跳过内容
Novel Catalog
Chapter 56
Catherine’s mind raced as she processed Shaun’s words. He said no to buying a house in Green Mountain, but something about his tone felt off. The flicker of unease in his eyes, the way he avoided her gaze when she asked about it—it all felt too convenient. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was hiding something from her, especially after Ethan had mentioned seeing Shaun’s car there.
As she stood in the kitchen, setting the table for dinner, a thousand thoughts swirled in her head. Why would he lie?
Shaun’s phone buzzed on the counter, breaking her train of thought. He glanced at it quickly before setting it back down, clearly not in a rush to answer it. Catherine’s curiosity piqued, but she pushed the urge to pry aside. After everything they had been through, she couldn’t afford to be suspicious without reason.
“How was your day?” she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral, though the question felt almost hollow between them.
“Busy,” Shaun replied simply, his attention drifting back to his meal. He reached for his glass of wine and took a sip, but Catherine could tell his mind was elsewhere. He was distant, and she wasn’t sure why.
Her patience was wearing thin, but she had to get through tonight. Ethan’s engagement party was looming, and she had to attend. The thought of facing him again, after everything, made her stomach churn. The idea of watching him pledge himself to Rebecca—the woman who had replaced her in every way possible—was too much.
“Shaun,” she said, her voice low and careful. “What if I told you I didn’t want to go to Ethan’s engagement party tomorrow? What if I just… stayed home?”
Shaun stopped mid-bite and glanced up at her, his brow furrowing slightly. “You have to go, Catherine. You know why.”
“I don’t have to,” she retorted quickly. “It’s not like I’m part of their world anymore, and it’s not like Ethan cares whether I’m there or not. I’d rather not see them, to be honest.”
Shaun’s expression softened for a moment, his eyes flickering with something she couldn’t quite read. “You’re still hurting, aren’t you? I can see it in your eyes.”
The words stung, but not because they were untrue. She was hurting. In fact, seeing Ethan and Rebecca together, knowing the life she could have had was slipping away, was excruciating. But it wasn’t just the pain that kept her on edge. It was the feeling of being manipulated by everyone around her.
“I can’t keep pretending everything’s fine when it’s not,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “You don’t understand how it feels to be used like this.”
Shaun’s eyes narrowed, and for a brief moment, there was a flicker of something—an emotion, perhaps? But it was gone before she could analyze it. He set down his fork, pushing the plate aside.
“How are you being used? No one is using you, Catherine,” he said with a firmness that didn’t sit well with her. “You have a choice, and you’ve made it clear. You’re moving on, aren’t you?”
She froze. The question hung in the air like a heavy weight.
Was she moving on? Had she truly let go of Ethan, or was she still clinging to a past that would never return? She didn’t have an answer, not yet. But she did know one thing: if she didn’t take control of her life now, she might never escape the shadows of her past.
“I’m not sure,” she finally replied, her voice quiet. “But I know I don’t want to let him win. I can’t let them win.”
Shaun’s eyes softened, and for a moment, he looked almost… concerned? It was hard to read him. He leaned back in his chair and sighed.
“Then don’t go,” he said, his voice gentler than before. “If it’s going to hurt you, don’t put yourself through it. There’s no need.”
Her heart skipped at his words. For the first time in a long while, she felt like he understood her. But then, as quickly as the moment came, it slipped away. Shaun’s expression returned to its usual unreadable mask, and the distance between them seemed to stretch even further.
As she cleaned up the dishes, Catherine couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more at play here—something she wasn’t seeing. The way Shaun was acting, the way he avoided certain questions, the way Ethan’s words had lingered in her mind. She needed answers, but getting them wasn’t going to be easy.
Later that night, when the apartment was quiet, Catherine sat by the window, staring out at the city skyline. She didn’t know what the future held, but she knew one thing for sure—she couldn’t keep going in circles, questioning everything and everyone. It was time to make a decision.
But before she could make any more plans, her phone buzzed again. This time, it was a message from Joseph.
“Meet me at the office tomorrow. We have a few things to finalize for the Green Mountain project.”
Catherine sighed and typed back, confirming the meeting. But as she put her phone down, a gnawing feeling in her gut told her that the coming days would force her to face far more than just Ethan’s engagement. The people in her life—Shaun, Ethan, even Rebecca—were all part of a tangled web she might never fully untangle.
But she had to try.