My brother-in-law My husband
Chapter 32

Diamond's eyes widened, "Seriously?—"

"Shhh!" Catherine covered Diamond's mouth and pointed towards Amanda with a sideways glance, gesturing for Diamond to be cautious as it traumatized Amanda.

"Mary kidnapped her while Amanda was at Sebastian's house with Rose. I almost died in panic as soon as I got word that my daughter had been hurt. I thought I'd follow my daughter into the afterlife if Mary killed Amanda…."

"And, how do you solve it?"

"Mary wanted Rose to meet her demands for a hundred million in cash as ransom, but Rose and Marcell tracked her down in less than four hours after Amanda kidnapped her" she said.

"Amanda said that Aunt Mary slapped him and clenched her hand until it was red. She is deeply traumatized by her face and how she forced Amanda to shut up because 'Auntie' Mary would strangle her to death if she didn't. "

"And what happened to Mary after she was arrested?" ask Diamond.

"In prison, serving an unnatural life sentence" Catherine replied as she looked at Amanda.

Diamond was shocked again, "Punishment for a lifetime? For kidnapping?"

"Bastian's family has a lot of people working for them and a lot of strong connections as well. That's why Mary could get an unnatural life sentence for kidnapping" said Catherine, full of misery, though,

"Now you know why I can't just divorce her without her consent, right? Sebastian's family is somehow going to change my situation and make me guilty…."

Now it's Diamond who feels trapped. Hearing Catherine's story alone had made her heart feel heavy.

Diamond cupped Catherine's hand and said, "I will support you. At least I'll help you in the office, make sure that Mr. Phoenix Sebastian won't give you too much trouble, okay?"

Catherine did not understand what made Diamond suddenly want to help her, but any help was needed during the hard times!

"Thank you very much, Diamond. You were my first friend for many years, you know." said Catherine. She hesitated a little, afraid that Diamond would not be friends with an unattractive old woman like her.

"If—If you don't want to be called my friend, then I'll dodge—"

"What did you say? I want to be your friend. Girls, we're gonna be best friends!" Diamond showed her warm side as she wanted to hug Catherine.

Catherine hugged him from behind, and Amanda saw this. He jumped out of his seat and tried to join the hug, "Mommy, Mommy, don't leave me! I want a hug too!"

"Ahahah! Okay, honey," They hugged the three, a little embarrassing, but Catherine felt the warmth in her heart for the first time in years.

Had another friend after Marcell had ostracized him from the outside world for so long. It was a strange feeling, but Catherine did not hate it at all.

******

Catherine waited until almost midnight when she heard the penthouse door open.

Marco came home with a ragged face. He seemed to be having a hard day and was in a bad mood.

"Marco, do you want—" Catherine tried to greet him, but she simply glanced at him before stepping beside him and walking towards her room. He slammed the door, leaving Catherine alone in the dimly lit living room.

Catherine was afraid that Marco could snap at her at any moment if he found her annoying. So she tiptoed into the kitchen and quietly heated the food she bought for her from the restaurant.

She also wrote a note behind the receipt before returning to her apartment, falling asleep quickly after a long day.

**

Marco walked out of his room wearing his gray pajamas. She had a rough day with one of her new clients about their upcoming entertainment project together. The problem was solved, but it weighed on him.

"Ipar?" Marco called while looking around. She thought Catherine must be in the kitchen or living room, waiting for her.

But he can't be found.

"Huh, I was thinking of playing around with him a little, '" Marco muttered. She saw something on the kitchen table, so she checked it out.

"Hmm... dinner and.. receipt?" Marco takes the receipt first and realizes that it is just a regular receipt from a restaurant called Stars Food, and Catherine pays 2 million for it.

"Why is this on the kitchen table? What's the point of this?" Marco asked, assuming it was unimportant.

Catherine can use the black card for anything she wants, even if she wants to buy a new car or vacate her chosen branded store.

Marco flips the receipt and finds the written note behind the receipt.

—

Marco, this is my receipt of expenses. Please cut my salary instead.

Thank you for letting me use your card.

I bought you food from the restaurant for your dinner.

— Catherine.

—

"Omong empty," Marco squeezed the paper and threw it in the trash. He was already in a bad mood, and just reading it made him even more upset.

"He's still trying to say about this and that salary, even reducing the pay. Does she think I can't give her all that my sister can? Fuck, suck."

Marco thought, "Just because I'm not as rich as my brother, do you think I'm so low? Cih, I bet you never did this to your rich husband, huh?"

Marco could not think of any other reason why he did this other than just humiliating him.

Obviously, Marco gave the black card for him to use. So he could have the same quality of life as he had with Marcell.

But he rejected the black card for personal use and insisted on getting a salary from it.

"Well, I'll give her what she wants. I've prepared a contract to surprise him on Monday,"

Marco grinned. She had already imagined the shock and helplessness on Catherine's face once she realized what kind of contract she was going to give her. It will be a nice little revenge from Marco to Catherine.

"It was just a small price to put me down" Marco said.

She was a little hungry and curious about what Catherine bought. So he opened the lid and found a roasted chicken that had just been heated.

It looks tempting, and smells nice, but Marco is a picky eater. So he doubted he would like this restaurant's food.

"It was bought by my sister-in-law. I think it'll be good" Marco pinched the chicken and pulled a piece of meat. He opened his mouth and ate chicken.

He chewed it three times before spitting it out, "Bastard, that's disgusting!"

******

Catherine woke up on Sunday morning. She washes her face, brushes her teeth, and ties her hair into a bun. While opening the door to the next room, she checks on Amanda, who is still sleeping soundly.

He closed the door silently, not wanting to wake the little angel up.

Catherine went to Marco's apartment to cook breakfast and clean up a little before the housekeeper came in the afternoon.

He does everything on autopilot because this is what he often does in his house every day.

Catherine makes five piles of padded pancakes for Marco first and will make them for Amanda later after she wakes up. After he finished making it, he knocked on Marco's door several times;

"Hmm? What's?" Marco answered from within.

"Marco, breakfast is ready. I made you pancakes. You can eat it while it's still warm" Catherine said in a soft voice, just to make sure Marco knew he had done his job.

Catherine busied herself with cleaning and went to Marco's laundry room to wash her formal suit and shirt.

Marco woke up a moment later when he heard the sound of a washing machine. He yawned several times before washing his face and then opened his bedroom door to the dining table.

He saw a pile of tender pancakes on the table with a few bottles of syrup.

To be honest, Marco rarely eats sweet and starchy foods like this for breakfast. He would only drink a smoothie before exercising in the morning.

But the scent of pancakes reminded her of the time Catherine cooked pancakes for her. She still liked it even though she knew it was not good if she ate too much.

So, he sat down and poured some maple syrup and some dried berries. He began to eat in silence while listening to the low sound of the washing machine from the laundry room.

'It was like living in a small family, ' Marco thought.

**

Amanda woke up a little bit during the day because by the time she opened the curtain, the sun had already risen.

"Pulse... Mommy?" Amanda knew that her mother must have gotten up early to prepare breakfast. Amanda walked with her little feet to the bathroom and stepped on a small stool, washed her face and brushed her teeth before searching for her mother in the living room.

"Mommy?"

…

"Where's Mommy?" ask Amanda to herself. He continued to search until he stood near the spiral staircase leading to the top floor.

Amanda asked her mother about the stairs and if she could play upstairs. But his mother forbade him, saying it was someone else's house, not ours.

But she also saw her mother climb upstairs several times. So, Amanda thought that the neighbor upstairs must be a good person!

She heard the sound of a washing machine upstairs, so she thought her mother must be washing clothes with her neighbor.

"Whaa! Amanda never had a neighbor before. I want to see it too!" amanda said excitedly. Because they lived in a mansion, the distance between one house and another was so far that it was impossible for him to play with his neighbors.

Ah, even Amanda doesn't know the surname in the mansion beside her!

Amanda wanted to help her mother and see a new neighbor, so she climbed the spiral staircase slowly until she reached the last staircase.

He could see the view of the clean kitchen, but there was no one there.

However, Amanda clearly heard the sound of a washing machine near the kitchen, "Mommy!"

Amanda called her mother and walked towards the laundry room. However, he was unaware of the presence of others sitting at the dining table or away from the kitchen, staring while frowning.

"Stop there, son," Marco said. Amanda stopped her little steps, and she turned around slowly.

"What are you doing here?"