"Katherine, what are you waiting for now? Don't test my patience." Preston's voice turned sharper with irritation.
Katherine leaned quietly against the leather seat and looked past him at Emily.
Emily tightened her grip on Preston's shirt and hid farther behind him.
Katherine's mother had taken in the three boys, including Preston, and raised them with every advantage possible.
They'd given them the best schools, shares in the company, and a future most people could only dream about. All of it had been for one reason—the three of them would stand by Katherine and protect her.
But now, every bit of that care and privilege had been poured onto Emily instead.
Emily was only the daughter of the housekeeper, yet she lived the life that should've belonged to Katherine.
A luxury car picked her up everywhere she went, and sometimes, even Katherine had to surrender her own seat to her.
Katherine slowly looked back at Preston. "I'm obviously waiting for something," she said evenly.
Preston lifted a hand to shield Emily from the sunlight, impatience written all over his face. "Katherine, letting you ride in the car is already enough kindness from me. What else are you complaining about?"
Without another word, Katherine reached over and pressed the window switch.
The car window slid upward and trapped Preston's arm tightly against the door frame.
Preston let out a sharp cry and jerked his hand back at once.
"Because the two of you are still in my car," Katherine said coldly. Then she looked toward the front seat. "Ricky, get them out."
Ricky unfastened his seatbelt, stepped out of the car, and walked to the back door.
Without hesitation, he grabbed Preston by the arm and pulled him away from the vehicle.
Preston wasn't prepared for it. He lost his balance and slammed hard against the guardrail by the road.
Emily gasped and hurried toward him, but the heel beneath her foot twisted awkwardly, sending her crashing onto the pavement.
Ricky turned back to the car, opened the opposite door, picked up the designer handbag Emily had left behind, and tossed it onto the ground beside her.
Then he closed the doors, jogged back to the driver's seat, shifted gears, and stepped on the accelerator.
The engine growled loudly as the car shot forward. A burst of gray white exhaust blew straight into Preston's face.
He waved the smoke away with a cough, his expression darkening as he stared at the taillights disappearing into the distance.
What was wrong with Katherine today?
Normally, she would've gone silent the moment he looked displeased.
Today, she had actually ordered the driver to throw him out of the car.
Did she seriously think acting this way would make him pay more attention to her?
Emily gently rubbed her ankle and looked at Preston with watery eyes. "Katherine isn't really angry with me, is she?"
Preston lowered his gaze to her tearful face and helped her to her feet.
"She wouldn't dare," he said with a dismissive laugh. "She's just making a scene. Give it a few days and she'll come begging us to forgive her."
He brushed the dust from his sleeves before taking Emily's hand.
The hospital was a private facility built halfway up the mountain, and taxis never came this far. To leave, they had no choice but to walk all the way down to the main road at the bottom of the hill.
On top of that, the Holt family's hillside estate didn't allow outside vehicles inside the property, which meant they still had a long way to go.
Back at the Holt residence, Katherine sat quietly on the porch and watched the two exhausted figures slowly make their way up the slope toward the house.
Preston's shirt was drenched with sweat and stuck tightly to his back.
Emily looked even more miserable. She carried her broken heels in one hand and walked barefoot across the pavement, wincing with every step she took.
"Katherine, do you even have a conscience?" Preston shouted before he even reached the front door.
He strode up the steps in anger, his tall frame blocking the sunlight in front of Katherine.
"A conscience?" Katherine lifted her eyes to him. "That car belongs to the Holt family, and I'm the only heiress. Why should I feel guilty for riding in my own car?"
Preston was stunned for a second. Then he pulled Emily in front of him and pointed at the scrapes on her toes.
"Look at what Emily went through because of you. And you're sitting here watching like none of it concerns you. Hand over the design drafts you prepared for the competition and let Emily use them as compensation. If you do that, we'll let today's matter go."
Katherine almost laughed at how ridiculous he sounded. "Why should I give them to her?"
Preston fell silent again.
Katherine had never spoken to him in that tone before.
In his memories, no matter what he asked for, she would always hand it over willingly, even if it was something precious to her.
"Because..." Preston stumbled over his words for a long moment before finally forcing out an answer. "If you really cared about us, you'd give them to Emily."
Katherine understood very well why they were acting like this.
Seven years ago, the three became adults. They spent almost six months searching for Emily and her mother, Judith Wilson.
Katherine had only been fifteen then. She'd foolishly believed they were helping someone in need, so she'd eagerly joined them in the search.
Later, she learned that Judith had once worked as a caregiver at the orphanage where the three grew up.
A fire caused by an electrical short circuit had broken out there years ago. Judith had rushed into the flames and carried the three of them to safety, burning her hands badly in the process and leaving permanent scars behind.
The three had carried that gratitude with them ever since.
Once they finally found Judith and Emily, they brought them both into the Holt household.
Everything they needed was provided according to the Holt family's standards, while the responsibility of repaying that debt slowly became Katherine's burden instead.
It was true that Judith had saved the three boys back then.
But it was also the Holt family that had raised them, paid for their elite education, and given them shares in the company.
Katherine had once believed they understood the difference between gratitude and obligation. Now she realized they either couldn't tell the difference... or simply didn't care to.
"I said no," Katherine replied firmly.
Preston stared at her, suddenly feeling like the person before him was a stranger. The irritation building inside him only grew stronger.
For the first time, he realized Katherine had truly changed.
