Summerville: Book 3 of the Saving Summers Series

Chapter 6

The following morning, Emma got up early to go help her aunt at the deli to prep for a wedding.
Liam also left around the same time.

Emma was still a little bewildered about what happened last night. She was not expecting her ex to be asleep on an air mattress on her bedroom floor.
She tried to talk to Liam in hopes of getting him to open up to her but she did not succeed.
During the trip to Adelaide's lake house, Emma learned that Liam was not going to his preferred university in the big city anymore.
She tried asking him about that last night but he said it had to do with finances and how his parents couldn't afford it, then the topic was changed.

Emma decided to take Liam's word for it because he had no reason to lie to her. On the other hand, she believed his parents would go above and beyond to make sure his future was best suited for him yet turning away the university of his dreams seemed like the opposite of that.

As Emma mixed cupcake batter and poured it into the baking trays, she told her aunt about what has been happening to her in the last couple of months. Aunt Martina already knew because everything was now public, but Emma still felt the need to tell her aunt.

"Oh my dear niece. When I found out about everything, I just wanted to hug you until all that hurt went away. No child deserves to go through that." Aunt Martina expressed.

Emma chuckled. On some days, she could not believe what she went through.

"The things your mother did to those boys were heinous... but I see so much of her fight in you. You're so mature and strong." Aunt Martina continued.
"When your mother's parents found out she was in love with your father, they did not approve. We were not rich or founders of this town."

"Really?" Emma asked shocked. She did not know anything about her maternal grandparents.

Aunt Martina nodded.
"Even though they were angry with Lori and cut her off, they still left her with the family legacy here. The rights to this town are nothing compared to what they really have. Lori was going to inherit much more than this and she gave it all up for Martin."

Emma did not want to think about her mother at all but the thought of Lori giving everything up to be with Martin was heartwarming.

"Where are my grandparents now?" Emma asked with genuine curiosity.

"Have you ever heard of Pioneersdale?" Aunt Martina asked.

Emma shook her head.

"It is this small town that they own. A place for the rich and elite. You've heard of gated communities right? Well Pioneersdale is a gated town." Aunt Martina said.
"Your mother's family was the superior founding family when it came to wealth. They essentially wanted to buy out the other founding families and own Summerville but when that didn't work, they found Pioneersdale and made it theirs."

"Oh my gosh!" Emma exclaimed. She could not believe what she was hearing.
"Why am I only finding out about this now?" She asked.

"Sweetie, your dad did not think this information would make a difference or impact your life because your grandparents want nothing to do with us. Lori has tried to get them here to come meet you but they always declined." Aunt Martina said.

Although Emma did not know her grandparents, she still felt a little bit of disappointment. She would've loved to meet them. They were her blood after all.

*

The rest of the morning went by and by 10 am, Emma was done helping Aunt Martina with the food.