Their Queen's Back - Chapter 55: Chapter 55

Linda pulled Emily into her arms, but Emily quickly squirmed free, visibly uncomfortable. She asked coldly, "What do you want?"
Linda glared at the ungrateful wretch before her, resentment boiling inside. All these years, she hadn't kept her at home so she could live a pampered life—she was only there to serve their purposes.
"Emily, Mom can't take this anymore!" Linda sobbed, thrusting her calloused hands forward. "Look at Mom's hands—I've slaved away all day. Do you even know what I've endured today? I…"
Linda, mistakenly believing that Emily was hanging on her every word, launched into a long rant about all the unfair treatment she'd suffered that day—and, spurred on by this illusion, only spoke with even greater fervor.
Emily's heart was pounding with anxiety, tense and uneasy. Skye had already warned her about this last time.
"I can't call anyone 'Mom' anymore," Emily thought, guilt washing over her as Skye's words echoed in her mind. Linda wasn't her birth mother—how could she keep calling her that?
Skye lounged in her chair, snacking on fruit while watching the financial news. Meanwhile, Linda kept repeating, "Mom is so miserable," and "Poor Mom," her voice full of self-pity—Skye heard every word.
Emily's heart raced with worry—what if Skye misunderstood and thought it was all her fault...
Emily thought, "I haven't called Linda 'Mom' even once since I listened to Skye last time. Now, I deeply regret ever calling her that before."
"Emily, come here," Skye called out just then.
As if she'd just received a command, Emily immediately walked over. Yet right before facing Skye, she feigned impatience, a flicker of pride in her eyes.
Skye looked at Emily and asked gently, "How was school today?"
"Huh?" Emily froze for a moment, thinking, "Is she about to question me about Linda and then scold me?"
"She's going to punish me by not letting me eat," Emily thought nervously.
Skye glanced sideways at his adorably clueless little sister, then reached out to gently pat her head. "What's wrong, Emily?" he asked softly.
Emily crossed her arms with a little huff, deliberately turning her head away and lifting her chin—the perfect picture of feigned indifference.
"You messed up my hair! So rude of you!"
Though she protested, Emily couldn't help but lean in even closer, her eyes half-lidded like a pampered kitten.
She acted annoyed, but was secretly delighted.
As Skye withdrew her hand, Emily's rosy lips instantly formed a petulant pout.
"Ugh, she's so impatient. Seriously annoying," Emily thought.
She pets Sophia for ages, but when it's me, it's just a quick pat on the head—then the moment I say something, she pulls her hand back. Can't even handle a little test—what a fickle woman!
"Hmph," Emily thought petulantly.
"I didn't skip a single class—I was there for every one!" Emily said defensively.
"So, were you actually paying attention?" Skye asked gently.
A flicker of guilt flashed across Emily's face as she lowered her head. "I..." she started to explain.
"Emily!" Linda rushed over, her voice sharp with irritation. "I was talking to you! How dare you just run off like that?"
Emily's heart leapt into her throat again as she wrenched free from Linda's grip—her fingers digging painfully into Emily's shoulder.
"Aunt Linda, you're hurting me."
Linda's eyes widened in shock. "Emily! What did you just call me?!" Just then, Jessica, who had just returned, overheard the exchange.
Both Jessica and Linda froze in shock. Jessica exclaimed, "Emily! What did you just call Mom? You actually called her Aunt Linda!"
This sudden change in Emily must be Skye's doing again—no doubt she put her up to it.
"That damn bitch," she fumed inwardly.
After a moment's thought, Emily said firmly, "She's not my mother. My birth mother has passed away."
Her eyes dimmed with melancholy as she spoke, but Skye felt quietly relieved to see her come to terms with the truth so quickly.
"Emily," Linda said, her voice trembling, "ever since I joined this family, I've worked my fingers to the bone raising you. I know I'm not your real mother—if you don't want to call me 'Mom,' I can accept that. I can endure all of it... as long as it's truly your own choice, not because someone else is forcing you."
As she spoke, Jessica glanced at Skye, then quickly pulled Emily over and said, "Emily, how could you hurt Mom like this? Skye, I know you have issues with me and my mom, but you can't force Emily to turn away from her. My mom truly treats Emily as her own flesh and blood—even more than her own daughter! And now you're deliberately driving a wedge between them."
Emily hurriedly explained, "No, no! Nobody forced me—this is my own decision. Jessica, I already have a mother, so from now on I can't call Aunt Linda 'Mom' anymore. She's your mother."
Jessica couldn't believe how completely Emily had been brainwashed. Clenching her fists, she burst out, "Emily, are you really going to reject us as your family?"
Skye let out a cold laugh, her eyes glinting with lethal disdain. "Family"? What a joke. To them, Emily was just an easy target—weak, malleable, and naive. Keeping her close was nothing but a pretense for their own benefit.
She remained silent, quietly gauging how deep Emily's feelings for them truly were.
Emily shook her head, a look of pain and conflict clouding her cute little face. Her peach-blossom eyes darted about helplessly, completely at a loss.
Emily shook her head quickly and exclaimed, "No, that's not what I meant at all!"
Sometimes Jessica was nice to her—those moments when she made her happy were enough.
Emily thought, "Sometimes Linda was nice to me too. They always told me, 'Just focus on your own happiness and don't worry about what others think.'"
"I'm the Hughes heiress," she thought. "If anyone has the right to be willful and unreasonable, it's me. Being spoiled and arrogant is exactly what's expected of me."
"And never show anyone a friendly face," she recalled.
"Jessica, Aunt Linda, I'm starving—gotta go grab some food."
As soon as Emily finished speaking, she dashed off. Skye cast a knowing gaze at the two whose scheme had failed, looking at them as if they were nothing but a pair of clowns.