Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 553

One sentence was all it took for the mood in the room to shift. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan’s expressions turned frosty on the spot.

Mrs. Sullivan’s voice trembled with hurt. “Have we not treated her well enough?”

“Emmy, you have no idea. Everything Mandy has, Abriella has too. Designer handbags, high-end clothes—her closet is packed full. But does she appreciate any of it? No. She insists on wearing those cheap clothes from the street market, stuff that costs next to nothing. Even her skincare is all drugstore brands for students, nothing nice.”

“She’s doing this on purpose, you know. It’s like her silent protest against us.”

The more Mrs. Sullivan talked, the more worked up she got, her eyes turning red.

“I’ve tried so hard to help her marry well. The Capital, Riverdale, every major city nearby—I’ve introduced her to all the eligible bachelors from the best families I know.”

“She rejected every single one. And now? She’s with a firefighter! Can you imagine how embarrassing that is for me as her mother? How am I supposed to accept that?”

Just then, Mrs. Sullivan realized what she’d said. Emmy, after all, had married a firefighter too.

She quickly tried to backtrack. “Emmy, it’s not that I think firefighters are bad. I just want Abriella to marry up, you know? Someone from a good family, at least.”

At that moment, Abriella appeared in the doorway at the back of the living room. No one noticed when she’d arrived, but she’d heard everything. She had her old bag slung over her shoulder, already packed with the things she wanted.

Emmy let out a helpless sigh. “But Mrs. Sullivan, is what you’re offering really what Abriella wants?”

“Does marrying into a rich family guarantee a lifetime of happiness?”

“I think the most important thing is finding someone responsible, someone who really loves her.”

“Love?” Mandy scoffed, like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard.

“You mean that broke guy Will? Give me a break. Watch him end up just like your dad—using ‘true love’ as an excuse to mooch off the Sullivan family.”

That crossed a line.

Mr. Sullivan’s face darkened immediately. “Mandy!”

He snapped, “Enough. Go see what’s taking your sister so long and bring her here.”

But Emmy acted like she didn’t get the hint at all. Her eyes lit up and she even smiled. “Oh, that’s perfect, actually. I don’t have anything going on today. I’ll stay and keep Abriella company.”

Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan exchanged surprised glances—they clearly hadn’t expected Emmy, the model guest, to be so stubborn.

Mandy looked like she wanted to stomp her foot, but Emmy just slipped her arm through Abriella’s.

“Come on, Abriella. I haven’t hung out in your room in forever. Let’s go upstairs and talk while we still have time.”

Emmy flashed her sweetest, most innocent smile at Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan, then led Abriella toward the stairs.

Abriella turned back to her parents. “Dad, Mom, I’m just going upstairs with Emmy for a bit.”

And with that, the two of them disappeared around the corner.

Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan were left standing there, clearly unhappy. But when they remembered how famous Emmy had become in the tech world—and that she was Dominic’s favorite protégé—they forced themselves to swallow their frustration.