Chapter 5

Catherine stumbled backward and felt her head spinning. Her back hit against the hard tombstone, then her knees landed hard on the steps. The sharp pain instantly spread across her limbs. However, that was nothing compared to what she suffered deep down. She was suffocating from the pain that felt as though she had been torn apart. Samuel didn't even spare her a glance. He merely lowered his head and wiped the rainwater off Natalie's face with his fingers. "Do you feel better?" He was only relieved when he heard Natalie whimper. He took off his suit jacket and wrapped Natalie with it, then carried her. When he turned around, he stepped on the cremains spilled on the ground, leaving behind a glaring trail of footprints. Catherine sat in the rain, and the tormenting pain in every part of her body made her shudder. Quivering, she reached out and tried to scoop the gray ashes. However, the rainwater washed them away too soon. No matter how hard she tried, the ashes kept slipping away, just like her relationship with Samuel. "Mom, I'm sorry…" she said as she choked up. "I married the wrong guy. I shouldn't have married him." After keeping the last bit of cremains, she took the 97th love letter from her bag and burned it as she shivered. As the flames burned away the paper, she recalled Samuel's promise to her sickly mother back then. "Don't worry. I'll protect Cathy with my life, and I'll never let anyone bully her." It turned out that slapping Catherine for another woman was how he "protected" Catherine. Catherine was in so much regret for falling for Samuel. After that incident, Catherine ran a high fever the whole night. She dreamed that she was deep in the icy-cold sea, and her mother's cremains were scattered around her like snowflakes. She wanted to hold the gray ashes, but she failed to do so, no matter how she tried. "Cathy… Cathy…" someone called out. Catherine struggled to open her eyes, only to realize that she wasn't on a bed but in a speeding car. The view outside the car flitted by. Samuel gripped the steering wheel, his face grim. "Samuel Lynch, where are you bringing me to?" Her voice was extremely hoarse. Samuel didn't even look at her as he replied coldly, "Natalie has been kidnapped." Catherine was shocked and slowly snapped out of her trance. "So?" "The person asked for you. It was Leonard Zeller." Samuel finally turned to glance at her. That name stabbed into Catherine's heart like a knife. Leonard Zeller was the lunatic who had been driven out of the city by Samuel for pestering her. "Are you… sending me there in exchange for Natalie?" Catherine's voice trembled. Samuel held the steering wheel tighter. "Leonard liked you in the past, so he wouldn't do anything to you." An extreme coldness traveled to every inch of Catherine's skin. She struggled to open the car door, but she realized that her hands were tied under the seatbelt. "Samuel Lynch! Are you out of your mind? Don't you know what kind of person Leonard is?" she screamed. "Cathy, calm down." Samuel's voice was terrifyingly calm. "I'll come back to save you once I send Natalie back." The car stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse. "I've brought her here. Where is Natalie?" Samuel pushed Catherine to the front. Leonard snapped his fingers, and two subordinates brought Natalie out. Her hair was disheveled, and there were traces of tears on her face. Her eyes shone when she saw Samuel. "Mr. Lynch!" Samuel immediately let go of Catherine and strode forward to hold Natalie in his embrace. "It's okay. Don't be scared. I'm here." Catherine stood rooted to the spot, quivering. She watched as Samuel checked on Natalie and wiped her tears gently. He didn't even look at Catherine. "Samuel Lynch!" she couldn't help yelling. Only then did Samuel turn around and say, "Don't worry. I'll come back to pick you up soon." With that, holding Natalie, he turned around and left without hesitation. Catherine wanted to run after them, but Leonard grabbed her wrist. "It's been a while, Ms. Jackman." She could sense his breath next to her ear, and it made her shudder. Leonard shoved her into the car and drove straight to the hotel. As soon as the door closed, he pushed her onto the bed.