Cathy felt a warm glow in her heart. “How could I not know my own son’s true character?” she thought. She knew Donald had only lied out of fear of losing her and breaking up their family.

“Your father and I are fine for now. I’ll just wait and see how he behaves, and then we’ll talk. Go ahead, get back to work.”

Donald immediately turned to Werner. “Dad, you heard Mom. She’s giving you a chance based on how you act. You really need to step up and never hurt her again.”

“I know,” Werner frowned impatiently. “It was just a misunderstanding last time, but Cathy had to go and make a mountain out of a molehill.” Without another word, Werner headed straight for the bedroom.

Cathy patted Donald on the shoulder. “Go on to work now,” she urged gently. “Don’t let this delay your job.”

“Mom, I’m heading off now. If anything comes up, just call me. And if you don’t want to live with Dad anymore, you’re always welcome to move in with Jennifer and me,” said Donald.

Cathy gave a quiet nod and saw Donald out. As soon as Donald left, an awkward silence settled over the house. Neither Cathy nor Werner had any desire to speak to each other.

‘True forgiveness isn’t as simple as saying the words,’ Cathy thought. ‘It’s a deep thorn plunged into my heart, or a lurking beast, forever feeding me with doubt and suspicion.’

Cathy knew deep down she could never regain that unquestioning trust she once had for Werner.

That evening, Werner cooked dinner and called Cathy to the table. Cathy took the fork from him with visible disgust, then went to rewash it herself.

At the table, she refused to eat any dish Werner had touched, choosing instead to eat only gruel.

Fuming, Werner could plainly see that Cathy was deliberately going out of her way to show just how much she despised him.

Unable to take it anymore, he snatched his phone and shoved it in her face, showing her the entire chat history with Liam.

Werner said, “See for yourself. The first night I went to Shaville, Liam kept insisting I go to that kind of place. I refused, but I got so drunk that night. That’s the only reason I let him drag me there.”

Cathy scoffed and shoved his hand aside. “For all I know, you could’ve deleted half the chat before letting me see it.”

Werner, seething with anger, snapped, “What the hell do you want from me? I told you I was drunk that night. Do I have to drag the club manager over here to explain it to you himself?”

Cathy scoffed, “So tell me, why did you get wasted? What on earth was so important that you had to go all the way to Shaville just to drink yourself senseless?” Werner choked on his words.

His eyes darted away. “It was all because of Yorick’s mess. Blame that damn Sanford for exposing all that."

“I just couldn’t believe Yorick would do something like that, so I ended up drinking too much. If I could turn back time, I swear I’d never have gone drinking with Liam.”

Listening to him, Cathy felt an even stronger urge to laugh, a bitter, self-mocking laugh at herself.

“I used to mock Irene for her marital troubles, never imagining the tables would turn like this. Turns out my own family isn’t any better,” Cathy said with a bitter smile.

Werner was struck dumb. ‘If Cathy ever found out that Sanford was my son,’ he thought, ‘I couldn’t even begin to imagine the fallout, let alone what extreme actions Cathy might take.’

Chapter 585

He snapped back to reality and insisted, “I’ve told you already, aside from that one mistake, I’ve never betrayed you in any other way.”

Cathy set down her fork and looked at him. “Then tell me, where exactly did that 100 thousand go? I want to know exactly who you gave the money meant for Cheryl’s car to.”