THE ILLEGITIMATE BRIDE

Chapter 3

In the Monroe mansion, Harper's furious voice through the room as she yelled, "Ahhhhh! Nicholas Thornton was meant to be miiiine!!!"

Victoria paced relentlessly, trying to find a solution. She muttered, "We all thought he was paralyzed! How come he wasn't!"

Harper, still seething with anger, responded with frustration, "I'm sure Dad knew about this, and he wanted his illegitimate b***h to marry him!"

Out of frustration, Harper rushed to her dressing mirror, throwing her makeup kits onto the floor as she continued to yell, "Ahhhhhhh!"

Victoria, desperate to regain control of the situation, called out sternly, "Harper!! That's enough!! I'll fix this, trust me."

Meanwhile, Emily had just arrived at Nicholas Thornton's mansion.

Nicholas Thornton didn't say a word to her, it was almost like she didn't exist. As they alighted from the car, Nicholas realized he hadn't heard Emily's footsteps.

He turned to her and grumpily asked, "Are you going to come in, or are you going to stay there all day?"

Emily gulped hard and followed him inside. They entered the mansion, and Olivia, the housekeeper, rushed to greet them.

Nicholas instructed her, "Take her upstairs."

Olivia nodded and addressed Emily politely, "Follow me, ma'am."

Emily followed Olivia upstairs as she fidgeted with her fingers.

Once she was alone in the room, she retrieved her phone from her purse, checking anxiously for any credit alerts.

Emily reached into her purse and retrieved her phone, hoping to find a notification of the promised money. To her dismay, there was nothing.

She called Harper instantly. The phone rang once, but Harper didn't pick up. Emily tried again, and this time, Harper answered.

"I haven't seen the money?" Emily mouthed.

Harper, her voice accusatory and defensive, responded, "I can see your plan was to get Nicholas Thornton from me! Why do you always want everything I want!"

"What are you saying?" Emily retorted. "You made me marry Nicholas Thornton. I had nothing to do with him. I fulfilled my part of the deal; now I need my money!"

"Why don't you go ask your billionaire husband!" Harper's voice dropped with sarcasm.

Emily, desperate and on the verge of tears, pleaded with Harper, "Please, Harper, I need that money, and that was the only reason I threw my life away and decided to marry Nicholas Thornton, please."

Just then, the door swung open and Nicholas Thornton walked in.

Emily, startled, immediately hung up and dropped the phone to her side. Nicholas walked in as his eyes were fixed on Emily.

She felt incredibly uncomfortable in the presence of this stranger who was now her husband, as she adjusted herself on the bed. Everything felt awkward.

Nicholas moved toward a mirror in the room, and began unbuttoning his shirt.

Emily instantly stood up from the bed to give him some privacy

However, Nicholas glanced at her through the mirror and questioned, "Going somewhere?"

Stammering, Emily replied, "Uhm... No... I'm uhmmmm... I'm giving you your privacy."

Nicholas Thornton turned to face her, his piercing gaze remained fixed on her.

He corrected her, "Privacy? You're my wife. Stay here."

Emily's heart raced as she stood there, mere inches away from Nicholas, who continued to unbutton his shirt.

Her gaze involuntarily wandered to his broad chest, and she couldn't hold back the shiver that ran down her veins.

Nervously, she stammered, "Uhm... I'll be outside."

"It's an order!" Nicholas commanded.

Emily's heart raced, and her breath quickened as Nicholas Thornton took two deliberate steps closer to her. He looked into her eyes, his gaze intense, and asked, "Are you scared?"

Emily's throat felt dry as she gulped hard, attempting to avoid his intense gaze.

But Nicholas insisted, stepping even closer to her. He repeated his question, "Look me directly in the eyes. Are you scared?"

With a quivering voice, Emily slowly nodded, She whispered, "I'm your wife, anyways."

Nicholas Thornton closed the remaining distance between them, until they were almost touching.

He leaned in and asked, "Aren't we going to consummate our marriage?"

Emily's heart raced even faster, and her voice trembled as she replied, "Anything you want."

Nicholas moved in closer, his hands gently trailing off her shoulders, drawing her nearer for a kiss.

Just as their lips were about to meet, Emily couldn't hold back her curiosity any longer. She asked, "Why did you pretend to be disabled?"

Nicholas Thornton, undeterred, took Emily into his arms, gripping her waist firmly as he said, "that's my business!"

With that, he carried her to the bed, and Emily laid there, tears streaming down her cheeks as he devoured her.

The next morning, Emily awoke to a series of missed calls from Grace at the hospital.

She muttered, "s**t!'

Hurriedly, she got out of bed and began preparing to leave for the hospital.

As Emily prepared to leave the house to visit her mother at the hospital, she heard Nicholas's voice call out to her from behind.

"Where do you think you're going to?" He demanded.

Emily halted in her tracks as she turned to face him, "I'm going to the hospital to see my mom."

Nicholas questioned, "Are you sure that's where you're going? You didn't ask for permission."

"Permission?" Emily questioned. "Am I a prisoner?"

Nicholas Thornton asserted, "You're my wife now!"

"But that doesn't mean I'm a prisoner." Emily stated.

Nicholas set his conditions, making it clear, "I need you back here in an hour."

Emily didn't utter another word as she turned and left for the hospital.

As she arrived at the hospital, there was something about the atmosphere that made her uneasy.

She rushed to her mother's ward, her heart pounding with anxiety. As she entered the room, she saw her mother, Madeline, lying on the bed with the bedspread covering her face.

Emily stood there in shock, her purse slipping from her hand and making a sound that alerted Grace, who had been facing away. Grace turned and saw Emily standing behind her.

Emily stammered, fearing the worst, as she asked, "D-don't tell me... what happened?"

Grace rushed to console her, her voice filled with sorrow as she delivered the devastating news. "She's dead, Emily."