Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 386

The courtroom slowly emptied out until there were just a few of them left.

Teresa still looked downcast—not because of Cooper, who honestly wasn’t worth any of her pain, but because she missed her father.

She glanced at Emmy, her voice rough from holding back tears.

“Emmy, I want to visit your grandfather’s grave.”

“I’ll go with you,” Emmy answered right away.

They grabbed a quick meal at a nearby restaurant, barely tasting a thing, then drove to the cemetery.

Outside, the sky had turned heavy and gray. Cold rain started to fall, matching the mood between mother and daughter.

Marian held an umbrella over Teresa, who leaned on her cane with one hand and hugged a bouquet of white chrysanthemums with the other.

She refused any help, set her jaw, and took each step up the stone stairs by herself—slow but steady.

Halfway there, she stopped and looked back at Emmy.

“Please… let me do this alone for now.”

Emmy froze, eyes shining red with unshed tears.

She held a bunch of flowers to her chest too. James stood quietly beside her, his large black umbrella keeping her completely dry.

When Emmy saw her mom finally reach the headstone and sink to her knees, hands shaking, she couldn’t hold back anymore. Tears spilled over as she turned away, shoulders trembling.

A soft tissue appeared in front of her. James stood close, his presence warm and steady. He didn’t say anything—just gently wiped the tears from her cheeks, his touch gentle and reassuring.

Emmy tried to speak, her voice thick with emotion.

“My grandpa… he was the kindest, smartest person I’ve ever known. Always so patient with me.”

“When I was little, he’d take me to Starlight Corporation, even when he was busy. Somehow, he always found time to help me with homework, teach me new things.”

“He wasn’t just my mentor. He was my hero.”

“Because of him, I fell in love with tech—computers, gadgets, all of it. Everything I know, he taught me himself.”

No one knew that when she’d first brought Cooper home to the Drennon family, her father had been totally against it.

He pulled her into his study, angrier than she’d ever seen him before.

He told her that even if the Drennon name was ruined, even if she never married, he would take care of her for the rest of her life. He’d never let her marry someone shady, just for the sake of appearances.

But she hadn’t listened.

She’d lost touch with Andrew—the man who promised he’d marry her—who disappeared right when she needed him most.

Heartbroken and hopeless, she insisted on marrying Cooper.

Her father saw she wouldn’t back down, so he gave in, sending people to look into Cooper’s past.

Who could have guessed she’d brought a wolf into their home with her own hands.

She was the Drennon family’s shame.

Even if she died, even if she went to hell, how could she ever face her father again?