Overbearing CEO's Contract Love
Chapter 56: Family Abandonment

Chapter 56: Family Abandonment

"Emma, how could you behave like this?"

Not wishing to engage in futile arguments with her grandmother any longer, Emma Hart stood up resolutely. "Mom, take care of yourself. I’m leaving."

As she walked down the alley, tears betrayed Emma’s stoic facade, reminding her of the piercing loneliness that comes with being abandoned by one’s own family.

Wiping away her tears, Emma hailed a cab, desperate to escape the suffocating atmosphere.

"Where to?" asked the driver.

"Anywhere," she replied, turning her gaze towards the window, allowing her tears to fall freely.

Meanwhile, in his office, Damien Sterling picked up his phone.

"Mr. Sterling, Miss Emma visited her family in the old alley and has now taken a taxi. I am tracking her," reported the caller.

"Understood," he replied curtly, hanging up.

Just then, the office door opened, revealing Sophia Greenwood.

Damien glanced at Sophia, who entered with casual familiarity, realizing it might be time to revise certain protocols.

Sophia held a bottle of imported estate wine. "Dear Damien, this is from a friend, and I thought you’d appreciate it," she said.

"No, thank you," Damien responded, his tone as cool as ever.

Sophia, undeterred by his cold demeanor, gracefully surveyed the room, seemingly unfazed.

She had always said that staying by Damien’s side required patience.

If Damien treated her like other men did, fawning and bowing, where would be the intrigue?

Sophia’s hand rested on the sleek surface of the office desk as she seductively walked towards Damien, her long legs grazing the table.

"Dear Damien, do you remember the heir of Jones Group? The one who last year was madly in love with a girl he met in a shopping mall, almost causing a family uproar, thinking he had found true love?"

"They just had a baby, and the family insisted on a DNA test. Guess what happened?" Sophia leaned in, her face close to Damien’s, reveling in the mystery.

However, Damien had little interest in such gossip and chose not to engage with Sophia’s narrative.

Sophia Greenwood, slightly displeased, raised her head but continued, "Turns out the child isn’t even a Jones. It’s quite laughable, isn’t it? But that young lady sure knows how to play her cards, putting on an act of innocence."

Damien Sterling’s hand tapped on the desk, his gaze lifting slightly to meet Sophia’s, his impatience clearly showing.

"Dear Damien, I’ll head down to work," Sophia said, sensing the mood.

"Alright."

As soon as Sophia left, Damien summoned his secretary.

"From now on, everyone needs to be announced before entering," Damien instructed coldly.

"What about Director Greenwood?"

"Everyone."

Damien’s icy gaze sent chills through the room.

"Yes, Mr. Sterling."

The secretary knew better than to say more.

Damien always presented his most charming side, but everyone knew the cold, unapproachable aura he radiated.

Under the moat bridge, Emma Hart stood alone from afternoon till evening.

Had her phone not rung, she wouldn’t have realized she’d been standing there for over five hours.

"Where are you?" Damien’s cold voice came through.

"At the moat."

"Wait there for me."

Five minutes later, a Bugatti pulled up by the riverbank.

The door opened, and Damien, clad in a classic khaki trench coat, stepped out.

Few men could carry such a coat, but on Damien, it hung perfectly, accentuating his tall frame.

As he walked towards Emma, the coat fluttered in the breeze, almost as if the wind itself was making way for him.

Entranced, Emma didn’t notice he had approached until he was right in front of her.

"Have you been crying?"

Damien studied Emma’s red, swollen eyes, her vulnerability stirring something within him, an unfamiliar pang of compassion.

Yet, this feeling was alien to Damien, who never felt pity for anyone, not a single soul!

Observing the tear streaks on Emma Hart’s face, Damien Sterling surmised she had been standing there for quite a while.

"How long have you been here?"

"I don’t know."

"You don’t know?" Damien’s eyes brimmed with anger. "Emma Hart, if anything happens to my child because of your carelessness, you’ll be held responsible!"

Her face, a canvas of conflicting emotions, was marked by tears, her expression oscillating between sorrow and a bitter smile.

Emma’s cold gaze met Damien’s as she retorted, "Your child?"

Looking at the man before her, Emma wondered how he could possibly care for a child. The child’s future seemed inevitably tragic.

Without warning, Damien’s hand was around Emma’s neck, his eyes burning with a demonic fury. "What did you say?"

Emma struggled against Damien’s grip, his muscular arm almost lifting her off the ground, her face turning a deep shade of red from the choking.

Frantically beating against Damien’s arm, Emma realized she was in grave danger.

Straining for breath, she managed to gasp, "The... child..."

The venom in Damien’s eyes dissolved as he lowered his gaze to Emma’s belly, finally releasing his grip.

" What are you doing?" Emma, bewildered and gasping for air, stared at Damien.

Confused about what she had said to provoke such rage, she was at a loss.

"Let’s go home."

Throughout the ride home, Emma curled up in the seat, clinging to the car door, creating as much distance as possible between herself and Damien, a protective measure against her own vulnerability.

Upon arrival, Mrs. Harris greeted them but immediately noticed the red marks on Emma’s neck.

After a brief glance at Damien, her gaze softened with sympathy towards Emma.

"Miss Emma, are you alright?"

"I’m fine," Emma asserted, barely holding herself together.

Soon after they arrived, a knock at the door heralded the arrival of Dr. Smith, Damien’s personal physician, who also took care of Emma.

Damien, now in his silver-trimmed pajamas, saw the doctor and casually directed, "Check her."

"I’m fine," Emma resisted, turning away.

Recalling the ordeal and facing the prospect of exposing herself to a stranger, she felt utterly humiliated.

The day’s suppressed emotions overwhelmed her, causing her eyes to well up once again.

"Emma Hart!" Damien’s voice thundered with fury.

Was she defying him again, tempting her own fate?