Chapter 4
As soon as I said that, Rose burst into tears.
She looked totally desperate.
Between sobs, she choked out, "I admit I was selfish. I got pregnant before I was married, and the baby's father ditched us. I didn't want my family to get hurt, so I kept it from them."
The onlookers started nodding in agreement.
"Man, being a single mom is really tough," someone said.
"Having a guy around, even if it's just for appearances, really helps keep the gossip away. Totally understandable," another person chimed in.
I couldn't help but laugh, glancing at her belly that was practically bursting out of her tight skirt.
I sneered, "Rose, you are so gentle and sensible. That guy must have some kind of secret he can't talk about."
As soon as I said that, the crowd immediately started chiming in.
One of them said, "Seriously, it's hard enough to find a woman who wants to have kids these days, let alone a total knockout. Who would ever walk away from that?"
"Honestly, I bet she's just the other woman," someone else muttered.
"N-No, that's not it," Rose stammered, her voice trembling.
She looked totally lost, shooting Nathan a desperate, pleading look for help.
Nathan said, "Alright, Rose, this is your family's business. You don't have to explain anything to us."
He then grabbed my arm and said, "Katherine, why didn't you let me know you were coming to Waterdale?"
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" I shot back, a sly smile on my lips.
I gave Nathan a meaningful look and asked, "Nathan, are you surprised? Come on, admit it: you're impressed, aren't you?"
In the end, Nathan suggested we all grab a cup of coffee together to clear the air.
Before getting into the taxi, Rose hesitated by the passenger door, looking hurt, then finally got in.
The pain in Nathan's eyes was obvious, but he held back whatever he wanted to say.
Inside the café, Rose picked up her coffee.
She said, "I've always heard Mr. Goodman talk about how devoted he is to his wife, but it's a shame you two have to live in different cities. This is my first time meeting you, Katherine. You're just as gorgeous as I imagined."
I took a sip of my coffee and corrected her, "Call me Ms. Jennings."
Rose choked up, her eyes turning red again. She said, "Ms. Jennings, it was all our fault today. Let me offer you this coffee in place of wine to say sorry and ask for your forgiveness."
Her gaze dropped, and she spoke in a timid, self-conscious voice, "We're just country folks, not really used to fancy things. We honestly didn't realize your car was worth so much."
I raised my hand and interrupted her.
I shot back, "So, you think just because the car's cheap, it's okay to crash into it and smash it up?
"Your sister ignored the rules, your parents caused a fuss, none of that had anything to do with being inexperienced. It was just plain bad character.
"Rose, do you honestly not get it, or are you just trying to downplay everything and cover for them?"
I turned to Nathan and sneered, "Your secretary really knows how to cover for her people. I bet she's always making excuses for you, too, huh?"
Nathan looked taken aback; the words clearly stung.
He said, "Katherine, her family made a mistake, but there's no need to give her a hard time. She's expecting, after all. Tiana, you should be the one apologizing for this."
Tiana glanced around awkwardly, her lips in a pout, then stood up and raised her cup.
She said, "Ms. Jennings, I also work at Mr. Goodman's company. I was just in a rush to reply to a work message and ended up hitting your car. I'm really sorry about that."
I shot back, "Funny, when you were arguing with me on your livestream, you didn't look rushed at all. Weren't you the one who said you had all the time in the world to waste on me?"
Tiana gripped her coffee cup so tightly that she nearly crushed it, but she kept it together.
Peter and Demi were even more thick-skinned than Tiana. They bowed and scraped, showering me with apologies and flattery.
Seeing the two of them looking like they'd just swallowed a fly, I nodded.
"Alright, I forgive you," I said.
Nathan looked at me with approval.
Before they could even get a word of thanks out, I added, "Just so you know, the insurance company will be coming to collect in a week, so you'd better have the cash ready."
The Smith family was stunned. Peter blurted out, "Wait, what? Didn't you just say you forgave us?"
"Yeah, but forgiving you and paying for the damages are two separate things," I replied.
Nathan said, "Katherine, can't you just let this go? 3 million is a fortune. There's no way they can come up with that."
"Whether they can pay or not is something they should've thought about before they started wrecking things. You said yourself, 3 million isn't chump change, so why should I let them off the hook?" I fired back.
"Katherine, sometimes you just gotta let people off easy," Nathan tried to reason with me.
I sneered, "Funny, they sure didn't think about letting me off easy when they were accusing me of stalking them."
I stood up, everyone staring at me, their faces contorted with complicated emotions, and pulled out my phone, showing them my payment QR code.