Chapter 623

Werner sat alone on the front steps of his house. Sanford’s words haunted him. He clasped his hands tightly on his lap, his head hanging low in anguish. He had failed as a father and as a husband.

A familiar figure suddenly appeared before him. Werner thought he was seeing things. His eyes welled up with tears as he faced Cathy, standing before him. “Cathy, you’ve finally come back…”

Just as Werner was about to apologize, Cathy cut him off, her voice icy.

“I’ve confessed everything about you to Catherine and Cecilia. This time, they won’t try to talk me into staying with you. As for Donald and Cheryl, tell them the whole truth. They’re grown up now. They have the right to know what really happened.”

Werner pressed his lips tightly together and hung his head in shame.

He choked out, “I’m so sorry, Cathy. This is all my fault. I’ve truly failed you. Back in Shaville, I never should have impulsively put all the blame on you. The truth is, I’m the guilty one. I should have taken responsibility.”

Cathy sneered coldly. Werner’s words couldn’t make up for anything. The damage was already done.

“I came back today to get my household registration and marriage certificate,” she said. “I don’t know how many decades I have left, but for however long that is, I want to truly live for myself.”

Werner stared at Cathy, struggling to accept just how resolute she was. “Cathy, after all these years together. Does it really have to come to this?”

Cathy said coldly, “Honestly, we should have divorced ages ago. The day you went to see hookers, I never should have gone soft and let my sister talk me into giving you another chance.”

“Yes, I messed up that time. I admit I wronged you, but that was the only mistake I ever made. You probably don’t know yet. Liora is dead.”

Cathy’s eyes flickered.

Werner’s eyes were clouded with anguish. “Liora was buried today. There’s truly nothing left between us now. I honestly had no idea she’d given birth to my son. If I had known—”

Cathy cut in bitterly, finishing his sentence for him. “If you’d known, we never would have gotten married in the first place!”

Werner let out a heavy sigh. “That’s not what I meant. If I’d known earlier, I would’ve made Liora abort the baby. She never should’ve given birth and ruined my life.”

Cathy sneered, “So this is how you handle things. It’s always someone else’s fault. Even after you found out Sanford was Liora’s son, you made her hide his true identity and insanely claimed he was Yorick’s child. Was that also her ‘ruining your life’?”

The more Cathy spoke, the colder her gaze became.

“You knew the dead couldn’t speak or defend themselves, so you shamelessly dumped all the blame on Yorick. You dared to come crawling to my parents’ house, swearing you’d never wrong me again, or else you’d walk away with nothing!”

Werner ran a hand over his face in anguish. “Yeah, it’s all my fault. But I only did all this because I couldn’t bear to lose our family. The kids are grown now, and you’ve seen how I’ve treated you all these years.”

Cathy gave a bitter, self-mocking laugh. “You’ve always loved yourself most. Every time I clashed with your family, you never once stood up for me or tried to see things from my perspective.”

“When Sanford’s true identity came out, you just dumped all the blame on me. So I’m just supposed to swallow my pride and play the fool who knows nothing, letting you keep deceiving me? Werner, in your heart, I’m nothing but an outsider.”

Werner was rendered completely speechless. As Cathy went inside to retrieve their marriage certificate and household registration, Werner was struck by the crushing realization that he was about to lose everything.

Werner pleaded desperately, “Please, Cathy, just give me one more chance. I swear on my life, there’s nothing else I’m hiding from you now!”

“Let go of me!” Cathy snapped impatiently, wrenching her arm free from Werner’s restraining grip. “If you’re any kind of man, let’s get this divorce over with. That way, we can both walk away with some dignity.”

Werner refused to let go, desperately playing the emotional card once more. He was hoping Cathy would still have feelings for him.

Just thinking about how Liora was having Werner’s child back when she married him made Cathy feel utterly disgusted.

If Werner had any integrity, he could have at least told her about his past or at least let her know he had a history with Liora. Or, when he found out Sanford was his son, he should have immediately told her and their kids.

Yet Werner tried to pin all the blame on Yorick, thinking he could pull the wool over everyone’s eyes forever. Cathy grabbed the marriage certificate and household documents and then walked out without looking back.

“Cathy, wait.” Werner rushed after her and saw she had come in Cecilia’s car. Grabbing her hand anxiously, he pleaded, “Cathy, please, calm down first. Don’t do anything rash.”

Cathy declared firmly, “This is the most resolute decision I’ve made since surviving my near-death experience!”

Werner was stunned. He stared at Cathy, bewildered.

Cathy’s eyes welled up with tears. “Back in Shaville, when you pointed at me and blamed me for everything, I was so desperate I decided to jump into the river.”

Werner froze, staring at Cathy in shock.

“I jumped right in. I truly believed I was the one to blame and that I deserved to die. But fate had other plans for me. Do you even know who saved me?” Cathy demanded.

Werner was stunned. “Who saved you?” he demanded urgently. He had no idea what had happened to Cathy.

Cathy exclaimed, “It was your son who saved me.”

“Donald saved you? He knows about this?” Werner exclaimed in shock.

Seeing Werner’s panicked expression, Cathy sneered.

Werner belatedly realized that it wasn’t Donald, but Sanford. He gasped, “Sanford saved you?”

“That’s right, it was Sanford who saved me!” Cathy declared. “I never expected that. He told me I wasn’t wrong. He urged me to love myself. I’m grateful he saved my life.”

Werner’s face turned ashen. The hand clutching Cathy’s wrist finally loosened its grip, slow and reluctant.

Cathy took a deep breath and fixed Werner with an icy stare. “From now on, I want to live for myself. I’m done letting your endless messes make me…”