Chapter 103

Lindsay’s eyes flickered as she considered voicing out to stop Amelia. However, Amelia didn’t make

any clear statements—she simply called Emma to come down. Lindsay was worried that she would

make things worse if she were to say anything, so she ended up keeping her mouth shut. Soon

enough, Emma hurried down and walked over to Amelia. Emma knew Amelia well enough to know that

some important figure had probably shown up at their house with good news—Amelia wouldn’t sound

so excited otherwise.

Amelia whispered into Emma’s ear. “Mrs. Rowland is here to propose a marriage with our family. You

should put on your best behavior.” Emma froze for a moment before she felt her heart leap with joy.

She had met Keith once, but she had always assumed that he was way out of her league. She only

managed to attend his party at Royale because of the connections she had. I can’t believe Keith is here

to propose a marriage to me. How am I supposed to act cool and calm?

Emma personally made some tea and sliced some fruits for Lindsay. She tried her best to please the

woman, while Lindsay simply responded with a rather polite but awkward smile. “What’s this about,

Mrs. Rowland?” Charles came downstairs and looked around the living room before knitting his brows

together a little.

Charles’ health had been deteriorating in the past few years, and he had been in a nursing home the

last time Alice returned to Woland Residence. Charles only got home a few days ago. “I’m here

because of my son, Old Mr. Woland. Keith is interested in a union of our families.” Lindsay heaved a

sigh of relief when she saw Charles.

Emma felt a burst of joy in her chest when she heard Lindsay’s words. As much as she tried to conceal

the excitement within her, her face had turned into a light shade of pink as blood rushed to her cheeks.

Amelia, too, had her eyebrows lifted with eagerness. “A marriage, huh?” Charles shot a glance in

Emma’s direction as his expression darkened. Why would the Rowlands come over to propose

marriage? Does Keith really want to marry Emma?

“Yes. Keith told me that he’s interested in Alice. Old Mr. Rowland gave me orders to pay a visit and

propose a marriage between the two of them.” Lindsay’s statement was polite and respectful, and she

made herself sound extra formal by bringing up James. However, Emma’s face fell instantly. A mixture

of disbelief, resentment, and anger filled her gaze. Why? Why does it have to be Alice again? How can

that idiot be better than me in any way?

Amelia’s expression turned sour as well. However, she tried her best to conceal her emotions so that

she wouldn’t seem too reactive toward Lindsay’s words. “Did you say… Alice?” Charles was shocked

for a moment, and a rather conflicted look surfaced in his gaze.

“Yeah. Why isn’t Alice around?” Lindsay was aware of how Elijah had snatched Howard’s company

away from him, and she knew about what happened with Sophia as well. However, Lindsay didn’t know

how Charles felt about Alice.

“Alice isn’t usually home. Let me give her a call.” Charles didn’t express much opinion on his part as he

knew that he was in no position to make decisions for Alice. Alice hadn’t been home for seven years,

after all—she had no reason to listen to anything that he said. However, Charles knew that he had to

take action since the Rowlands were the ones who had expressed interest in marriage.

Alice was rather surprised to see an incoming call from Charles. She hadn’t returned home ever since

she left the Woland Family seven years ago, and Charles was the only person who had ever kept in

contact with her and asked for her to pay a visit. Alice didn’t know how genuine Charles was, but she

knew that it wouldn’t be safe for her to head back as long as Elijah was lurking around and waiting to

take her life. After some hesitation, Alice finally picked up the call.

“Alice, can you come home for a while?”

“What is it, Grandpa?” Alice knew that Charles wouldn’t tell her to visit for no reason. Charles didn’t

treat Alice badly in the past, so Alice was still relatively respectful toward him. “The Rowlands are here

to propose a marriage.” Charles knew what Alice was like, so he figured that it was best for him to get

straight to the point.

“What?” Alice didn’t know what to say at first. What’s going on?

“Keith claims that he likes you, so the Rowlands came over to propose a marriage,” Charles explained.

Alice felt a headache coming on as she thought about how Keith had just proposed to her the day

before that. The circumstances then made it hard for her to clear things up with Keith, but she hadn’t

expected Keith to send his family over just one day later.

“I’m not interested in marriage, Grandpa. Please help me pass the message.” Alice knew that she had

to be clear with her intentions since the Rowlands had come all the way to propose marriage. She

didn’t want to string them along. When she recalled the aggressive and wild look on Ethan’s face and

how he had throttled her the night before, she figured that she had to be firm with her intentions. She

was still Ethan’s legal wife, after all—it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to do such a thing.

“Alright, then.” Charles didn’t say much after that, and Alice assumed that she had settled things.

However, she received another call from Charles just two hours later. This time, Charles sounded a

little different from before. “I think you might have to come back home, Alice.”

“What?” Alice froze. What’s going on? Why do I have to go home? Alice had no interest in visiting

Woland Residence, and she certainly didn’t want to go back just to deal with a proposed marriage. “Old

Mr. Rowland has shown up personally to ask for you. He said that he wants to hear from you and that

he won’t leave until you come over.”

Alice was speechless. How could he do such a thing? Why is Old Mr. Rowland so desperate? What is

he trying to do?

“You should come back to clarify things, Alice. Otherwise, I’m afraid things might get messy here. You

don’t expect us to just chase Old Mr. Rowland out, do you?” Charles sounded rather troubled as he

spoke through the phone.

“Fine. I’ll come over.” Alice hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. It now seemed like she didn’t

have a choice but to head home. Even though the DNA test results weren’t out yet, there was a chance

that Keith was Apollo’s father. In other words, James might also be Apollo’s grandfather. If that was the

case, then Alice would have to show some respect for the old man, especially since he insisted that he

wouldn’t leave until he saw her.

Alice had never been certain of how Charles felt toward her, but she knew that everyone else in the

Woland Family was shameless and greedy individuals who would do anything for their own benefit.

She didn’t know how messy things would turn out if she didn’t head over. Since she had gotten an

official marriage certificate with Ethan, she was worried that her actions would indirectly affect the

Knight Family, subsequently affecting Caroline’s situation.

“The Rowlands visited the Woland Residence to propose a marriage, Mr. Knight.” Caleb received the

news just seconds after Alice arrived at Woland Residence. He felt himself trembling as he passed the

message to Ethan.

“Oh.” Ethan glanced at his documents and gave Caleb a nod without saying much else. He sounded

like his regular self—he didn’t seem affected by the news at all. Caleb eyed him speechlessly.