My brother-in-law My husband
Chapter 31

Catherine, Manda, and Diamond went to Stars Food and entered without reservation. Fortunately Daryl, the owner, already knew Catherine, so he provided a nice seat with a view of the street from the glass panes.

"The Catherine! Where have you been?" Daryl said as he shook his hand. He looked at Manda and patted her on the head, "And you too, Manda."

"Good night, Mr. Daryl!" Manda greeted happily as she hugged the little girl.

Daryl opens his hand to Catherine, but she indirectly refuses to quickly sit on the chair, rejecting Daryl.

Daryl looked puzzled, but he regained his composure quickly and put the menu on the table, "You should look at the menu first. I'll be back in ten minutes, okay?"

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Daryl!" said Manda.

"Thank you, Daryl," Catherine said with a faint smile.

Daryl looked hesitant as he glanced at Catherine for a moment before leaving. Not once did he say anything to Diamond. All his attention was only on Catherine, who strangely felt evasive.

Diamond observed everything and asked Catherine, "Who is that man?"

"Ah, he is Daryl, the owner of this restaurant. We've known each other since Manda was only four years old. Because this is Manda's favorite restaurant."

"I understand.." Diamond hummed for a moment, leaned towards Catherine, and whispered, "Are you unaware that she is watching you all the time?"

"I know," Catherine replied without hesitation. His eyes were still fixed on the menu as if admired by the restaurant owner that you just used to not pay enough attention.

"He's been like that for years, actually. So I took her seduction as a compliment but refused to make any physical contact other than a handshake" Catherine said in a low voice to prevent Manda from listening. He clearly put a boundary between him and the man.

"For years? Even when you were married to Marcell?"

"Mhm, we never came here together, so she never knew" Catherine whispered.

"But I've never done more than shake hands with Daryl because I'm married to Marcell."

"Then you're trying to divorce her now, right?"

"I tried, but it was hard. Sebastian's family has too much power…." Catherine sighed as she continued to whisper in Diamond's ear.

"I don't know what the guy wants, really. What's clear is that if we get divorced, she can make love to whoever she wants. However, she still wanted me to be her legal wife for whatever reason."

Diamond knows nothing about Sebastian other than news about him through social media.

But one thing is certain about him;

People see Marcell Sebastian as a grown-up family man. Because he never got caught cheating. Either Catherine lied about him, or Marcell Sebastian's public relations team was outstanding in their work.

'I think the second makes more sense, knowing his younger brother, Marco Phoenix Sebastian is a big playboy who likes to mess up too, ' Diamond thought.

Funnily enough, the media rarely see Catherine and Manda, even though they are the wife and daughter of a handsome young billionaire. In fact, whenever asked by the media about his wife's absence, Marcell always said that his wife was an introvert who did not like the media attention.

People thought it was because Marcell wanted his family to protect from media views for a normal life.

"And why don't you accompany her on so many shows?"

"Marcell forbade me to meet just anyone or show myself in public. I'm basically stuck in our house.

"My activities are just taking care of Manda, cooking, and washing clothes" Catherine replied. He smiled sadly, though,

"At first, I didn't see anything wrong with it because I knew he was the jealous type. But once I knew that she had been making love endlessly, I knew that I was just a piece of furniture in her house. . That's why I became so depressed, even wanting to kill myself on some occasions."

"Ah, please don't tell this to Marco, okay? I don't want him to think of me as a burden. I don't want to get fired this fast…."

Catherine begged. Being fired in this harsh situation was basically a death sentence for Catherine.

Diamond bit her lower lip. She thought Catherine was just a spoiled and ungrateful woman at first.

But after knowing this, it was hard to blame him for leaving Marcell. That guy is a monster.

'I would like to report this to Mr Phoenix Sebastian. But he was always unpredictable. What if he decides to kick Catherine because he thinks of her as a burden? I will die of guilt, ' thought Diamond.

Manda looked at her mother, and Diamond whispered for a moment. He was curious, "Mommy, are you talking about Daddy?"

"Ah, t—not at all, dear. Miss Diamond and I were just talking about work," Catherine said as she turned Manda's attention to the menu,

"Have you decided what you want to eat?"

"Yes! I want this, and this, and this!" Manda pointed to one core meal and two desserts, as well as a drink.

Normally, Catherine would not let Manda eat too much sweet food, but she wanted to treat her daughter after eating too much, so she nodded, "OK, dear."

"really? Thank you!"

Daryl returned after ten minutes and took their menu and orders. Once again, she continued to steal a glance towards Catherine, but Catherine deliberately acted foolishly and ignored her, which disappointed her.

After Daryl left, Diamond whispered, "Did you tell him you were married?"

"Yes, I told her I was married, but she knew my marriage wasn't good."

"Ap— how could he know?!"

"When I was at my lowest point, I couldn't handle it anymore. So I sat here until the restaurant closed, not eating my food. I cried as she approached me and asked what was going on…."

Catherine also felt guilty for crying in front of a random man.

But he had no one to talk to. Even his family was more supportive of Marcell.

Diamond's heart felt heavier as she continued to listen to Catherine's story. He wanted to comfort her in a certain way, but he knew it might make Catherine feel small and pitiful. Therefore, he sat quietly while looking at Manda, who was drawing imaginary objects with her finger on the table.

"Manda, are you okay at school?" Diamond asked Amanda, thinking it would lift the somber atmosphere around her.

Amanda lifted her head, and her round black pupils looked at Diamond, "I'm fine! Manda always gets an A in any exam!"

"really? That's nice!"

"Um! Dad, tell me that we'll go to Disneyland again if I do well in school. Since Manda always does good, we'll go to Disneyland six times!" said Amanda innocently.

"Six times?"

"Since Dad never fulfilled his promise to me to go to Disneyland."

"Mommy said that Daddy was busy, and we were leaving when Manda was twelve! That will be five years from now, and that will be six visits to Disneyland!"

…

Diamond turned her gaze towards Catherine, and the latter smiled bitterly and replied with a helpless look.

…

'Oh my God, both are so sad! How could— How could someone be this evil towards his own wife and daughter!' Diamond pity Catherine and Amanda.

'Okay, I'll help them both! I will protect them in any way from your wrath. Phoenix Sebastian!' Diamond swore in his heart.

She did not believe that she would really dedicate herself to helping others, but really, Catherine deserved the happiness of her life.

Catherine had no idea what was in Diamond's head. All he saw was his expression that changed from sad, angry, calm, and suddenly excited, as if he was determined to do something.

'Well, I'm glad Diamond is a good person. I thought she was going to be like Marco, unpredictable and crazy, ' Catherine thought.

**

Catherine, Manda, and Diamond ate in silence until dessert arrived. They waited for Manda to eat and started chatting in a soft voice again.

"What about your daughter? What scared her of my aunt? It must have something to do with Sebastian's family, right?" ask Diamond.

"Yes, that's how the family is big, with many branches of family and relatives. They constantly tried to trap Rose Sebastian, Marcell, and even Marco on several occasions. But they all treated the relatives coldly."

"When Amanda was born, she immediately became Rose's favorite granddaughter, which caused jealousy among other relatives" explains Catherine.

"One of them was named Aunt Mary, and she was Rose's niece from her sister. He kidnapped Manda and took her hostage."