Chapter 456: How long have you been having those dreams?

Kathrine was taken aback by Roseline’s unexpected visit—but what startled her more were her mother’s eyes. They were wild, unrestrained, burning with a fury Kathrine had only seen once before, years ago, when everything had first begun to fall apart.

“Kathrine, how dare you,” Roseline hissed, slamming her palm against the table between them.

The sharp sound echoed through the office, but Kathrine didn’t flinch.

“Mom,” she said evenly, folding her arms, “you do realize this isn’t our house. You can’t barge into my workplace and raise your voice like that. I have a reputation here. So please—lower your tone.”

Her calmness only seemed to pour fuel over the fire.

Roseline stared at her, chest rising and falling rapidly.

After her meeting with Anna, humiliation still burned in her veins. She had walked into that conversation confident, certain she was in control, only to walk out shaken, exposed, and afraid. And now, standing in front of Kathrine—so composed, so untouchable—her fears twisted into rage.

“How long have you been manipulating Anna against me?” Roseline demanded.

Kathrine arched a brow, a faint, dangerous smile tugging at her lips. “Isn’t that what you’re good at?” she replied coolly. “Manipulation?”

Roseline’s face flushed crimson. “Don’t test my patience, Kathrine. I know you and Anna are working together behind my back. She… she knows Hugo is not her father.”

Her voice dropped at the last part, barely restrained, as though the words themselves might destroy her if spoken too loudly.

Kathrine’s eyes flickered for a brief second. So she told her.

But her expression smoothed instantly, returning to that maddening calm.

“And you think it was me who told her that?” Kathrine asked, rising slowly from her chair. Her heels clicked softly against the marble floor as she walked toward Roseline.

With every step, her presence shifted. No longer just a daughter standing before her mother—she was the CFO now. Authority wrapped around her like armor.

“You should’ve thought about that before accusing me,” Kathrine said quietly. “Lies were never an escape, Mom. Not when the truth always finds its way out.”

Roseline’s lips twitched. Her fingers curled into fists. “She would’ve never known,” she snapped. “I made sure of it.”

Kathrine let out a low, humorless chuckle. “Then you were mistaken. Because I didn’t tell her anything. Not about Dad. Not about you. Not even about how you tricked me into running from my wedding so she could step into my place.”

That one landed.

Roseline stiffened as if struck.

Kathrine met her gaze, unflinching. “Despite everything you did to me, I stayed silent. I swallowed it all. I let everyone believe I was the problem. The selfish one. The irresponsible daughter.”

Her voice didn’t rise, but there was steel beneath every word.

“I never once exposed you. Not to Anna. Not to anyone.”

Roseline scoffed, though the sound lacked conviction. “Don’t act like a saint. You’re enjoying this. Watching everything fall apart.”

Kathrine shook her head slowly. “No. I’m just done protecting you.”

Silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating.

Roseline’s eyes narrowed, something darker creeping into her expression. “You think this ends here?” she asked softly. Too softly. “You think you can turn my own daughter against me and walk away untouched?”

Kathrine tilted her head. “I didn’t turn anyone against you. You did that all on your own.”

Roseline stepped closer, invading her space, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. “Listen carefully, Kathrine. If you don’t stop whatever game you’re playing—if you don’t back off—things won’t be nice.”

Kathrine didn’t move. Didn’t blink.

“Is that a threat?” she asked calmly.

Roseline’s smile was thin and cold. “A warning. You may have your fancy title and your office and your perfect little life, but don’t forget—I know how to destroy it.”

Kathrine laughed softly, but there was no humor in her eyes. “You already tried that once. Remember?”

For a moment, Roseline faltered.

Kathrine leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper. “And the difference now? I’m not that stupid girl anymore. I’m not running. I’m not hiding. And I’m definitely not afraid of you.”

Roseline’s jaw tightened. “You should be.”

Kathrine straightened, reclaiming her space. “Maybe. But you should be more afraid of the truth. Because once Anna starts asking questions, I won’t stop her.”

Roseline’s eyes flashed with panic—just for a second.

Then she masked it with anger.

“This isn’t over,” she said sharply. “You’ll regret crossing me.”

Kathrine watched her walk toward the door, her voice steady as stone. “I already regret trusting you, Mom. Everything else is just damage control.”

Roseline paused at the doorway, glancing back once, her gaze filled with promise and poison.

“You’re making a powerful enemy.” she said as she turned to leave.

Kathrine met her stare without flinching. “You’ve always been one.”

Roseline stood at the doorway, her hand still wrapped tightly around the handle. Her shoulders were rigid, trembling—not with weakness, but with barely restrained fury.

The air between them felt charged, thick with everything that had been buried for years and was now clawing its way to the surface.

She turned slowly, her eyes locking onto Kathrine’s.

“Don’t mistake my silence for surrender,” Roseline said coldly. “This is me being patient. The last time.”

Kathrine remained where she was, her posture relaxed, but her gaze unwavering. “Patience was never your strength, Mom.”

Roseline’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “You always had a sharp tongue. Even as a child. But you forget one thing—you only exist in this world because I allowed it. Everything you have, everything you are, I let it be”

She was no longer hiding her truth from Kathrine and that made her smile.

Kathrine let out a slow breath. “You built a cage and called it protection.”

Roseline’s eyes darkened. She stepped forward again, pointing a finger at her chest. “If you keep digging into the past, if you keep poisoning Anna’s mind against me, I won’t hold back anymore. I won’t care who gets hurt”

Her voice trembled now, not from fear, but from obsession.

“This is your final warning, Kathrine. Stop. Pretend you know nothing and let things stay buried. Or I will make sure you lose everything you’re standing on.”

With that Roseline finally turned on her heels and walked away while Kathrine continued stare at the door she stepped out off.

For a moment she could feel the dread that filled her heart from her words, but then her brows furrowed.

***

Anna hadn’t said much after that, and Daniel hadn’t pushed her. He let the silence sit between them, heavy but necessary, giving her space to process everything he had confessed.

He returned to his work, signing a few documents, answering emails, pretending—poorly—that his focus hadn’t shifted entirely to the woman sitting across the room. Anna stayed in his office, perched on the edge of the couch, watching him from time to time as if he were some kind of mystery she was trying to unravel.

Not the man she knew.

But the man she was only just beginning to see.

By the time the day finally ended, the sky outside had already darkened. They left the company together, walking side by side in silence. No arguments. No small talk. Just the echo of unsaid thoughts following them into the car.

The engine started, but the quiet inside the vehicle grew suffocating.

Daniel kept his eyes on the road, gripping the steering wheel tighter than usual. He had promised himself he wouldn’t rush her—but hours of silence felt heavier than any argument.

Then Anna spoke.

“How long have you been having those dreams?” she asked softly. “The ones where you saw me… dead.”

Daniel’s breath hitched almost imperceptibly.

He didn’t answer immediately.

Despite staying silent all day, Anna couldn’t ignore what he had told her earlier. The way his voice had shaken. The way his eyes had looked when he spoke about it—as if he had already lived through that loss once before.

At first, she had dismissed it as just a dream.

But now, sitting beside him, watching the tension in his jaw, the truth settled in her chest with a quiet, unsettling weight.

It hadn’t been a dream.

It had been a memory.

The beginning of everything he had forgotten.

Daniel finally exhaled slowly. “After our marriage,” he said, which made her frown even more deeply.

Once again, silence engulfed them—and this time, Daniel felt it claw at his chest.

It wasn’t the comfortable kind of quiet. It was heavy, unsettled, filled with questions neither of them dared to ask out loud. The rest of the drive passed with nothing but the low hum of the engine and the distant city lights slipping by, but Daniel barely registered any of it.

All he could think about was her words.

By the time the car pulled up in front of the house, his nerves were stretched thin.

Anna unbuckled her seatbelt without a word and stepped out of the car, the cold night air brushing against her skin. She didn’t look back. Not even once.

That was what finally broke him.

Before she could take another step, Daniel got out and caught up to her in two long strides. His arms wrapped around her from behind, sudden and desperate, pulling her against his chest as if he were afraid she might disappear if he let her go.

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