Chapter 4

When Catherine woke up, she found herself lying in the hospital. Natalie's sobs could be heard outside the room. "What should I do? I didn't mix up the sleeping pills with anti-inflammatory medicine on purpose. "It'd be a major medical accident if something really happened…" Samuel comforted gently as he said, "Don't worry. I'm here, and I won't let anything happen to you. If anyone were to pursue this matter, I'd write the mediation letter as her family." Catherine bit her lips so hard that she could taste blood. Not long after, the door of the ward was pushed open, and Samuel walked in. "What happened to me?" Catherine asked in a trembling voice. "Why did I pass out?" "Low blood sugar," he replied. Catherine could hear her heart breaking into pieces when she heard his reply. When they had just married, a socialite had tried to make Catherine drunk during a gathering. The following day, Samuel made the shares of that person's company plummet to rock bottom. When that person kneeled before Catherine to apologize, he held her waist and said, "Cathy, no one can lay a finger on you when I'm around." And now, Catherine had almost died because of Natalie's mistake, yet he was still defending her. She couldn't understand why Samuel would hurt her like that. Catherine was in such great pain that she quivered, but Samuel didn't even notice her strange response. Seeing that she was fine, Samuel quickly rose to his feet. "Natalie has been worried sick for the whole night because of you. I'll send her home, and I'll come back to keep you company later." However, Catherine didn't see him for days after. Catherine saw from her social media feeds that Samuel had brought Natalie to the seaside. The two had attended a concert and had gone to places where Samuel and Catherine had always wanted to go but didn't get to. The day Catherine was discharged from the hospital, Samuel finally showed up. Holding a bouquet of chrysanthemums and leaning against the car, he saw Catherine and handed her the flowers. "Something came up in the company these days, so I didn't come to visit you. It's your mom's death anniversary today. I'll go with you." Without saying a word, Catherine took the flowers and noticed that Natalie was also in the car. She paid no heed to Natalie and got into the backseat. Staring at the view outside the window, Catherine recalled her mother's last words. "Cathy, I hope you find someone who truly loves you." She touched the last three love letters in her bag and lamented bitterly, "Mom, I guess I found the wrong person." After arriving at the cemetery, Catherine hadn't even paid her respects when she heard the bad news. "I'm truly sorry, Ms. Jackman. It has been raining frequently these days, and the landslide is getting worse. This part of the cemetery will need to be moved…" She clutched her bag, her knuckles turning pale from the force. Her mother had always enjoyed serenity, but now, she couldn't even be at peace after she died. Samuel stood behind her unknowingly. He took the document handed by the staff and quickly signed it. "Cathy, bring the cremains down first. I'll handle the formalities for the move." Catherine nodded before she turned around and walked up the hill. The steps were wet from the rain. Weakly, she dragged herself up the hill, and every step felt as though she was walking on blades. In front of her mother's tombstone, the staff had started clearing up the graveyard. Catherine kneeled on the muddy ground and carried her mother's cremation urn. The urn was made of sandalwood, and her mother's name, Alice Smith, was carved on it. "Your mom must be really pretty," Natalie suddenly said. She reached out and wanted to help. "Mrs. Lynch, let me help you carry this." "It's fine." Catherine turned sideways to avoid her. Then, she carried the urn carefully and walked down the hill. Just then, Natalie shrieked, "Ahh! Bugs!" In a panic, she bumped against Catherine. Catherine was caught off guard and rolled down the steps. She clutched the cremation urn with all her might and fell hard on her back. It was so painful that her vision went black for a second. "Sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't do it on purpose!" Natalie ran down anxiously. "I'll help you pick it up!" Then, Natalie reached for the urn, but she slipped before Catherine could stop her. The cremation urn fell hard on the ground, breaking into pieces. The cremains spilled over the floor and were soaked in rainwater in no time. "I'm sorry! I-I'll clean this up!" Natalie grasped the cremains anxiously, only to make things worse. As the rain poured, Alice's cremains seeped through the ground, bit by bit. Catherine trembled vigorously and couldn't hold herself back anymore. She slapped Natalie as she roared, "Enough! You did it intentionally, right?" Covering her cheek, Natalie broke down into tears. "No! I only wanted to help. I was clumsy, but I did it out of kindness. Why did you slap me? I might be poor, but you can't humiliate me like this! "You might've lost your mom's cremains, but I've lost my dignity!" Catherine was full of despair. She raised her arm again but was held down by someone. Samuel suddenly appeared and grabbed her by the wrist. "Catherine, what are you doing?" Natalie sobbed her heart out as she explained, "I wanted to help her carry the cremation urn, but I accidentally spilled it. Then she slapped me… "Since you two find it so hard to accept me, I'll leave." Just as she took a step forward, Samuel held her in his arms. "Don't go. I'll make sure you get your justice." With that, he shot Catherine a cold look. "Apologize!" The rainwater streamed down Catherine's face, along with her tears. She watched as Samuel wiped the tears off Natalie's face. At that moment, Catherine felt as if someone had ripped her heart out forcefully. Catherine fixed her eyes on him, her lips trembling. "Samuel Lynch, did you hear it just now? She broke my mom's cremation urn!" "But you shouldn't slap her because of that!" Samuel's voice was colder than the rain. He gripped Natalie's wrist. "Don't worry. Since she slapped you and refused to apologize, you should hit her back." Catherine's pupils contracted. Before she could react, Samuel held Natalie's hand and slapped her. That slap was much harder than how Catherine had slapped Natalie earlier.