Trash Husband, I'm the Top novel Chapter 176

He handed the file to Will with a brief, “Thanks for your hard work.”

Upstairs, Aurora stood at the top of the staircase, her back pressed against the wall. An emptiness gnawed at her heart.

Whenever the past resurfaced, it always came like a violent storm.

But she couldn’t leave with her grandmother—not yet. She had to wait for Payne’s surgery.

With her eyes cast down, she slipped quietly back into the bedroom.

Downstairs, Daniel paused for a moment, then instructed, “Get in touch with the previous team. Start preparing the wedding.”

Their marriage had always lacked that one proper, public celebration.

He wanted to make it up to her.

Will hurried off to make the calls.

Aurora slept lightly, so when the mattress dipped beside her, she stirred.

A cool body pressed close to hers.

Aurora tensed her fingers for a moment, but let herself be drawn into his arms.

At seven in the morning, Aurora woke again.

Sensing something different beside her, she turned her head—only to have her lips captured in a kiss.

It was a lingering, tender good-morning kiss, one that nearly spiraled out of control.

Not because Daniel had any restraint, but because Mr. Hogan Chambers was calling.

“Get your ass to the hospital, now,” the old man barked, his voice gruff with annoyance.

With obvious reluctance, Daniel pulled away from Aurora’s warmth and got up to shower and dress.

For once, he’d wanted a peaceful morning, but even that was denied him.

Worried about her grandmother, who was also at the hospital, Aurora decided to go along.

In Grandma Grace’s hospital room, Mrs. Chambers’ shrill, cutting voice rang out above the rest.

“If word gets out that you two—father and son—are both chasing after her and her granddaughter, what will become of the Chambers family’s reputation?”

She’d spent her entire life valuing her status and reputation above all else.

This, to her, was even harder to swallow than the idea of taking Aurora in as family. At least that had some pretense of propriety; what excuse could Grandma Grace possibly offer?

Mr. Hogan Chambers was never one to stand on ceremony. With Mrs. Chambers causing a scene, he simply declared, “If that’s how it is, I’ll just say it outright: I missed my chance with her when I was young, and now that I’m old, I don’t want any more regrets. I want to marry her.”

He’d had this idea for years, but Grandma Grace had always refused.

She’d spent most of her life with another man. Though her son had been a disappointment, her late husband had always treated her with kindness and love.

Even after he passed, those years left a deep, lasting mark on her heart.

As for Mr. Hogan Chambers, he was just a passerby in her story.

She had stopped loving him long ago.

The idea of marrying him now was nothing short of ridiculous.