Chapter 78 – Divorced! Now What to Do?

It was obvious what Brettley was trying to convey: not only did he refuse to call the cops, but he did not want to punish Cynthal either. Instead, he wanted to keep everything on the down-low.

Everyone in the room was puzzled. Brettley insisted that there was nothing going on between him and Cynthal, yet at the same time, he was willing to show her mercy, despite the fact that she had tried to kill his own daughter. What was going on between the two of them?

Bethan stood motionless. Her heart felt as if someone had run a knife across it, and it was now bleeding.

She lifted her head and fixated her wrathful glare on Brettley. ”Mr. Morrison ! Nellie is your daughter ! ”

”Yes, I am well aware of that.” He glanced at her dismissively and picked up the microphone again. ” We’ re all gathered here today to celebrate Granny Morrison’s birthday. It was meant to be a joyous occasion, but unforeseen circumstances have ruined this party. I apologize for that. In order to show my sincerity, I will have my assistant prepare gifts for everyone.”

Brettley glanced at the emcee. ”Please keep the party going, but unfortunately, I’ll be leaving now.”

The emcee reached for the microphone that Brettley handed over with a panicked expression. ”Alright… let us continue… ” He walked in front of Brettley and tried to liven up the atmosphere of the room. ” Ladies and gentlemen, today is Granny Morrison’s 8oth birthday party… ”

Still standing on the stage, Bethan bit down on her bottom lip. She never expected everything to turn out like this. She had brought out evidence of Cynthal attempting to kill Nellie, yet because of Brettley’s nepotism, Cynthal got off scot-free!

He was indeed very loyal to her. Bethan smirked at the thought of this.

Meanwhile, Brettley strode over to Cynthal, who had been standing motionless, and grabbed hold of her. Cynthal did not come back to her senses until after she had been dragged away.

His grip on her was very tight, and her wrist started to hurt. Cynthal swiveled her gaze and said in a seductive tone, “Brettley, stop, you’re hurting me! “

Brettley ignored her and proceeded to drag her away from the scene. Cynthal’s voice grew faint as they moved further and further away.

Cynthal’s tone had brought Bethan back to that rainy day, six years ago.

On that day, from outside the door, Bethan had heard the exact same voice shouting Brettley’s name. In that instant, her entire body had turned cold as ice.

A drop of tear slid from the corner of Bethan’s eye and down her cheek. She immediately wiped it away. She couldn’t understand why she was crying for Brettley, even though she hadn’t loved him in a long time now.

“Bethan.“ Malcolm walked over to her side and gently patted her shoulder. “Come, let’s go.“

The two stars of the show had already left. It did not seem right for her to still be standing there.

Bethan closed her eyes and nodded. Then, with Malcolm’s arms wrapped around her shoulders, they got down from the stage together.

Neil had been watching all of this unfold from a distance. Upon seeing his mother’s distressed expression, he could not help but clench his fists. Brettley Morrison was a scumbag!

No objections!

“Nellie, do you want some cake?“

Nellie was sitting in Adrian’s lap. She shook her head at his offer, her gaze fixated on Bethan’s retreating figure. “I’m not in a good mood. I don’t want anything…“

Oceans apart, Nigel was watching all of this unfold through a surveillance camera. Upon seeing this, he closed his eyes. Then, after a moment, he reached out a hand to touch the image of Bethan on the screen.

“Mommy, I’m sorry…“ If it were not for Nigel’s disease, his mother would not have had to return to Banyan City and get in touch with Brettley. If it were not for Nigel, she would not have gotten hurt by that scumbag all over again.

At the back door of the hotel.

With his grip still around her, Brettley dragged Cynthal all the way to the hotel’s back exit.

“Brettley! “ Cynthal exclaimed. Her wrist was starting to hurt, and they had left the scene rather briskly. Cynthal felt like she had reached her limits.

Brettley finally let go of her. Cynthal leaned against the door, massaging her wrists and panting at the same time. She gave Brettley a charming smile. “I knew you still cared about me.“

”You’re wrong. ” Brettley shot her an icy glance and gestured at someone behind him. In an instant, a few people stepped out from the shadows, dressed as doctors, and grabbed hold of Cynthal. They held her down as if they were arresting a convict and tied her hands behind her back with tape.

Cynthal was startled. She struggled against her bonds and yelled at Brettley, ”What are you doing, Brettley? ”

Brettley grabbed the piece of tissue that Lucas was offering him and proceeded to wipe his hands. ” Don’t you think you’re mentally insane?”

”I’m not!”

”Of course you are. ” He curled his lips into a smirk. ” No normal person would try to get her own sister’s children killed. All these years, I took care of you because you’re Bethan’s sister. I protected you because you were the girl Bethan loved most in the world, but apparently, my kindness had been taken for granted.”

Cynthal thought that her schemes were perfect and that no one would be able to see through them, but she was mistaken. In reality, she had left clues all over the place. Brettley was not stupid. He managed to put two and two together fairly quickly.

After the ferris wheel incident, Brettley had a feeling that Cynthal was not as innocent as she made herself out to be, and that her relationship with Bethan was much more complicated than he thought.

Nellie’s return should have received a warm welcome from Cynthal, since she was her long-lost sister’s daughter, but instead, Cynthal had attempted to kill her multiple times. When she failed to do so during the ferris wheel ride, she tried to start a fire. Brettley himself had visited the ruins and even ended up in a fight with the people there. He had suffered a stab wound in his abdomen as a result of this. How then could he not realize who the mastermind behind all this was?

Cynthal widened her eyes. She struggled against her bands while protesting. “I’m still the person that Bethan cares about most in the world! She loves me! You can’t treat me like this, Brettley! If she finds out what you did to me, she will never forgive you! “

Brettley ignored her desperate pleas and glanced at the doctors standing next to Cynthal. “Take her away. “

He wanted to send Cynthal away after the party had ended and he had called off the wedding, but he did not expect that Bethan and Neil would cause such a sudden debacle.

However, he still had no idea what to do with Cynthal. She was Bethan’s sister, after all.

Brettley wished that Bethan would return, so that she could tell him what to do.

“Bethan, you’re drunk.“ Seated in the corner of a bar, Malcolm glanced at Bethan, who was downing yet another pint of beer. “You should stop drinking now.“

Bethan pretended like she did not hear him and reached out to grab another glass.

“Stop drinking! “ Malcolm couldn’t take it anymore and finally extended his arm to snatch the glass away from her. “You know full well that you can’t hold your liquor, so why are you pushing yourself like this?“

Bethan gave him a blank stare and let out a chuckle. “ Malcolm, it hurts.“ She drunkenly pointed towards her chest. “It hurts here. I’m so stupid. I thought that he would be different. I thought that people prioritize family over anything else, but…“

She wiped the tears from her face before continuing. “Am I too naive? I know that he hates me, but I never thought he would hate his own daughter too… after seeing the way he cared for Nellie when she almost got killed, I thought… I thought that his children meant something to him, but I was wrong, Malcolm.“

“Nigel is sick, but I have no other way of helping him or easing his pain, and now, I can’t keep Nellie safe either… I’m such a failure.“ Bethan looked up with sadness etched all over her face. “You shouldn’t have saved me in the first place. If I died…“

If she died, she would not have had to endure all these difficulties. Her children would not have had to suffer alongside her.

“What are you talking about?“ Malcolm sighed. He gestured for a waiter to clear the table, then stared at Bethan intently. “A rainbow cannot appear without rain. All of these challenges that you’re going through right now are paving the way for a better future. Besides, they are also teaching you a lesson… a lesson on who to trust and who to give up on.“

Bethan lifted her head to look at Malcolm. Tears started streaming down her face uncontrollably.

“When there’s a will, there’s a way, “ Malcolm said, letting out another sigh. “By the way, I’ve sent someone to track Cynthal down. If they manage to find her, they will bring her to us. Even if Brettley doesn’t punish her, I will make sure she pays for what she did.“

With that, Malcolm lifted his hand to brush away Bethan’s tears. “It’s okay. Don’t cry.“

Bethan bit down on her lip, her gaze fixated on him. She wanted to say something, but somehow, her vocal cords did not seem to be working. In the end, she could only mutter, “Thank you.“

“What are you thanking me for?“ Malcolm gently smoothed her hair back. “Your problems are my problems, too.“

Neil sat on the second-floor balcony above the bar, in between Zach and Yuri. He was watching his mother drink downstairs with a pained expression on his face.

“I feel guilty for everything,“ Neil said into his necklace.

On the other side of the world, Nigel watched everything unfold through the surveillance camera. He could not help but feel a twinge of sadness upon seeing his mother’s misery and the defeated look on Neil’s face. “It’s not your fault, nor is it Mommy’s. All this happened because of that scumbag.“

“You’re right! “ Neil bit his lip. “You’re right, Nigel. That man is a scumbag. He is and will always be a scumbag to me! “

Nigel let out a sigh. “To me as well.“

In the past, the two brothers used to tell themselves that everything was just a huge misunderstanding. However, now… it seemed that it was not a misunderstanding at all! Brettley only cared about Cynthal. He did not care about Bethan nor his own children at all.

“How’s Nellie?“ Nigel asked.

“She’s not doing too well.“ Neil sighed and continued, “I asked Lily just now, and she told me that Nellie has locked herself in her room and refuses to come out.“

“I’m sure Nellie is devastated by this…“

---