As I spoke, I looked at my father.
"Dad, I don't want this matter affecting our families' cooperation. Take Catherine home and talk to her properly."
With that, I grabbed my car keys and walked away.
As I stepped out, I asked my mother-in-law and the others to leave the room, and thoughtfully closed the door behind me.
At once, my father's furious roar erupted.
"You unfilial girl, haven't you embarrassed us enough? I’ll take you home and teach you a lesson! How could the Wallace family raise someone so crude and ill-mannered?"
I sneered.
"Blame bad blood. I'm not just crude, I'm selfish and heartless."
As a son-in-law living with his wife's family, he kept a mistress and fathered an illegitimate child, driving his wife into depression and suicide. I'm simply filing for divorce; compared to him, I'm nothing.
My father exploded instantly.
"Catherine, you're as petty and foolish as your mother! Why throw away a good life and make trouble?"
He glared at me sharply, his tone cold and cutting.
"If you don't think of yourself, think of Samuel. He's a senior now, always top of his class. Do you want him dropping out right before graduation?"
My expression dimmed, and I slowly collapsed onto the sofa.
I really couldn't gamble my younger brother's future. He had been the only one when our mother leapt to her death.
The little boy had clung to my hand, his bright eyes smiling, unaware he'd never see his mother again.
Since he turned one, he was poisoned three times, bitten by a snake, suffered broken ribs in a car accident, and nearly died from an allergy.
I protected him through endless brushes with death; how could I ruin his future?
My father stormed out. When Nathan returned, he found me sitting on the floor, tears falling endlessly.
He quietly picked me up, set me on the sofa, and handed me a towel to wipe my face.
He brought lemonade, held me close, and fed me spoon by spoon.
For a moment, it felt like eighteen years ago, when we truly cared for each other.
Back then, my mother had just died, and my father immediately married his mistress.
I was forced to kneel before her and call her "Mother," hiding in the attic, sobbing alone.
Nathan embraced me, gently wiping my tears and giving me water.
He held me, telling me he was there and asking me to believe in him.
A thirteen-year-old boy kneeling before his father, begging for my safety, using cooperation to prove my worth.
How could I not love such a boy?
The brief warmth shattered with a long sigh.
"Catherine, I won't leave you. It really was just an accident."
I clung to his neck, whispering through tears,
"Nathan, you know I can’t accept this. I don’t want to suffer like my mother."
"Nathan, what if we send them abroad? Can we support them forever?"
"Why didn’t you make her end the pregnancy? Why didn’t you tell me when you wanted children?"
After a long silence, Nathan spoke coldly,
"Charles Turner’s new energy project has its ribbon-cutting tomorrow. Get ready; you can’t be absent, or it’ll raise suspicion."
Watching his tall figure rise and leave, my heart crashed into darkness.
The next day, Nathan brought the dress I'd picked and the Queen’s necklace I’d bought in the US.
My secretary stood by, anxious.
I calmly changed and put on elegant makeup.
Nathan was right; the partnership couldn’t be damaged. My brother was still young, and I needed to reclaim everything my grandfather built.
