Chapter 8: The Jennings Family Comes Knocking

The following morning, I woke to the sound of a car stopping outside the Ironwood residence.

I had barely finished getting dressed when someone knocked on my door.

“Miss Jennings, Alpha Shaw requests your presence downstairs.”

I opened the door.

“What happened?”

The guard hesitated.

“Your parents have arrived.”

I wasn't surprised.

After Robert’s request to annul the marriage contract had been rejected, I knew they wouldn't simply give up.

When I entered the main hall, Robert and Diana were already there.

Chloe stood between them, with Nolan beside her.

The moment Nolan saw me, his expression changed.

His gaze lingered on the red dress I wore before quickly moving away.

Diana stepped forward.

“Laurel, come home with us.”

I almost laughed.

“Home?”

She frowned.

“You know what I mean. The Jennings family is your home.”

“It wasn't when I lived there.”

Her face stiffened.

Robert cleared his throat.

“Enough. We didn't come here to argue.”

He looked toward Emmett.

“Alpha Shaw, the marriage arrangement was made under circumstances we no longer consider valid. Laurel is still legally a member of the Jennings family, and we have the right to take her home.”

Emmett stood at the top of the stairs, his expression cold.

“You gave her to Ironwood.”

Robert's face reddened.

“We agreed to an alliance.”

“And now you're trying to withdraw after receiving our engagement gifts.”

Robert went silent.

Emmett descended the stairs slowly.

“If Laurel wants to leave, she is free to do so.”

His eyes moved to me.

“If she wants to stay, no one will force her.”

Everyone looked at me.

Diana's expression softened immediately.

“Laurel, don't be stubborn. You don't know these people. Come home with us. We'll discuss everything properly.”

I looked at her.

“Discuss what?”

She hesitated.

“Your future.”

“My future was decided the moment you sent me here.”

Her lips trembled.

“We're your parents.”

Those words would have destroyed me in my previous life.

Now they only sounded empty.

“You remembered that rather late.”

Chloe suddenly stepped forward.

“Laurel, please don't make this difficult.”

I turned toward her.

“Difficult for whom?”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“For everyone.”

Nolan immediately moved closer to her.

“Laurel, that's enough.”

His voice carried the same familiar authority.

For thirty years, I had obeyed that voice.

This time, I didn't even blink.

“You have no right to tell me what to do anymore.”

Nolan froze.

The room became silent.

His expression darkened.

“You've changed.”

“Yes.”

I looked directly into his eyes.

“I have.”

Something flickered across his face.

Regret, perhaps.

But it disappeared almost immediately.

Emmett stepped beside me.

The air seemed to grow heavier as his Alpha presence spread through the room.

Nolan instinctively straightened.

“Laurel is my fated mate,” Emmett said. “Her decision is the only one that matters.”

Chloe's face went pale.

She looked at Nolan as if waiting for him to object.

He didn't.

That silence hurt her more than any argument could have.

Robert clenched his fists.

“Then at least return the engagement gifts.”

I stared at him.

So that was what this was really about.

Not me.

Not their daughter.

The money.

Emmett gave a quiet laugh.

“The gifts were given to Laurel.”

Robert's expression changed.

“But—”

“They belong to her now.”

His tone left no room for discussion.

Diana looked at me with sudden resentment.

“Laurel, after everything we've done for you, this is how you repay us?”

I smiled faintly.

“Everything you've done for me?”

I took a step forward.

“You gave Chloe the best room in the house. You gave her designer clothes, expensive jewelry, and every opportunity she wanted.”

Diana's face became uncomfortable.

“You gave me a storage room.”

Robert looked away.

“You remembered Chloe's favorite foods but forgot my allergies.”

Diana's lips parted.

“And when I was sent to Ironwood, neither of you shed a single tear.”

My voice remained calm.

“So don't stand here and tell me how much you've done for me.”

No one spoke.

Finally, I turned toward Emmett.

“I want to stay.”

His gaze softened.

“Then stay.”

That was all he said.

No conditions.

No threats.

No demand that I prove myself.

For the first time, someone simply respected my choice.

Robert looked furious, but there was nothing he could do.

Diana grabbed Chloe's arm.

“We're leaving.”

Chloe didn't move.

Her eyes remained fixed on Nolan.

“Nolan, aren't you coming?”

He looked at me one last time.

Then he turned away.

“I'll take you home.”

Chloe followed him reluctantly.

As they walked toward the door, I heard her whisper,

“Why do you keep looking at Laurel?”

Nolan didn't answer.

The door closed behind them.

I thought that would be the end of it.

But a few minutes later, Emmett's secretary entered the room with a sealed envelope.

“Alpha, this arrived from the Royal Council.”

Emmett opened it.

His expression changed.

“What is it?” I asked.

He handed me the document.

My eyes widened.

It was an official order from Alpha King Dominic.

The Royal Council had reopened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding my disappearance twenty-four years ago.

And the first family summoned for questioning was the Jennings family.