"You just said what? You’re planning to marry Valarie?"
"Matthew, she was supposed to be your sister-in-law!"
Emily’s fingers halted mid-stitch. She looked up from the wedding dress she was sewing, her eyes landing on her fiancé in his fine robes, looking as handsome as ever.
There was a flicker of guilt on Matthew’s face, but he still spoke firmly.
"Emily, the whole capital is saying Valarie brings bad luck to her husband. If I don’t marry her, she won’t survive the gossip."
"Don't worry, we've known each other too long. Sure, she’ll be the main wife, and you’ll be secondary, but in the household, you’ll be just like sisters. You two will be treated equally."
Emily stared at him, stunned, words caught in her throat.
Matthew added quickly, "That wedding with my brother wasn’t even done—they didn’t finish the ceremony before he went off to war. Technically, she never was my sister-in-law."
Emily shot back, "Maybe not by title, but Alexander was still your brother! He’s only been gone a few months, and you’re already scrambling to marry his betrothed?"
Frustrated, Matthew abruptly stood, knocking over the teacup on the table, hot tea spilling everywhere.
"So, are you agreeing or not?"
"And if I say no?"
"Emily, do you even have a heart? Valarie’s your cousin. You really want to drive her to the edge? The Bell family raised you all these years and this is how you repay them?"
"Being a concubine might not be ideal, but you’re still marrying into a noble family. You’re an orphan with nothing—what more could you ask for? Valarie’s the legitimate lady of the House after all—you expect to outrank her?"
Emily lowered her gaze slightly, a faint smirk playing at the corners of her lips.
Joining the Grant family had never really mattered to her.
Ten years ago, her entire family—the prestigious Ross family of royal physicians—was wiped out in one bloody night, not even sparing the babies.
It was a massacre. People said the herbs and plants in their garden were drenched with blood, a sight nobody could forget.
The authorities brushed it off as bandit violence, but those who knew better suspected something far more sinister behind it.
No one knew the Ross family had left behind a granddaughter—Samantha Ross. Sickly since birth, she had been sent to the countryside, raised by her mother’s family, the Turners.
When her grandfather passed, the Turner family split the estate.
Samantha, only six, changed her name to Emily Turner and, along with the loyal Mrs. Harris, made her way to the capital to rely on distant relatives—the Bell family.
For ten years, she walked on eggshells, learned in secret, and quietly investigated the murder of her kin.
Eventually, the case moved into the hands of the Court of Justice.
The chief magistrate then? James Grant.Just then, a matchmaker from the Grant family arrived, bringing a proposal to marry Emily Turner to their second son, Matthew Grant.
Everyone thought she must’ve saved the world in her past life to land such a lucky match, especially since she had no family to back her now.
Emily knew better than to believe in miracles, but if marrying him would help her dig deeper into the case, she had no reason to say no.
After the engagement was set, she started acting more attentive toward Matthew, which led him to think she actually liked him.
Now, facing an angry Matthew, Emily frowned and asked, "Matthew Grant, aren’t you worried people in the capital will laugh at you for this?"
Matthew was fuming. "Laugh? I'm doing this for Valarie! I'm not here to ask what you think—I’m here to tell you. Either agree to be a concubine, or this engagement is off!"
With that, he stormed off.
Moments later, Valarie Bell walked into Hanxiang Pavilion, dressed neatly in a lilac brocade gown.
She glanced at Emily, who hadn’t even looked up from stitching her wedding dress. Tears shimmered in her eyes.
"I've just got the worst fate, haven’t I? My fiancé died before I got married."
She sounded pitiful. "Emily, don’t blame Matthew. This is all my fault. He’s just doing this to help me… we did grow up together."
Valarie had always been the golden girl—talented, pretty, well-mannered and sharp. She was the example every noble girl looked up to.
Plenty of young men dreamt of marrying her.
Emily finally looked up at Valarie’s sorrowful face and asked softly, "Was it Grandmother who told you to marry Matthew and suggested I should take the lesser place?"
Valarie bit her lip, guilt washing over her face.
"The elders disagreed at first. But… for me, they gave in. Please don’t be angry with them. I pushed them into it."
Emily lowered her gaze, quiet and unreadable.
Valarie’s eyes grew redder, her voice trembling. "Just… just forget it. This is all on me. I’m cursed. I’ll tell Matthew and Grandmother I’m ending the engagement. Maybe I’ll just go to a temple and become a nun."
She let the tears fall freely and rushed out.
After she left, Lily came in with a deep frown. "Miss, do you think Miss Valarie’s really going to leave and become a nun?"
Emily smiled faintly. "Don’t worry. She can’t bear to give up that easily."
For all her grace and elegance, Valarie was anything but simple.
If she was as noble as she pretended to be, why rush into marrying Matthew so soon after Alexander died? And knowing full well he was already engaged?
No, Emily knew her cousin too well.
Seeing that Emily was calm, Lily relaxed, too.
She asked curiously, "Miss, should we still keep packing up the dowry?"Emily said calmly, "Keep packing. Don’t forget my medicine box and those medical books."
No matter what, she had to marry into the Grant family—only then could she get closer to the truth behind the downfall of the Ross clan.
Lily nodded and, with one arm, shifted a heavy chest weighing over a hundred pounds without breaking a sweat.
She'd always been unusually strong. If a fight ever broke out, she could take on three regular servants by herself—easy.
**
After leaving Perfumed Pavilion, Valarie quietly wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
Who’d willingly live their whole life as a widow?
Now that Alexander was gone, Matthew would inherit the title and all of its promise. Marrying him was the smart move.
Besides, she wasn’t wrong to choose this path—it was practical.
But the Grant family cared a lot about appearances. If Emily didn’t agree, things could get tricky.
Still, Valarie wasn’t worried.
She'd never been denied anything she set her sights on.
The next day, Emily was summoned to Madam Bell’s Serenity Hall.
Inside, aside from Madam Bell and Mrs. Masland, Mrs. Carter—Matthew's mother—was also there.
Speaking gently, Mrs. Carter said, "Emily dear, I know this came up rather suddenly, but you’ve always been sensible. We trust you won’t object, will you?"
As the second wife of the Duke, Mrs. Carter only had one child—Matthew—whom she adored. Back then, she’d looked down on Emily for being a merchant's orphan. But now that Emily was a marquis’s legitimate granddaughter and also her son’s choice, she couldn’t be more supportive.
Madam Bell added with a smile, "Emily, since you and Valarie will be living under the same roof, it’ll be good for you to look out for each other. Our family will always have both your backs."
Mrs. Masland, colder in tone, chipped in, "Emily, we’ve treated you as our own and raised you like a young lady of status for ten years. We’d hope you wouldn’t put the family in a difficult position right now."
Emily stayed composed. She looked up, smiled softly, and said, "Yes, what you've all said makes sense. Living in the same household with my cousin does make it easier to support one another."
As she agreed, the women’s faces lit up with satisfaction.
"We knew you’d understand."
"You don’t need to worry. Even if you’re not the main wife, life in the Grant household won’t be hard on you."
"You truly are a thoughtful girl—raising you wasn’t in vain."
Emily glanced around at the fake smiles surrounding her, then slightly curved her lips and said, clear and calm, "But here's the thing—I’ve no intention of being Matthew’s concubine. I plan to marry Alexander as his wife instead."