efforts to stay composed. “I thought I’d finally found my family.”

The words had barely left my mouth when another voice spoke from the hallway.

“Emily?”

My heart sank.

I slowly turned toward the sound.

My mother stood frozen near the entrance to the hallway, her eyes fixed on me.

Judging by the look on her face, she had heard enough.

Shock lingered in her expression, but beneath it was something even harder to look at.

Pain.

Her lips trembled as she took a hesitant step forward.

“Emily…”

I couldn’t do this.

Not now.

Without saying another word, I turned and hurried upstairs.

I heard my mother call my name again, followed by my grandmother’s voice, but I kept walking until I reached my bedroom.

The moment I stepped inside, I locked the door.

The soft click of the lock echoed through the room before the silence swallowed everything.

I didn’t know how long I stood there crying before a soft knock sounded on the door.

I quickly wiped at my face, but I didn’t move.

Another knock followed.

“Emily?”

Hazel.

I closed my eyes.

“Please…” she said gently. “I know you’re in there.”

I rested my forehead against my knees without answering.

“I’m not here to force you to talk,” she continued after a brief pause. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry.”

The sincerity in her voice only made my chest ache even more.

“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through since you came here. None of us knew how much pain you were carrying, and I hate that you’ve had to go through all of this alone.”

Fresh tears slipped down my cheeks.

“I know things are complicated right now,” Hazel said quietly. “I know you probably don’t believe anything this family says anymore, but I need you to know that I love you.”

I squeezed my eyes shut.

“I spent my whole life wishing I had a sister,” she continued, her own voice beginning to shake. “Then I finally found you, and somehow the first memories we’re making together are filled with pain.”

A lump settled painfully in my throat.

“I don’t blame you for being angry.”

Still, I couldn’t bring myself to answer.

Because if I opened my mouth, I was afraid I would completely fall apart.

When no response came, Hazel sighed softly.

“I’ll give you some space,” she said. “But whenever you’re ready… I’ll be here.”

Her footsteps gradually faded down the hallway until I couldn’t hear them anymore.

I remained on the floor long after she’d left, staring at the bedroom that everyone insisted was mine but had never once felt like home.

Every day I stayed under this roof, it became harder to breathe.

Soon, all of this would be over.