Married On Paper To The Billionaire
Chapter 8: Decision, decision…

"Is it true?" Elsie asked her son. "Is Kendra truly pregnant?"

Kane cursed under his breath. "Who told you?"

"The gossip magazines!" she snapped and threw them at him. "I can't believe you, Kane. Why would you keep this from me?" "When did you start reading those rags?"

"That's not the point. Why is Kendra pregnant and I'm replaceing out about it through third parties?"

"It was supposed to be under wraps until my divorce from Emilia is finalized."

"Is it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"There's a process to it, Mother."

"Get it done this week and propose to Kendra."

"I beg your pardon?"

"No grandchild of mine will be born out of wedlock."

"I thought you disliked Kendra."

"I still do but I can put that aside for the sake of my grandchild. She'll give up that disgraceful career of hers, of course." "Kendra would never agree to that."

"That's her cup of tea."

"Besides, you haven't asked me if I want to marry her or not."

"Does it matter? She's pregnant already and the noble thing to do is to marry her and make an honest woman out of her." "Good Lord..."

"Don't say that. You don't even go to church, so leave the Lord out of this. Everyone is going to love her, by the way." "Why?"

"Because you two look perfect together and she has the look of a billionaire wife. Not like that mousey girl, Emilia. The ungrateful lout." "Please, don't talk about Emilia like that."

Elsie scoffed. "Good riddance. The girl was unteachable. Have you heard from her?"

"No."

"Hmm. I wonder what she gets up to these days..."

****

Emilia was disappointed when she heard the news of Kendra's pregnancy. So, that bitch finally won, didn't she?

"Don't worry about it. She's going to get what's coming to her. Karma is real," said her grandmother.

"I don't believe in Karma. If it actually exists, Kendra shouldn't be having a baby after she killed mine."

"She'll get her pay back, you'll see."

"Whatever, Granny. I don't care anymore."

"Don't say that, darling. What can I do to cheer you up?"

Emilia smiled at her grandmother sadly. "It's not your duty to cheer me up, Granny. I'm fine, ok?"

"You don't look fine to me. When was the last time you heard from Matt?"

"I don't need a boyfriend."

"Who said anything about a boyfriend? You can just hang out with him and have a good time, that's all."

As if on cue, Matt showed up at the door with a crate of vegetables for Granny. He greeted Emilia warmly but ignored her afterward. For some reason, that just made her crave his attention.

"How's work?" She asked him.

"Great," he replied.

She was hoping he'd say more than that but he didn't. He chatted briefly with Granny and then left.

"What happened?"

"Where?"

"With you and Matt. Why was he acting weird around you?"

Emilia shrugged. "Dunno."

Granny snorted. "Suit yourself. I'm going to make some pies for the children at the local school. Would you like to help me with that?"

"Sure, why not!"

She was glad to have something to do to take her mind off Matt, Kane and Kendra. When she accompanied Granny to the school to deliver the pies, they met the principal who informed them that they needed a new substitute teacher for the 5th grade class.

"I can do that!" Emilia offered cheerfully.

"Really?" Granny was surprised.

"Yes," she replied confidently. Now, she had a good reason to remain in the countryside for as long as she wanted.

Her good mood was shattered when they got home and she received an email from Kane's lawyer, notifying her that their divorce had been finalized. She felt crushed.

What was going to happen to her father's business now? How would he scale up successfully without the help of the Beaumonts' money?

"Well, at least Andrew is not owning anybody anymore. We can be thankful for that," said Granny when she heard the news.

"But what about the second restaurant?"

"Nothing can be done about that at this point. Let's focus on what we have in hand."

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Granny's words did nothing to make her feel better. She cried herself to sleep that night and called her dad the next morning.

"I'm so sorry, Daddy," she said miserably.

"No, sweetheart. Don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong."

"If it wasn't for me, none of this would have happened."

"I disagree, dear. Kane could have handled this differently but he chose to throw you under the bus instead."

"What else could he have done?"

"He could have protected you and stood by you when you needed him the most. I'm sure he didn't believe that you cheated on him, but for whatever reason, he chose to divorce you." Emilia wasn't sure if her father had a point with his opinion but she was glad that he was taking this bad situation well.

"Thanks, Dad," she said, feeling much better.

"When are you coming back home? The paparazzi have cleared out since you left. Apparently, the rest of us are not that interesting to photograph."

"Yeah, about that... I won't be coming home any time soon."

"Why not?"

"I kinda got a job here."

"What!"

"I got a short-term teaching job at the local school. It'll only be here for a few months."

"Geez, Emilia. Your mom would be livid."

"She'll be fine."

"I hope so."

After the phone call, she got dressed and went to work. Her first day was pleasant and when she got home in the afternoon, Granny had made her favorite meal. "I'm glad to see you smiling again," said Granny happily.

"Well, I can't cry forever. Life goes on."

"Now, that's what I like to hear. Atta girl!"

While she was helping Granny do the dishes after lunch, her phone began to ring. It was Chloe.

"Go ahead and answer it, dear. I'll finish up alone."

"Thanks, Gran!"

She answered the call, expecting to hear her little sister asking her why she'd chosen to become a country belle instead of returning to the city where she belonged. "OMG, Emilia! Kane has got some nerve!"

She sighed. "Calm down, Chloe. We all knew this was going to happen eventually."

"No, we didn't! At least, not with her!"

As you reach the final pages, remember that 000005s.com is your destination for the complete story. Share the joy of reading with others and spread the word. The next chapter is just a visit away! "Please, stop yelling, Chloe. You're going to blow out my ear drum."

"I can't believe you're so calm about this."

"What else should I do? I can't undo what has happened, can I?"

"That can never be me. If I were you, I would drag that bitch across social media like a wet mop stick. What a shameless serpent!"

"I wouldn't describe Kane in that way, but yeah, I can see you're super pissed on my behalf."

"I'm not talking about Kane. I'm talking about that stupid llama, Kendra."

"Kendra? What did she do again?"

Chloe gasped. "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Oh, gosh. I forgot that you're in the country now. Don't they have internet there?"

"Are you going to tell me what's going on or not?"

Chloe was silent for a few seconds before she spoke again. "She's now engaged to Kane."

Emilia's brain nearly exploded. "What?"

"She announced it on Instagram this morning. At first, I thought she was just trolling because of the pregnancy news, but then, the Beaumont family released an official press statement announcing the engagement." Emilia didn't hear anything else after that. Chloe's voice suddenly sounded so far away. She was struggling to breathe. Nothing made sense anymore.

She dropped her phone on the kitchen table without even bothering to end the call. And then, she walked out through the back door without saying a word to her grandmother.

"Emilia, where are you going? Are you all right?" Granny asked.

She ignored her grandma and hopped on the old bicycle resting under the back porch. She was so numb that she couldn't even think.

She rode the bicycle down the tarred road, meddling it furiously as if she had an appointment to catch up with. The wind blew through her hair and dried the tears she didn't even know she was shedding.

When she reached Mason Farms, she looked around, searching for Matt among the plaid-wearing farmers who were busy with their work. She spotted him in the distance, getting down from a giant tractor in front of the rad dish field. "Can I help you, Miss?" One of the farmhands asked.

She ignored him and peddled her bicycle towards the rad dish field. When Matt saw her, he stood still and stared at her with wide eyes and an open mouth.

Emilia screeched to a halt a few feet away from him and got off the bicycle. She ran to him and rose on tiptoes to kiss him.

Matt responded immediately. He held her by the shoulders and kissed her deeply. It was a moment he'd dreamed of many times.

"I think it's time for you to show me where you live," she said after breaking the kiss.

"Huh?"

"Take me to your place, Matt. I'm ready to be your girlfriend."