Her Devilish Alpha - Chapter 167

Madeline listened carefully as Cornelia explained why she had brought them here.

“I invited you all here for many reasons, although I doubt anything I’ll say will be able to convince you all. So, I’ll answer any questions you want, and I’ll also be a gracious host. After all, I did invite you all to dinner.”

She glanced at Madeline, knowing her daughter was full with questions she wanted to ask her.

“All in time, of course,” she said, her smile not leaving her face.

Emilio shot her a murderous glare, and Xavier felt anger radiating off of Madeline.

He folded his arms against his chest.

“Seriously? You leave me for that long only to casually invite me to dinner and invite our daughter along with us with no explanation?” He asked, speaking up for him and Madeline.

Xavier just watched, knowing it wasn’t his place to interfere.

Emilio seethed, “I don’t– I don’t even remember how she came to–”

Cornelia stopped him, a faint smile on her face, “Are you sure you don’t?”

The man’s ears turned the reddest shade of red it had ever been, as he stopped talking. He looked confused, before he returned to glaring at Cornelia.

‘Why that–’

Turning to Madeline, Cornelia asked her, “You have many questions, so why are you staying silent, child?”

Madeline snapped, “I am not your child.”

Cornelia looked like she had been expecting this. With a calm look on her face, she said to Madeline, “If that’s what you want to think then. We’re just two people who look similarly to each other and are related by blood. What do you think?”

Xavier couldn’t believe Cornelia was tugging on Madeline’s strings. It was something she’d do, but Madeline was her daughter.

He shot Cornelia a warning look.

Madeline kept her cool, telling her, “Where have you been all this time? Why do you suddenly care about us now?”

Cornelia stared at her, before she laughed again. The woman couldn’t help it, her daughter had taken after her father a lot. Even if her daughter refused to be known as her daughter.

“Like father, like daughter, huh. You two are peas in a pod. Well, if you must know, I never started caring about you all of a sudden. I’ve always been there for you, you just never noticed, since I have my own ways.”

Madeline stared at her, “That’s called stalking.”

Blinking, Cornelia asked, “Is it really still deemed stalking if it’s watching over my family?”

“I. Am. Not. Your. Family,” Madeline said, stressing each word.

Fire burned in her eyes. How dare she.

Emilio couldn’t have been more proud of Madeline at that moment, watching her stand up to Cornelia was enlightening.

Perhaps a part of him was delighted he could have dinner with his daughter without having to be confined to just one room. Even if Cornelia was there, he was still quite happy.

Ah yes, Cornelia. His one and only.

Emilio had all kinds of mixed feelings about the woman.

On one hand, she was Cornelia. And a part of him was still in love with her, even after being apart for what seemed like forever. That part of him also wondered if she had found someone else. If… he had been replaced by someone else. Someone else who made her just as happy as he once did.

He hoped not, even though this was Cornelia he was thinking about. It was her who abandoned him.

And yet, he still found himself missing her. He still found himself missing that warmth he felt whenever he was with her, and everything about her in general.

Then, there was the other part of him, who hated her down to his very core. They could have still been a happy family. So why did she abandon him? Was it something that she saw in the future?

Cornelia couldn’t have changed that much during the time he hadn’t seen her, right? Deep down, she was still the same person she was before, except with a couple of tweaks, unless she really did change and was different than she was before.

‘Why am I even thinking about that? What, am I going to think about getting back with her next? She abandoned me. It wasn’t the other way around. She abandoned me the one time I needed her most, after I was there for her,’ he thought to himself, deeply hurt by her actions.

His heart had healed, and seeing her only made all the stitches reopen.

By then, Cornelia heaved a deep sigh, “My girl, you really do take after your father. Shame, I would’ve loved a mini me.”

The woman that sat across from her was resisting the urge to strangle her mother. That- that–

And Xavier. How dare he hide this from her?

It wasn’t up to him what she did with her family. She could have stayed back. If Cornelia brought her here with a snap of her fingers, she could have found a way to leave, no?

“Cornelia, that is enough.”

Cornelia looked weakly at Xavier, like she knew something that they all didn’t know. Strangely, Xavier was one of the people she listened to. Among a few others, of course…

“Oh alright, I was just joking anyway.”

She paused, realising she had an incoming guest.

“Perfect timing,” she noted, watching as the grand doors opened to reveal… Rosalynn.

“Aunt Rose,” Madeline called, relieved to see her alright and well.

Where had she been all this time?

“Sorry I was late,” Rosalynn apologised, wondering what had she missed when she saw Emilio looking downright frustrated, Xavier looking like he had messed up big time and Madeline more relieved to see her than she had ever been.

“Oh, that’s alright. Come join us,” Cornelia invited, motioning Rosalynn to take a seat beside Madeline.

She muttered under her breath, a bitter look on her face as she gazed at Madeline, ‘So you call Rose your aunt but refuse to acknowledge me as your mother, hmph.’