Chapter 4
As soon as I opened the door, my mom greeted me with a face full of excitement. “Look, we were just talking about you, and here you are?”
That’s when I noticed someone sitting on the couch–it was one of my
aunts.
My dad looked at me with a smile. “Catherine, why didn’t you tell us about this? It’s not a bad thing. If your aunt hadn’t mentioned it, we’d still be in the dark.”
“That’s right! You silly girl, something this big, and you didn’t even tell us. Just yesterday, I was out
hopping with Mrs. Colson,” my mom added.
1 froze, utterly confused.
My dad glanced at the clock and said, “Today’s Mrs. Colson’s birthday. We were just about to head over–why don’t we talk about it in person?”
My mom shook her head and pulled out her phone. “How could we discuss something like this in person? Let me give her a call first.”
I watched in confusion as my mom dialed the number.
“Hello, Mrs. Colson? Here’s the thing–my sister–in–law just told us about the tw think about setting a date for their wedding soon?”
kids. What do you
I was stunned. By the time I came to my senses and tried to grab her phone, Austin’s furious voice had already erupted from the speaker.
“Catherine, how scheming can you be? You knew today was my mom’s birthday and that Emily would be here, yet you had your mom call with this nonsense!”
“Emily has been crying nonstop. What exactly are you trying to do? I thought I made myself clear!”
My mom had the call on speaker, and Austin’s voice filled the entire room.
The air went dead silent.
My dad’s smile froze on his face, and my aunt’s eyes flickered with surprise.
Austin wasn’t finished. “Catherine, let me tell you one last time!”
A Love Left Behind: Embracing a letter Future
3.1%
It seemed he wanted everyone to hear him.
Through the glass window, I saw him standing on his balcony, shouting loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear.
“I love Emily Karson! I don’t have any feelings for Catherine Grayson!“
“Even if every woman in the world disappeared, I would never fall for her! The person I’m going to
marry is Emily!”
At that moment, his voice from outside and the speaker overlapped.
Neighbors began opening their windows to watch the spectacle–all of them familiar faces.
My mom finally reacted, her face darkening with anger. “Austin Colson, you’ve gone too far! Even if you and Catherine can’t be together, there’s no need to ruin her reputation like this!”
Emily Karson’s voice came through the speaker. “Auntie, girls need to know how to respect themselves. Those kinds of things should only happen after marriage. Your daughter living with a boy so casually might set a bad example for my boyfriend.”
In just a few days, my heart had been cut to pieces over and over again.
My face burned with shame, an unbearable humiliation washing over me.
Twenty years of fond memories were completely shattered.
But it wasn’t about how much he hurt me–it was about how he allowed another woman to insult the
elders who had once cared for him.
Seething with anger, I reached out to grab the phone.
But my mom suddenly scoffed and said sharply, “What era are you living in to still have such outdated thoughts? Even our generation knows cohabiting before marriage is normal! A man th irresponsible? My daughter is better off without him.”
Click.
My mom hung up the phone.
I was already in tears.
She sighed and wiped my face. “Why are you crying? There’s no shortage of men in this world!”
A Love Left Behind: Embracing a Better Future
4
My dad immediately took the gift they had prepared and threw it outside the door.
“Bah! Does he think the daughter of the Grayson family is someone he can pick and choose? That insolent fool has no idea what he’s lost!”
The coldness Austin had left in my heart suddenly began to thaw.
I never expected him to have the audacity to show up again.
He stood at the door, blocking it so I couldn’t close it.
“Catherine, it’s not my fault! Emily was visiting my house for the first time, and that call from your mom made things so awkward. I was just trying to make her feel secure.”
He looked at me cautiously. “You can forgive me, right?”
A Love
