CHAPTER 160: YOU’RE MISTAKEN MOM

It was past ten, and Rosiline still couldn’t sleep.

Collin’s voice kept echoing in her head — taunting, terrifying — dragging her back into the memories she wished she’d buried forever.

The fear that had been clawing at her heart for days had finally taken shape, and no matter how many times she tried to call him, the line stayed dead.

Standing alone in the open lawn, she clutched her chest, feeling her pulse race beneath her palm. The night air was cool, but her skin burned with unease.

Then a voice broke the silence.

"Why aren’t you asleep, Mom?"

Rosiline froze. Slowly, she turned her head — and there stood Kathrine.

The girl had that same calm, composed demeanor she always carried, but her very presence made Rosiline’s breath hitch. It wasn’t fear exactly — more a cold discomfort, the kind that twisted in her gut every time she looked at her.

"I should ask you the same, Kathrine," Rosiline said, her tone clipped, controlled. "Why aren’t you in bed?"

She tried to sound motherly, but her voice betrayed her. Because while she had fulfilled her duties as a mother, she had never been able to feel like one. Not to Kathrine.

Every time she looked at her, she was reminded of Anna — of the daughter she’d forced to live in the shadows, while this one had been protected, cherished, pitied.

Kathrine’s lips curved into a soft smile. "I couldn’t sleep. Not after meeting Anna."

Rosiline’s eyes flickered instantly. "You met Anna?"

"Yes," Kathrine replied, her tone airy, almost casual. "She seems happy. I guess so"

Rosiline’s fingers curled slightly at her side. ’So Kathrine knew.’

The marriage had been confidential — quiet, almost hidden and yet here she was, speaking of it as if she’d been watching all along.

Kathrine continued, her expression deceptively gentle. "I apologized to her, you know. After all she had to take my place to save our family from utter ruins"

Rosiline’s throat tightened. She could hear the faint tremor beneath Kathrine’s calmness not guilt, but something far more dangerous.

"You didn’t leave the country, did you?" Rosiline asked suddenly, her tone low, sharp.

Kathrine’s brows lifted, but she didn’t answer.

"That day you called me," Rosiline continued, her eyes narrowing, "it wasn’t because you needed anything. You were checking if I’d notice. You were already here."

Silence thickened between them, the kind that felt like a storm waiting to break.

Then Kathrine laughed softly — the sound beautiful, but cold.

"Why wouldn’t I leave, Mom," she said, her voice laced with mockery, "when you made sure I was sent away? You couldn’t wait to get rid of me so you could marry your daughter off to the man she hardly knows."

Rosiline’s heart sank, but her expression remained firm. The sweetness in Kathrine’s tone was gone now, replaced by something darker — something venomous.

"You played well, Mom," Kathrine said, stepping closer, her smile fading into a smirk. Her eyes gleamed under the pale moonlight — sharp, unreadable, and frighteningly calm.

"I’m impressed."

Rosiline’s heart sank, her pulse faltering under the weight of Kathrine’s words.

"What are you implying, Kathrine?" she stuttered, her voice unsteady. "You think I purposely sent you away? You were the one who wanted an escape from that marriage."

Kathrine tilted her head slightly, her tone measured, her eyes gleaming with quiet accusation.

"Yes, I did. I wanted to leave," she said softly, "but tell me, Mother — was risking Anna’s life really justified? Unless, of course, you had something else in mind."

Rosiline’s jaw tightened, her lashes fluttering as she tried to suppress the anger rising within her. Kathrine’s sharpness always unnerved her — she wasn’t the naïve, sickly girl Rosiline once thought she could control.

"Assume whatever you want, Kathrine," Rosiline said finally, her tone clipped and cold. "Your father and I know exactly why Anna married Daniel — to save this family from humiliation and his wrath. Whereas you..." she paused, her gaze cutting deep, "you chose to step back like a coward."

Kathrine didn’t flinch. Her expression remained eerily calm, her eyes fixed on Rosiline with unsettling steadiness.

Rosiline didn’t linger any longer. She turned sharply on her heel, her heels clicking against the marble as she strode away, leaving Kathrine standing alone in the garden — her white dress glowing faintly beneath the silver moonlight.

For a moment, the air stilled. Then a faint smile tugged at the corner of Kathrine’s lips — slow, deliberate, and chilling.

"You’re mistaken, Mom," she whispered, her voice low and dripping with quiet certainity. "And I’ll make sure you realize that soon enough."

***

[Betty’s Place]

"Bro— I mean, Shawn, why isn’t Sir Kevin opening his eyes?" Betty asked anxiously, glancing from the unconscious man on the couch to Shawn.

Shawn tightened the last strip of bandage around Kevin’s forearm before closing the first aid box with a sigh. "Maybe he fainted at the sight of his own blood?"

Betty blinked, unsure if he was joking. "Seriously? Over that tiny cut?"

The "tiny cut" barely had a drop of blood, but Kevin had managed to scare half the neighborhood with his scream. When Betty and Shawn rushed over after his panicked call, they found him sprawled next to his car door, phone clutched in hand, pale as a ghost.

At first, Betty thought he’d been attacked — or worse. But no, it turned out her dignified, ever-serious boss had fainted.

Now, as he lay unconscious on her couch, both she and Shawn just stared, unsure whether to laugh or panic.

"Are we sure he’s not... pretending?" Shawn muttered, watching Kevin’s eyelids twitch slightly.

"I don’t think so. Look at him, he’s sweating!" Betty whispered back, leaning closer.

Just as Shawn opened his mouth to respond, Kevin suddenly shot up, gasping for air like a man escaping a nightmare.

"Please— please take all the money and don’t hurt me!" he blurted out, clutching his bandaged arm dramatically.

Shawn: "..."

Betty: "..."

The silence that followed was deafening.

Betty blinked once. Then twice. "Sir Kevin... we’re not robbers."

Kevin’s eyes darted around wildly until they landed on Betty’s worried face and Shawn’s deadpan stare. Realization hit him hard.

"Oh," he muttered, straightening his shirt as his face flushed crimson. "Right. I knew that."

Shawn arched a brow, folding his arms. "Really? Because you just offered me your money."

Betty covered her mouth to stifle her laugh. "I told you he was a little dramatic," she whispered.

Kevin glared weakly at her. "You could’ve mentioned how much blood there’d be!"

"There was barely any blood!" Betty squeaked.

Shawn just shook his head, standing up. "Next time, maybe carry a stress ball, not a panic attack."

Kevin, still trying to gather his dignity after his dramatic outburst, suddenly froze mid-motion.

Something clicked.

"Wait— how did you find me?" he asked, blinking rapidly as he looked from Betty to Shawn. "I remember yelling on the phone... and then blacking out. I didn’t even tell you where I was."

Betty looked at Shawn, clearly unsure how much to say.

But Shawn, ever calm and unbothered, replied without hesitation, "We tracked your location through your phone number."

Kevin’s eyes widened in disbelief. "You... what?"

Shawn shrugged, as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world. "You were in trouble. I had to find you fast."

Kevin stared at him — part horrified, part impressed, and entirely unsettled.

And then, like an echo he didn’t want to hear, Henry’s warning came crashing back in his head.