Breaking Free, Loving Again -The Flash Marriage with Mr. CEO novel Chapter 443

Catrin stiffened at those words. "You are blaming me for everything?" she asked as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

But Brenda didn't hesitate.

"Yes, you are to be blamed for everything, Catrin." She said with conviction. She paused for a moment before continuing, "You only ever saw the struggle I left you with—but you never saw the reason why? Even after years, you never realized that what I gave you was not to make your life difficult but to make you live in happiness throughout."

She looked directly into her daughter's eyes.

"Idris loved you like no other. For years, no matter what you threw at him —your temper, your distance, your pride —he never lost his calm, he never gave up on you. Do you really think, with the way you have been, anyone else would have stood by you like that? Loved you the way he did?"

More than two decades had passed. It was time enough —more than enough —for Catrin to understand this. Yet, she never did.

"You talk about struggles as if it's only you who went through it," Brenda added, her voice still steady. "But dear, you forgot —struggle is the essence of the life. One way or the other, everyone goes through it. No exceptions. But you make it seem like you were only one in pain. As if your suffering was unique."

Brenda's gaze sharpened, voice growing heavier with meaning.

"Do you think you didn't make me struggle? Or that Idris didn't silently suffer around you? Or —do you really believe you made life easier for Arwen?"

At the mention of her daughter's name, Catrin flinched. As though sharp pin had struck her most sensitive nerve.

"You dare bring Arwen into this?" she snapped. "It's because of you that my relationship with my daughter is ruined."

Brenda couldn't help but chuckle —low, ironic.

"Really?" she said, amused. "Did you forget the damage you brought on her?"

Catrin flinched momentarily, but it was just a fraction of a second. It disappeared before it even appeared.

Brenda noticed it but didn't comment. Instead, she continued, "You think I damaged something you never even built? You blame me for ruining a bond that never existed?"

"Mom—!"

"Don't raise your voice like that, Catrin," Brenda's tone dropped, quiet but commanding. It silenced Catrin at once. "Raising your voice won't erase what you have done. You were here mother —but you never treated her like your daughter. And if even pushing her away hasn't made you realize that, then I fear nothing will."

Catrin's jaws clenched. "I didn't push her away. I left her to realize. Once she understands, she will return —she will accept the arrangement I carefully crafted for her. Unlike you, I won't let her suffer. I will give her a life without struggle. And when the time comes, you will see what a mother should be."

Brenda's lips curled in the quiet disappointment.

"Arwen has nothing to realize," she said softly. "You do. And if you still believe she will come back to you, you are mistaken. You have already lost her. And when someone loses something, they never valued … they don't get it back."

Catrin's throat tightened. Her fingers curled into fists.

She wanted to argue. To scream. But deep down … something burned hotter than her rage — her disappointment in Arwen.

"Mom," she ground out. "I didn't come her to discuss this futility. I came here to ask why you didn't choose me to be the President of the company? Why did you choose an —" her eyes flicked pointedly toward Margaret, "...outsider for it?"

"Outsider?" Brenda arched a brow, then glanced at Margaret with a gentle smile. "Since when do you decide who is outsider for me." She didn't miss to notice Catrin's meaning, her misunderstanding. But she didn't plan to clarify.

"Mom—"