REJECTED

CANNOT LEAVE HER

After a brief pause, Wagner complained, "I see that you've been neglecting your responsibilities as the alpha. Nowadays, you let anyone enter this villa and get away with what they want. Just look at her uniform. It's so untidy."

Unable to stand quietly watching Madeline bow her head, Emily dashed to get between them.

With her arms fanned out while standing before Madeline, the woman spoke despicably, "Hold it, old man! Why would you punish her for this?"

While pointing her finger towards herself, the young woman clarified, "You should be yelling at me, Grandfather!"

The old man lost his cool as he stated, "Do not ever call me by that name again! I can get addressed as a grandfather by my biological granddaughter only, who happens to be your alpha. Since you don't even understand that, it's clear that you don't belong here. Get out of my sight!"

Emily shuddered due to the man's sudden outburst.

His big proud eyes stared down at her while all the cooking faculty giggled to see her getting embarrassed.

Emily thought of addressing the old man’s superiority complex but refrained from doing so because she realised that she was in a disadvantageous position in the argument. However, she couldn't let the man have the last word.

She raised her head and announced, "Fine! Consider me gone, but let me make something clear before that. If you're too damn proud to dissuade the other person to even speak for themselves, you're the atrocious one here!"

While the crowd gasped in shock, Emily stormed out of the kitchen area. Lillian observed everything and decided to follow behind Emily. The intensity of the argument left the whole staff in a state of complete shock.

The young, hot-headed woman marched back and forth through the servant's quarter while ruminating over what she had done in the kitchen. Lillian stopped her in the middle and spoke while chuckling, "I need to tell you that when you addressed Mister Wagner as the grandfather, it was bizarre. It was the funniest thing I've seen this year!"

Aware of her misconduct, the woman responded, "Yes, it was stupid. I don't know why I went overboard with my anger. I could've just apologised."

After recognising the stress on her friend's face, Lillian asked the feisty woman, "What's the next plan, then?"

"Nothing. I will change the uniform and continue to work," responded Emily. "There's no way I'm going back to my town!"

Lillian then asked her in bafflement, "What if that man catches you?"

With a smug, Emily responded, "He didn't recruit me. Thus, he wouldn't be able to take any action against me until the alpha approved it. I won't leave until the alpha tells me to."

The girls accordingly decided to return to carry on with their work. As they were sneaking back into the main hall, they saw Jordan discussing his plan with somebody over the phone.

To avoid being spotted by him, the women hid behind the pillars and ended up overhearing his plot.

"That's still the plan," spoke Jordan while making rounds in the empty hallway that connected the servant's quarter to the main hall.

It was a busy afternoon in the mansion. Jordan, therefore, was assured that nobody would be around as everyone was required to work during that time of the day.

He further conceded to the person over the phone, "I'm guaranteeing you that it will be alright, Father. After the elder brother's marriage to the alpha, the estate and the pack will be ours. Money and power will not be an issue anymore. I only need to act like the innocent young prince to avoid suspicion till then. Don't worry about me, father."

After disconnecting the call, the man walked away. Since he got immersed in discussing his master plan, he failed to observe his surroundings in which lurked the threat of failure to his plan. Both the girls were aware of his conversation about taking over the estate and perfidy.

While elbowing Emily, Lillian commented, "Looks like trouble in paradise for the alpha. First, she got yelled at by the former alpha. Now, her in-laws are planning on taking away her inheritance. Woah!"

Baffled by the turn of events, Emily couldn't even speak. With her eyes fixated on the path on which Jordan went, she maintained her silence. Emily wanted to relate the plot of the lecherous brothers to the alpha. However, the fear that Madeline wouldn't trust her stopped her from doing so.

"I can't let this go on like this. Even if I can't tell the alpha about the Gregory brothers' intentions, I need to provide her with a hint of the impending betrayal," Emily let out with aggression evident in her voice.

"Why do you care? It's the matter of the royals. You don't need to worry yourself about it," Lillian claimed while dragging Emily towards the kitchen. "Help me with my chores, then do whatever you want."

Emily remained quiet as she couldn't decipher the reason behind her unrest after learning about the truth about the Gregory brothers. The only notion that was prevalent in her mind was that she couldn't let this go on.

After helping the newly acquired friends with her obligations, Emily decided to sneak into Madeline's chamber to give her a clue of what preceded beneath her nose. Out of all the people in the capital, a fiancé doesn't seem like the person you would ever doubt.

Even Emily was shocked to her core. Even the thought that the smooth-talking, gentlemanly prince Ferdinand could be a fraud troubled her. It had only been two days since she got acquainted with the man. Hence, she believed she didn't know him well enough to dismiss Jordan's secret confession.

After ascending the staircase, she waited for the alpha around the doorway till late in the evening. She didn't enter her room as she had learnt her lesson from their previous interaction. Even the thought of it gave her jitters.

When she finally saw Madeline stride in her direction, she greeted the woman and asked her in a soft tone, "Can we talk alone?"

With a nod, Madeline allowed her to enter her chamber.

After settling on the couch, Emily apologised first, "Forgive me for what happened. I was disrespectful in my conduct today."

While getting rid of her cardigan, the alpha responded calmly, "If you're seriously apologetic, why don't you pay more attention to your way of presentation more?"

Feeling attacked, Emily asked, "Really? Are you sure it was justifiable for him to yell over just a single spot?"

Since the alpha didn't respond, the young woman tried to rebuild the conversation over the same topic again, "Well, it is for you to decide if you wish to put up with my apology or not. My obligation was to apologise which I have completed."

While arranging her things inside the cupboard, Madeline didn't heed Emily's remarks.

Though Emily was beginning to get slightly agitated, she tried to maintain a calm demeanour as she further informed the alpha, "I hate to break it to you, but I overheard Jordan talking to his father. Their family don't care about you at all. They are thinking of taking advantage of you. The reason behind their marriage proposal is to acquire your pack and status as the alpha."

With her long strand of dark hair tied in a bun, Madeline finished arranging the clothes in her cupboard and still remained silent.

With her arms crossed, Emily spoke, "I get that I probably should be the last person to advise you, but I strongly believe you should confront Ferdinand about it. I don't think prince Ferdinand is part of their plan as he loves you very much."

After finally giving Emily attention, Madeline asked her in all seriousness, "Why do you wish to inform me about it?"

With her hand on her chest, Emily confessed, "I don't know. It's not like me to be this way. All I know is that I am extremely concerned for you."

While narrowing her gaze down on her, Madeline spoke, "You're a child who hasn't even gotten kissed yet. There's nothing you know about adult relationships. Keep your nose out of my business!"

With her fists clenched in anger, Emily responded, "I am just trying to look out for you. That's what humans do when co-inhabiting in a just society. We look out for one another. I don't want to stay silent while the alpha gets betrayed."

With her gaze lowering and smirk changing into a frown, Madeline walked away to the balcony. Madeline’s sorrow took a toll on Emily as well. For reasons unknown, Emily felt as if her heart was getting heavier. She hated seeing Madeline in that manner.

"That sad face doesn't suit you," uttered Emily to herself while observing her first love from afar.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE

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I’m extremely grateful for the support. Please add this book to your library if you haven’t already and comment with your thoughts about the chapter.

Thank You.