Chapter 5 - THE PROPOSAL AND THE TERRORI brought her out to the private rose garden behind the estate on a crisp autumn afternoon and asked her to be my wife.
Instead of looking relieved or joyful, Emily turned pale, stepping backward as if I had struck her.
"You come from heaven, and I come from earth," she whispered, reminding me of my surname, my wealth, and the vicious syndicate family that would never accept a common housekeeper as a matriarch.
"I don't care about my family's approval," I told her firmly, gripping her hands. "And I already know about Johnny, Paul, and Lily. Whatever past you have, whatever children you're supporting, I will protect them, provide for them, and love them as part of our home."
Every trace of color vanished from Emily’s face. She looked at me as though I had just uncovered something far more terrifying than three secret children.
May you like
"You know?" she breathed, trembling.
Then she warned me that the truth about those three children would change everything I believed about her—and begged me to reconsider before it was too late.
