Chapter 1069:

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Margaret looked at him, her eyes carrying something complicated. “Mrs. Brooks heard about Ms. Clifford’s miscarriage and went to the hospital. She saw the news reports about you and Kyla there. She didn’t look well when she left.”

Andrew’s brows drew together. Cathryn wasn’t someone easily shaken by gossip — she wouldn’t have collapsed simply from seeing rumors about him and Kyla online.

“Has she been dealing with any health problems lately?” he asked.

Only then did it strike him how long it had been since he’d paid Cathryn any real attention. After the incident with Kyla, too ashamed to face her, he had left Olekgan for several days. By the time he returned, the scandal with the nightclub escort had erupted, and then came the news of Kyla’s pregnancy — one crisis following another, each demanding his focus. He had barely stopped to look at Cathryn.

He remembered the day Amanda had insisted they both stay at Brooks Manor, and how, when he held Cathryn in his arms, he had realized with a jolt how much weight she had lost.

The memory pressed down on his chest.

Seen from Cathryn’s side, her husband had gone to a nightclub to drink away his troubles, and an escort had shown up at their home to make a scene. It was Cathryn who rushed back to handle it. Her husband had fathered a child with another woman, and she had swallowed the pain and quietly looked after Kyla and the unborn baby — protecting a life that had cost her everything to protect.

Compared to him, Cathryn carried far heavier burdens. And he had not only neglected her — he had behaved like a child.

T𝗁𝘰𝗎𝘴𝖺ոdѕ 𝗼𝗳 𝗋e𝘢𝖽еr𝘴 𝗈𝘯 gа𝗹𝗻оv𝗲𝘭𝘴.c𝗼𝗆

Margaret spoke carefully. “Looking back now, Mrs. Brooks hasn’t been well since you returned from your trip. She was frequently nauseous, exhausted, and weak.”

Andrew’s voice sharpened. “Why didn’t you tell me something so serious?”

Margaret met his gaze with quiet reproach. “It started after you quarreled with Mrs. Brooks at Azure Vista, slammed the door, and walked out. After you left, she spent a long time vomiting. There was even blood.”

Andrew’s face went rigid. So while he had been gone, Cathryn had endured that alone.

“You should have at least told my grandmother,” he said, his voice tight.

“Mrs. Brooks always thinks of others before herself,” Margaret replied. “She didn’t want your grandmother to worry. And besides, she came back to Brooks Manor afterward. Mr. Brooks, you are her husband. You should have seen that something was wrong.”

Andrew’s gaze faltered. She was right. He was the person closest to Cathryn, and he had missed every sign.

A memory surfaced — Cathryn pulling away from his touch, hunched over a trash can, retching. He had assumed her disgust was directed at him, that thoughts of his involvement with Kyla had made her physically ill. He had been furious about it.

He’d been wrong. And the blame rested entirely with him.

“Mrs. Brooks shouldn’t have any serious underlying condition,” Margaret added, softening slightly at the anguish on Andrew’s face. “The last time she fainted at the hospital, she had a full examination and everything came back normal.”

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