Chapter 165: Let her go Kathrine rose gracefully from the couch, her smile polite but her eyes sharp as she greeted the two figures before her.
"I’m sorry for coming uninvited," she began, her voice steady and composed. "But I assumed by now... the news of my return must have reached you."
Her gaze flicked between them — from Anna’s unreadable expression to Daniel’s cold, unyielding stare.
Anna remained composed, her posture calm, face betraying nothing. But Daniel’s jaw tightened visibly. He hadn’t expected Kathrine to walk into his home so boldly — not after everything she had done, and certainly not when she knew exactly what her presence stirred.
Still, her composure, her feigned innocence... it made something bitter rise within him.
He had once thought she was fragile — a woman weighed down by circumstances. But standing before him now, he could finally see her for what she was: deliberate. Calculated. And perfectly aware of the chaos she caused.
Daniel’s tone was cool, his voice steady, but his eyes carried the shadow of old anger.
"Indeed," he said, his gaze unwavering. "Though I must say, I’m surprised you had the courage to show up after conveniently forgetting what you did."
The air between them turned heavy.
Kathrine’s lips pressed into a faint line before she exhaled softly, tilting her head as if conceding. "That’s... exactly why I came, Daniel," she said, her tone threaded with rehearsed regret. "To apologize."
Her expression was artfully sorrowful, the kind of remorse that would convince anyone who didn’t know her better.
The servants who lingered nearby exchanged uncertain glances. To them, she looked genuinely penitent — her words soft, her demeanor humble. But Anna wasn’t fooled. She knew that look far too well.
Kathrine Bennett never apologized unless there was something to gain.
"Why don’t we sit and talk?" Anna interjected smoothly, breaking the tension before it snapped. "I’m sure none of us want to stand around and cramp our legs."
Kathrine turned to her with a small, composed smile. "Of course."
Her gaze lingered briefly on Daniel — and she noticed, to her mild irritation, how his expression softened the moment Anna spoke. It wasn’t much, but enough to make Kathrine’s jaw tighten behind her mask of civility.
Daniel gave a short nod, his tone clipped. "Let’s get this over with."
That small comment — curt and impatient — made Kathrine’s smile twitch upward, ever so slightly.
Anna noticed the exchange and tried not to frown. She hadn’t expected Daniel to show such open disdain, but she couldn’t exactly blame him either. Her sister had humiliated him — fled from their wedding, left him to clean up her scandal, and in the process dragged the family name through the mud.
What surprised Anna, however, was not his anger... but how easily he could voice it now. The Daniel she once knew had been composed, distant, impossible to read. But ever since their marriage, he’d stopped hiding behind restraint.
He was rawer. Sharper.
And it unsettled her — because deep down, she knew that change had everything to do with her.
Meanwhile, Daniel’s thoughts were far less composed. He wasn’t interested in Kathrine’s act, nor in hearing her excuses. He wanted this conversation finished — quickly.
Because the longer it dragged on, the longer he had to delay what he truly wanted.
To return upstairs. To the bed where his wife still lingered faintly in his thoughts. And to the peace that only she seemed capable of giving him — even if she didn’t know it yet.
"I won’t take long," Kathrine said softly, pulling Daniel from his thoughts.
He didn’t bother replying. Instead, he sank onto the couch beside Anna, his arm draping casually but protectively along the backrest — a silent declaration that didn’t go unnoticed.
Kathrine’s gaze flickered briefly, catching that small gesture. His hand, his posture, the subtle way his body angled toward Anna — all of it spoke volumes. Just months ago, this same man had been insistent on marrying her. And now, here he was, looking at her sister as though she was the only woman in the room.
Strange, she mused, her lips curving faintly. How quickly things change.
But she brushed the thought aside, straightening her posture as her eyes shifted between them.
"I already apologized to Anna yesterday," she began, her tone even and measured. "But after thinking about it, I realized I owe you one as well, Daniel. A real one."
Daniel’s eyes lifted to hers, calm but unyielding. "And you think that will make me forgive you?" he asked, his voice smooth but laced with quiet steel.
His anger wasn’t loud — it never was — but it carried weight. It wasn’t the embarrassment of being left at the altar that stung; it was the way her choices had forced him to change his plans entirely.
And yet, as he sat there beside Anna, Daniel couldn’t bring himself to regret it. That single act of defiance — Kathrine’s betrayal — had led him here. To her.
Still, there were unfinished things between them that demanded to be settled.
Kathrine gave a small, sorrowful smile. "I know it won’t," she admitted softly. "But there’s something you should know."
Daniel leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing. "And what’s that?"
Her gaze met his, steady and clear. Whatever hesitation had lingered before was gone now.
"That I never liked you, Daniel," she said, her voice calm but firm. "And you can’t marry someone you’ll never be able to give your heart to."
The room fell quiet.
Anna blinked, her breath catching. She didn’t... like him?
Her sister’s words echoed in her mind, each one stranger than the last. She’d spent months thinking Kathrine had fled because of fear, or pressure, or maybe even another man — but not because she simply didn’t like Daniel.
"Wait," Anna thought, frowning slightly, "is that... is that really the reason?"
Daniel, however, didn’t look surprised. He gave a short, humorless chuckle. "I figured as much," he said. "You wouldn’t have risked running away otherwise. Not if you truly cared about what it would cost your family."
Anna turned to him, utterly baffled now.
They were talking as if this was a perfectly normal conversation — as if one of them hadn’t publicly humiliated the other, as if this weren’t a web of betrayal and chaos they were calmly dissecting over tea.
Her eyes darted between the two of them — Daniel’s detached coolness, Kathrine’s serene confidence — and she couldn’t stop the incredulous thought that slipped through her mind.
Why are they being so... normal all of a sudden?
The tension in the air had shifted from sharp hostility to something almost unsettlingly calm, like a storm that had chosen, for now, to wait before striking again.
And somehow, Anna had the feeling this conversation was far from over.
"And that’s why," Kathrine continued, her voice steady despite the tremor in the air, "I believe the one who should face the consequences isn’t Anna—it’s me. So I’m asking you, Daniel... let her go."