Chapter 576
But these were things he could never bring himself to say to Donald. He could only admit to himself, “I must have lost my mind to do such a thing. It was all Liam egging me on?”
“Look, I only wronged your mom that one time. It won’t happen again.”
Suddenly, Donald found himself unable to respect his father anymore.
Ever since childhood, Werner had always been such a loving and gentle father to Donald and Cheryl. Donald cherished those warm family memories. But he could never imagine something like this happening out of nowhere.
Werner looked Donald in the eye and stressed, “It was just this one mistake. I swear it won’t happen again.”
“Your mom and I have been married for decades. We both have our dignity to protect. Like you said, your sister Cheryl still needs to get married. I can’t possibly make that mistake again.”
Donald scoffed. “And now you decide to use Cheryl as an excuse.”
Donald demanded, “When you did this, did you ever think about how your kids would feel? What about Cheryl? She’s not even married yet. If she ever found out, what do you think she’d think of you?”
But Werner gave up explaining. He simply fell silent. Without another word, Donald turned and walked away.
That journey back was pure agony for Donald. Little did he know, even worse was yet to come.
Back in Nareigh, Donald composed himself and put on his usual gentle facade when he saw Cathy. With a strained smile, he reassured her, “Don’t worry, Mom. Dad’s fine.”
Cathy said, “Really? So, what exactly did he go to Shaville for?”
“He just went to have a drink with Liam. They played some golf and then had dinner. Everything was completely normal.”
“Really? But when I secretly checked his phone, I saw that your dad had even made a payment to a private hospital.”
Donald fell silent, his heart sinking deeper and deeper. In the end, he could only say, “Liam just had thyroid surgery, so Dad probably just sent him a little money to help out.”
Cathy let out a soft sigh. “If you say so.”
“Mom, don’t overthink things,” Donald comforted Cathy. “You’re doing well now, so just focus on staying happy. Eat and drink to your heart’s content, go shopping, or take a trip whenever you want. Don’t let anything bother you.”
Cathy let out a soft sigh. “I suppose I was just overthinking things. Thank you for all your trouble today. Go home and get some proper rest.”
“Alright, Mom,” Donald said softly. He had barely left when Werner returned.
Cathy asked, “So what exactly did you go to Shaville for this time?”
“I went to see Liam,” Werner snapped irritably. “And you even had Donald spy on me? Is this how little you trust me?”
“I didn’t send Donald to follow you, you know. He said he was in Shaville on a business trip and just happened to bump into you. How’s Liam doing? Didn’t he just have surgery?”
Werner had no idea what Donald might have told Cathy, so he could only play dumb. “Just a minor procedure, nothing serious,” he said, trying to sound casual.
“But Liam isn’t married, right? So, who’s been taking care of him in the hospital?”
“He’s already been discharged, nothing serious,” Werner said dismissively as he shrugged off his coat and tossed it onto the sofa. “I’m going to take a shower first.”
Cathy gazed at his hastily retreating back, her eyes lingering with a mix of suspicion and worry.
Werner quickly put away his suitcase in the bedroom, then went straight for the shower. While Werner was in the shower, his phone, left in his jacket on the sofa, buzzed repeatedly.
Cathy glanced at the bathroom door. In the end, she couldn’t help herself. She unlocked his phone once more. The messages were from Liam.
Liam texted: [So? Donald didn’t rat us out to Cathy when he got home, did he? Delete this chat. I’ll message you from a burner account. Remember to delete our chat history.]