Chapter 99 – What Can I Do to Elizabeth?
At first, Caroline had been serious, filled with anticipation, but that mood was completely ruined by the name “Caroz.”
It doesn’t matter, she thought. Whatever it’s called, as long as it works, that’s all that counts. There was no love between her and David anymore, so how could there be any showing off? She hadn’t expected to use the name “Caroz” to flaunt her affection for him.
David pushed the door open and walked in, finding Caroline engrossed in her skincare routine, her face full of sincerity. He guessed she was using the “Caroz” products. Without saying a word, he passed by her, stepped out onto the balcony, and lit a cigarette, slowly inhaling the smoke.
He stood there, watching it curl upward, until Caroline finished her routine. After a while, she walked up behind him.
“Are you thinking about how to let Elizabeth off the hook while keeping me from making a fuss?” she asked, her voice holding a hint of sarcasm.
David didn’t look back. He took a long drag from his cigarette and flicked the ashes.
“She has to be punished. That’s my bottom line,” Caroline emphasized. “I won’t back down.”
“She’s been sent home to reflect,” David replied, his tone nonchalant.
“Such a huge mistake, and she’s just staying at home for a couple of days, thinking that’s enough to resolve it? Is that it?” Caroline’s voice rose with disbelief.
David slightly turned his head, his eyes sharp. “What do you want?”
He threw the question back at her.
Caroline paused, momentarily taken aback. What do I want? Beat Elizabeth senseless? Tie her up and have two men humiliate her? That wasn’t going to happen. David wouldn’t agree to it. Elizabeth was his precious darling, the one he adored—how could she ever be subjected to such humiliation?
“I’m asking you,” David’s voice darkened. “Cat got your tongue?”
Caroline bit her lip, then suddenly laughed. Her laugh was tinged with sarcasm and helplessness.
David finally turned to look at her. “What are you laughing at?”
“I’m laughing because you’ve actually left me speechless,” Caroline replied, her voice low. “Yes, what can I really do to Elizabeth? Could I use the same methods she used on me to get back at her? But that’s unrealistic. First of all, you wouldn’t agree. After thinking it through, it seems like I just have to let it go… let it go. She kidnapped me, had people humiliate me, and what’s the result? Even though I found the evidence, the end result is still the same. I was just foolishly believing in the saying, ‘evil will be repaid with evil.’”
Caroline walked up to David’s side, turning her head to meet his gaze. “At the end of the day, it’s because I’m not important enough. I don’t have status. I don’t have influence. If I were rich and powerful, Elizabeth wouldn’t dare touch me. If you loved me enough and cared for me, she wouldn’t act so recklessly.”
Those who aren’t loved are free to be bullied. They are insignificant, humble.
She had always been the one who wasn’t loved. Not loved by anyone, and certainly not treated kindly by the world.
“David,” Caroline continued, her voice softer now, “when can I return to being a single woman instead of being a bride?”
She brought up the topic of divorce again.
David stubbed out his cigarette, a cloud of smoke lingering in the air. “Convince Mom to willingly give her approval.”
“You know that’s impossible.” Caroline sighed.
Harper, even before knowing she was David’s bride, had been trying to match them together. Now, she was hoping they would have children soon. How could she ever agree to a divorce?
The moment the topic came up, Harper would be furious, upset beyond reason.
“So, it’s not that I don’t want a divorce,” David said slowly, exhaling the smoke in a long, steady breath. “On your own, you have the power to keep your position.”
The smoke made Caroline cough, and she waved her hand in front of her face, trying to clear it.
David still hadn’t decided how to deal with Elizabeth, and the situation was growing more complicated by the minute. The more Caroline thought about it, the more tangled everything seemed.
