Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 4

Emmy stood at the top of the stairs, listening as voices drifted up from below. She couldn’t stop the bitter smile curling at her lips.

Sister? Was that what she was now?-

Seven years of marriage, all those intimate nights together, every promise and touch—gone, just like that. All she got in the end was a casual “sister.” She’d told herself to let go, but her chest still ached with the sting of it.

Downstairs, the living room was as still as a tomb. Teresa stared at Dean, shock frozen on her face. Then she looked at Evelina, who was standing close by, biting her lower lip and looking both embarrassed and ashamed.

Teresa pointed at Dean, her hand shaking. Her voice trembled with disbelief and anger.

“Dean! When did this start? What do you take my daughter for?

“You think you can just call off a wedding when you feel like it? And now you want to marry her instead?”

She spun around, her finger now aimed at Evelina. Her whole body shook with rage.

“Evelina! We took you in when you came back. Did the Lincolns ever treat you badly? Is this how you repay us?

“How could you do this to Emmy? She’s always treated you like her own sister. She shared her friends with you, gave you resources, every opportunity… How could you?

“Didn’t all your fancy schooling teach you anything about basic decency?”

Emmy’s hands tightened in her lap as she listened. She had never seen her mother like this—so angry, so out of control.

All her life, her mother had been the definition of grace and calm, a gentle and elegant woman who never raised her voice or said a harsh word to anyone. Seeing her like this, Emmy realized just how badly her mother was hurting.

She turned to the housekeeper behind her. “Take me downstairs.”

In the living room, Evelina’s eyes filled with tears. She choked out her words, voice barely steady.

“Mrs. Lincoln, I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt Emmy or ruin her marriage. I just… I couldn’t help how I felt…”

Dean stepped in front of Evelina protectively. “Mrs. Lincoln, please, don’t blame her. This was all me. I was the one who fell for her first. Evelina didn’t do anything wrong.”

Cooper’s smile finally slipped, embarrassment flickering across his face.

“Teresa, watch your words. This isn’t the time to lose our composure.”

He straightened, trying to look like he was in control.

“The kids should handle their own problems. We’re the parents, not the referees. Do you really want to tear them apart and make a scene that nobody can recover from?”

He turned to Dean and Evelina, his voice softening.

“Dean, Evelina, don’t feel pressured. What matters most in a relationship is that you both truly care about each other. I understand.”

Teresa was shaking, so angry she couldn’t even speak. She just pointed at Cooper, lost for words.

At that moment, the elevator doors opened. Emmy rolled out in her wheelchair, the housekeeper quietly pushing her into the room.