"Y-you!"Upon hearing Katrina"s calm response, Sophie almost stops breathing. Her face distorts more in anger.
Katrina is right.
If she goes to Marcellus and accuses Katrina of sleeping with another man four years ago, what proof does she have? How could she make Marcellus believe her?
Katrina commutes to work every day. Apart from going out with her best friend Farrah after work, her personal life can"t be any simpler. She has never had an affair with anyone. She appears like a nice and quiet girl in everyone"s eyes.
Although Sophie has known Marcellus longer, Marcellus is definitely more inclined to favor Katrina. If she came to Marcellus now to tell him about Katrina"s indiscretion four years ago, Marcellus would only think that she is deliberately slandering Katrina.
Then, Marcellus will hate her more. It would drive a bigger wedge between them.
This cunning woman looks like an innocent daisy who never quarrels with others, but she is actually vicious enough to set a trap for her.
Sophie wants to expose Katrina in front of everyone, but for a variety of reasons, she can"t do anything about it.
Spoiled all her life, Sophie is filled with petulance at not being able to get her way.
Out of fury, Sophie instinctually raises her hand to slap Katrina again. Seeing Katrina with her arms raised over her chest defensively, she remembers that she wasn"t able to hit her earlier. She unwillingly lowers her arm in defeat.
Sophie grits through her teeth, "Katrina, watch yourself! I won"t let go of this!"
Just then, a car honks nearby.
Katrina looks up and sees that the bus has arrived.
Because Sophie"s car is parked at the bus stop, the bus can"t drive-in.
Katrina waves to the bus, pay for her fare and gets on.
Left alone, Sophie has to get in her car and drive away indignantly.
When Katrina settles in her seat, the determined face she put on in front of Sophie suddenly collapses.
Sophie really did a good job. The force of her slap is so great that Katrina feels the throbbing pain on one side of her face.
Katrina pulls out her phone and turns on the front camera to check herself. Sure enough, half of her face is puffy, and the bright handprint on her cheek is contrasted against her pale skin.
Katrina is furious.
Sophie never respects her or treats her like an equal. To hit her that hard, it"s easy to imagine how much she hates her.
If Sophie has no scruples about being violent with her, why should she keep restraining herself?
After many years of silence, Katrina finally reaches her tipping point and fights back.
Although she got slapped in the face, she was able to witness Sophie"s mortification for the first time.
At least she didn"t fail to retaliate.
In a s.p.a.cious and bright CEO"s office in Hadley, Aaron stands in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and looks down at the city with a blank face. His black suit sets his figure taller, making him look like an unapproachable and cold monarch.
He"s in control of everything else in his life. Why can"t he manage to keep a woman?
A pained look flashes in Aaron"s indomitably handsome face as a frown appears on his lips.
Aaron has stopped smiling since Katrina left. Nowadays, he always looks cold and gloomy. Everyone around him is in a constant state of fear, afraid of upsetting him.
Just then, there is a knock on the door.
"Come in."
The company vice president gently pushes the door open and walks in before standing aside.
He cautiously reports to Aaron, "Mr. Wilson, as you instructed, we"ve purchased a building that will serve as our company office in the most prosperous district in Abbe. We also purchased a villa in the top residential area in your name. These are the purchase contracts, and please have a look."
Instead of turning around, Aaron replies coldly, "Leave it there."
At the response, the man hurriedly puts the contracts on the coffee table.
He hesitates for a moment before saying, "Mr. Wilson, your business is flouris.h.i.+ng so well in Hadley. Are you really determined to go to that strange place to start all over?"
Although Aaron is a young man worth billions, who is capable of starting over in a new city, Abbe is a completely unfamiliar city to them.
All the partners.h.i.+ps and networking have to be set-up from scratch. And they certainly can"t work as smoothly as they do Hadley.
At the inquiry, Aaron turns around. His slim fingers clutch a gla.s.s of red wine as his dark eyes fix on the vice president. "Moving to a new city is both a challenge and an opportunity."
His business in Hadley has grown so much that there isn"t much room for improvement. Starting over in Abbe is not necessarily a bad thing for the company.
Aaron has always been fond of the market in Abbe, but Katrina is the reason he made up his mind to move to Abbe so quickly.
He can"t wait to win her back.
Upon hearing Aaron"s words, the vice president stiffens and sweat beads on his forehead. He lowers his head at once. "Yes, Mr. Wilson. What good foresight you have for our company! I"ll go prepare what needs to be brought to Abbe. I vow to finish the move within three days."
After the vice president leaves, Aaron lifts his head and gulps all the red wine in the gla.s.s. His throat rolls with each swallow, and his gaze turns deep.
Katrina, we"ll meet again soon.
Now that you"ve touched my heart, no matter where you go, you can"t get rid of me.
A thousand miles away, Katrina can"t help but shudder, suddenly feeling a chill run down her spine.
The cemetery where Katrina"s father is buried is located in the suburbs far from the hustle and bustle of the city. To get there, she has to transfer to another bus.
After getting off at the stop, Katrina finds a cold beverage store nearby and buys some ice cubes. She wraps them in a towel and applies it on her face. Luckily, the swell gradually fades away, but Sophia"s handprint is still clear.
Katrina can"t cancel her plans to visit her father at the cemetery today because of this incident. She hasn"t visited for so long. Her dad must miss her very much. After nursing her sore cheek for a while, she simply puts her hair down to cover the bruise on her face.
Then, she buys her father"s favorite wine, a bunch of white chrysanthemums, and some food. She gets on the transfer bus heading for the suburbs.
Forty minutes later, the bus stops in front of the station. Katrina gets off the bus and walks along the road for ten minutes until she reaches the cemetery.
The caretaker in charge of the cemetery is currently using a big broom to sweep the pathway of the cemetery park. When he sees Katrina, he stops cleaning and straightens his waist. He smilingly greets her, "Haven"t seen you for a long time."
Katrina puts a smile on her pretty face. "Yeah, I"ve been busy at work recently."
The old man beckons to her, "Go on. There was a rainstorm the other day. Your father"s tombstone was stained by burnt paper ashes nearby. Because you haven"t been here for a long time, I cleaned it for you."
Despite the old man"s simple words, Katrina feels very touched by it.
"Thank you, sir."
Katrina bends over to the man.
"By the way, I"ve brought some food for you. I"ll leave them in the cottage."
"When you visit next time, don"t bring me anything anymore. It"s hard for girls to earn money. Just keep the money and buy some nice clothes for yourself."
Katrina smiles and walks inside.
She pa.s.ses by the little cottage he stays at during duty to leave the food she bought before going to her father"s tombstone.
After Katrina leaves, the nearly 70-year-old man bends down again and begins to sweep the fallen leaves along the pavement.
Katrina and the old man have known each other for more than 10 years.
Since her father died, Katrina visits him at the cemetery once in a while after she was sent to the orphanage.
A little girl living in an orphanage barely had any pocket money. She always had to save for a long time to be able to buy a bus ticket.
A young girl under the age of ten going to the cemetery by bus on her own to be faced with rows of cold tombstones was sure to feel lonely and afraid in her little heart.
At that time, the man was already the administrator of this cemetery. Whenever he saw Katrina, he would come over and talk to her. Sometimes, he would ask her to stay for a meal.
The company of the old man was like a beacon in the dark night, vanis.h.i.+ng the fear from the young Katrina"s heart.
Many years pa.s.sed, and Katrina slowly grew up. She went to high school and college, and she eventually graduated.
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Whenever Katrina visits her father"s grave, she always sees the man.
He has witnessed Katrina grow from a little girl to a beautiful woman.
Katrina also witnessed the process of the man"s transformation. A healthy and strong man. In the beginning, he gradually became an old man with a slouching figure.
In his mind, he has regarded Katrina as the young daughter of a family friend. He"s a little worried about her, and he doesn"t know if she encountered some trouble in the months he hadn"t seen her.
Likewise, Katrina has also regarded him as a grandfather. Every time she comes, she buys some gifts for him to show her appreciation.