Cursed Alpha's Accidental Mate

Chapter 5

___ Emily's POV ___

Olivia smiled contemptuously and said, "Maverick is a good student, so he's in college now. But you, you are shameless. You went to the hotel with your lover and cheated on your fiancé."

Narrowing my eyes at Olivia, I shot back, "I didn't cheat on him. I told you it was an accident. I don't know that man at all! You're just trying to smear my name!"

She trembled and stepped to our father, Daniel's side, complaining, "Daddy, see? She scolded me."

Daniel had always favored her, so he patted the back of her hand softly and turned to me with anger in his eyes. "You are sinful and shameless! Why do you still have the nerve to talk to Olivia like that? You don't deserve to be her elder sister!"

In my father's eyes, I had always been inferior to Olivia. While it's not entirely true, I've always been less important than everyone else. No matter what I said or did, I was always in the wrong.

Daniel Collins, the head of Collins Construction, was once a loving man and a providing father. But ever since my mother's death, the love and care he once had for me seemed to have died as well. It was a painful realization I had to bear.

With determination, I endured my reality and spoke up, "This is a personal matter between Lucas and me. No one has the right to meddle and judge us. I still have to go to work, so I don't want to waste any more time here."

Just as I turned to leave, Daniel suddenly shouted, "Wait! Look at this!"

He grabbed a newspaper from the table beside him and hurled it at me. Startled, I looked down and saw a photograph on the front page. In the picture, I was standing beside a man in just a suit jacket, with my legs exposed and his one hand on my shoulder. His other hand had a finger against my lips. We were looking into each other's eyes. It was a photo of when he had stopped me from going after Lucas. We looked so... intimate. But due to the angle and lighting, my face was clearly visible while his face was blurry. I was shocked to see that despite the fuzziness, the man's handsome and powerful side profile was in stark contrast to Lucas. Everyone with half a brain could see it was not Lucas.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This was taken while we were still in the hotel room.

The headline of the news article read, 'Lucas Steele's Fiancée and Her Secret Lover Spent the Whole Night in a Hotel Room Together.'

To make matters worse, it was The Chronicle, the very news company I work for, that had published this news. How could this have happened? Who had taken that photograph of us?

Daniel exploded with anger. "See? Now everyone knows about your affair! Do you really think you can handle this on your own?" As I stood there, dumbfounded by the sight of the news, his rage grew at my shocked reaction.

Margaret quickly patted his chest, urging him to calm down. "Daniel, calm down, darling. This is all my fault." I frowned at her statement. Then, she added fuel to the fire by saying, "I never believed those who said it was hard to be a stepmother. I have really tried to take care of Emily and treat her well. I've taught her right from wrong. But look at what she has become — a morally corrupt person who chose to spend Valentine's Day with her lover instead of her fiancé. She has brought shame upon the Collins family. It's all my fault. I failed to raise her properly. I deserve all the blame!"

I couldn't help but scoff at Margaret's words. She was incredibly two-faced, showing a fierce and domineering evil side to me while acting weak and kind in front of Daniel. It seemed that her daughter, Olivia, had inherited this trait perfectly.

"Margaret, enough with the charade. It's as if you believe you actually taught me something. Let's not forget, you didn't even graduate from primary school! Do you truly think you have the capability to educate me?" I retorted, my frustration seeping into my tone.

Margaret's lack of education and inferior family background had always been a sensitive subject for her. I could see her on the verge of losing her temper, ready to strike me either verbally or physically. However, her rationality prevailed, and instead, she clung to Daniel's arm, bursting into tears. "Daniel, did you hear how she spoke to me? I've done my best to take care of her for years, but she refuses to call me mom. And she constantly hurls such hurtful words at me!"

Sniffing and clinging to Daniel's arm tighter, Margaret sought sympathy from him. Empathy filled his gaze for her but it intensified his anger towards me. He snapped, "You wretched girl! Look at the mess you've created! You don't deserve to be my daughter! You're nothing but a malicious woman! Bring me the cane!"

Daniel, who claimed to have served in the army, although I had yet to find paperwork to provide proof, had become a ruthless man after my mother's death. He believed in using violence to discipline his children, mainly directed towards me and Maverick. Whenever he felt we had disobeyed or disrespected him, he would resort to physical punishment, with me being the primary target.

As a servant hastily brought the willow whip, a clean branch from a willow tree measuring about 1.5 meters long and slightly thicker at the handle, and narrow at the end, my veins filled with fear. Even though I didn't stay in his house and was a working woman, I still endured his punishment because if I didn't, he would give it to Maverick.

However, I mustered up the courage to stand tall and confront my father. "Dad, please, let's be reasonable. I'm your daughter! Why won't you believe me? Why do you blindly trust them without a second thought? I really don't know that man! It was all a misunderstanding."

"How dare you talk back? You're asking for a beating!" Daniel seethed with anger, standing up and raising his hand to deliver several strikes. I swiftly dodged most, but some of the strikes hit me, especially the narrow end, leaving red, raised marks on my skin.

I could see Olivia, filled with excitement behind Daniel, at the scene of my pain, fueled by her evilness she added, "Daddy, she's constantly disgracing you! You must punish her severely! Beat her even harder!"

After she spoke, I could see Margaret gently nudged Olivia, reminding her not to say such things. It was crucial for Olivia to maintain her mask because, in Daniel's eyes, she was perceived as a well-behaved, weak, and sweet girl. However, if he heard her utter such words, it would undoubtedly lead him to believe she was vicious. Margaret gave her a pointed look, a subtle hint to keep quiet.

Olivia's face contorted as she swiftly recognized her mistake. When Daniel glanced back at her, she promptly fell silent, her face concealed behind a veil of sadness.

Margaret pretended to play the peacemaker, walking over with a smile and saying, "Daniel, no matter what mistake she made, we shouldn't hit her anymore. Let's have a good talk with her. Although Emily has caused us big trouble, she is still a member of the Collins family. Our priority now is to solve the problem of her marriage with the Steeles."

Then, she winked at Olivia, who smartly took the hint and echoed considerately, "Yes. The Collins' reputation is the most important thing. Daddy, don't be angry with Emily. Otherwise, it would harm your health."

Daniel sighed with satisfaction at Olivia's words, and he had already left his mark on me. He took Olivia's hand, looked at her, and said, "If she were half as sensible as you, I would be satisfied."

Then, he glared at me and said, "Learn from Olivia. You're older than her, but you can't even hold a candle to her."

I felt pain, physically and emotionally. Although I had dodged some strikes, some had made contact, leaving visible marks on my skin. Hearing his words only made the heart-wrenching pain more ironic. He had always thought lowly of me and said such hurtful words to manipulate and belittle me.

Margaret appeased Daniel for a while, then helped him back to his seat, seemingly earnest she said, "Emily, we blamed you for your own good. Your affair has already been exposed, so the Steeles may fall out with us. As you know, most of our business relies on them, and we have a deep collaboration now. If your engagement is canceled, we'll suffer a huge loss. You must find a way to get Lucas to forgive you."

I looked at her indifferently and snorted, "I'll explain it to him. You don't need to worry about it."

Margaret sighed, "After such an incident, your explanation won't work. We need to compensate them. But we're hard up for money now. It's your fault that we're in this situation. I remember you have a villa in your name, right? Why don't you give it to us? We'll use it to negotiate with the Steeles and try our best to prevent them from canceling the engagement."

Margaret put on a false front as if she were doing this for my benefit, but I felt nothing but disgust when hearing her words. It turned out Margaret wanted to snatch my only inheritance from my mother — my villa.