Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 3

“What? You don’t want to get married?”

Teresa stared in disbelief, her voice tight with worry. “The wedding’s already set. Invitations have gone out. How can you even think about backing out now?”-

Emmy buried her face in her mother’s arms like a little girl looking for comfort. “I just… I don’t want to leave you, Mom.”

Teresa smoothed Emmy’s hair, her tone softening. “Honey, you’ve had a crush on Dean since you were a kid. You always wanted to marry him, to build your own family together. What changed?”

A wave of bitterness washed over Emmy. Her mom’s words hit her like a bucket of cold water, snapping her back to reality.

Emmy’s family had known about Dean since he’s a little kid. He’s always in the good graces of the elders. He was smart, capable, the kind of guy everyone trusted and adored. After their engagement six months ago, her dad even put Dean in charge of big projects at the family company—he trusted him that much.

How could Emmy explain any of this to her mom?

Dean didn’t love her. Not really. There would be no real marriage—just a show for everyone else, pretending to be the perfect couple.

She couldn’t even dream of having a child with him. No matter what she gave up, even her health, it would never be enough for him to show her the slightest bit of affection.

And Dean would slowly take their company over, piece by piece, until it was nothing but another rung on his ladder to the top.

Thinking about her past life, Emmy felt her heart ache all over again.

Suddenly, a maid called from the hallway. “Ma’am, Miss White is back. Mr. Sparrow came with her.”

Teresa assumed Dean was here to talk about last-minute wedding details—or maybe just to check on Emmy after the scare she’d had. She patted Emmy’s hand, “Don’t let your mind run wild. Go wash your face, change into something nice. Then come and meet us downstairs.”

Emmy frowned.

So Evelina was just now getting back?

She needed to find a way to warn her mother. Her father’s heart had probably strayed a long time ago.

Emmy didn’t go downstairs right away. Her ankle was still sore, so she asked a maid to push her wheelchair to the second-floor landing, where she could look down at the living room.

Dean stood in the middle of the room, sharp in his tailored suit, his posture straight and confident. His voice was cool and steady as he spoke.

“Mr. Lincoln, Mrs. Lincoln, I brought Evelina home today, but there’s something else I need to say.

“I want to call off the wedding with Emmy.

“All these years, I’ve only seen her as my little sister. I’ve never felt anything more than that.

“The person I love is Evelina. I hope you’ll give us your blessing.”