The Heiress Nobody Saw Coming (Natalie and Marcus) novel Chapter 189

"Marcus, you're drunk, so I won't hold this against you," William said calmly. "But don't go on and on about canceling your engagement to my daughter. You're not exactly God's gift to women, you know. My daughter isn't going to be crying and begging to marry you.

"If you don't want her, guess what? She doesn't want you either!"

Though William kept his composure, he was clearly unhappy with Marcus' repeated attempts to cancel the engagement. Calling off the arrangement with Emma had been one thing—Emma wasn't their biological daughter, and the promise wasn't originally hers.

But canceling the engagement with his real daughter? On what grounds?

Natalie was gorgeous, practically an angel. She was more than a match for Marcus. If anyone was canceling this engagement, it should be his family doing it.

"Marcus, what you need to do right now is take a cold shower and sober up. Wash out whatever nonsense is floating in your brain. And let me be clear. If this engagement is going to be canceled, my daughter will be the one calling it off.

"I'm not talking about Emma. I'm talking about my real daughter."

With that, William hung up.

As he set the phone down, Charlotte walked over. She asked, "Was that Marcus, that arrogant little punk?"

"Yeah, it was him," William replied with a frown.

"He has the nerve to look down on our daughter. Does he even know what he looks like? Just because he's got a decent face, he thinks our girl is desperate to marry him?

"He doesn't want our daughter? Well, newsflash: she doesn't want him either!" William sneered. "This engagement will be canceled, and it'll be on our terms. Let him cancel once with Emma; that's one thing. But if he thinks he's in control of this, he's got another thing coming."

Charlotte couldn't help but laugh. "You say that now, but would you dare say it to Marcus' face?"

"Uh…" William hesitated, a flicker of awkwardness crossing his face.

Truth be told, he wouldn't dare say such things directly to Marcus. He was all too aware of Marcus' capabilities and wasn't eager to provoke him.

Retired as he was, Timothy was still in the business world. The Walker family might be the nation's wealthiest, but they were insignificant compared to the Holden family's global wealth.

"Alright," Charlotte said, reigning in her amusement. "Let's talk to Nat. She's met Marcus before—let's see what she thinks."

Her expression turned serious as she added, "By the way, what's the deal with Emma? She went on vacation ages ago—why isn't she back yet?"

"She's been gone for long stretches before. It's nothing unusual," William replied.

"I'm not worried about her," Charlotte said, her brow furrowing slightly. "Now that Nat's part of the family, I want to host a proper welcome party for her."

"If Nat's fine with Emma staying in the family, then Emma should at least show some respect and formally acknowledge her as her sister. Otherwise, there's no place for her here."

"And," Charlotte added pointedly, "don't forget to keep looking into Emma's biological parents."

"I haven't forgotten. The investigation is ongoing."

At the mention of Emma, William's smile faded as he said, "Honestly, we should just send Emma away."

"Then send her away," Charlotte said decisively. "I have no issue with that."

"Her obsession with Marcus is too much. If she stays in the family, who knows what desperate, embarrassing thing she might do for his attention? I won't let anyone harm Nat."

"Exactly," William agreed.

The couple discussed it and came to an agreement—they would send Emma away. Unbeknownst to them, the Walker family's maid, Cindy, had overheard every word from her hiding spot.

Cindy's hands clenched tightly around the dish towel she was holding, nearly tearing it apart.

Once William and Charlotte retired to their room, Cindy rushed to her quarters and dialed Emma's number.