True to her style, after a pause, Marisa slowly opened her mouth.
Actually, mother-in-law will be a little worried about you, it’s all my fault then…..
Marisa gave a brief account of what had happened twenty-seven years before with Kimberly, Fabiana, and there was no discrepancy with what Antonio said, that he had not really lied to himself, and that in his mother’s version, it was more about remorse and blaming herself for having appeared and ruined that his father and Fabiana were together….
-Your father and I used to say that even if I had not shown up, he and Fabiana would not have gotten together, that they did not have the right personality and that they would have divorced sooner or later if they had married, but for me, it was all my fault, and I still feel ashamed when I hear the news that the mistress came forward, thinking that it was me talking….
On Marisa’s face there was a hint of shame and on Katarina’s there was a mixture of extraordinary emotions; her mother was so kind and attentive in every way that her father came to love her more and more and in the end he chose to go with her, didn’t he?
Fabiana stopped suddenly and looked at her daughter in disbelief.
-Katarina, after everything Ma has said, don’t you have anything to ask, to say?
Katarina reacted to the fact that she had indeed been too quiet and hastened to say.
-Mom, Dad had his reasons, he really loved you at the time or he wouldn’t have taken you, it’s just that taking all of his money just wouldn’t be justified….
Marisa sighed.
-Yes, and your father felt guilty about it all his life, he did it all for me, I was in particularly bad health at that time and the money for my medicine was a huge expense every month, he was ruthless and did the wrong thing, so after you brought Antonio back to us and your father found out he was Fabiana’s son, he had some mixed feelings, but seeing how much you two loved each other, he was happy, and only after the marriage, seeing that Antonio did have the capacity to pick up the Carballo Group, he thought of giving him the whole Carballo Group, to, first of all, ease your burden, and secondly, to compensate what he owed Fabiana back then. ..
Katarina’s heart ached, yes, after learning that it was actually her own son, to go out of her way to give him her own daughter as well, just to compensate him….
She wouldn’t be stupid enough to ask, did you, at that moment, not think about the fact that he took all the Carballo family’s assets and abandoned her?
Because at that time she didn’t even think of herself in this way, she only thought of having someone to spend her life with, she hated to give him everything she could, he loved her so much, he couldn’t do something to abandon her….
It turned out to be true, and they threatened her to stay even when she wanted him to leave her…..
Marisa took a sip of water and continued.
-Your father loves Antonio with all his heart and Antonio can’t be reproached for anything, both by you, by us and by the company….
Katarina’s heart skipped a beat and she asked a question she had wanted to ask for a long time.
-Mom, wasn’t Dad anxious to have a child at first?
Marisa raised her hand, caressed her daughter’s face and said slowly.
-When you were in my womb, we went for an ultrasound and the doctor said that the baby in my womb was a boy, but at that time the medical equipment was not advanced and the images were not clear. He had no siblings and I only had you, so he was a bit ashamed of his ancestors. Fortunately, Katarina was very proud to have a successor like Antonio….
Katarina now totally understands….
Although her father had also been very affectionate since she was a child, she always had the feeling that he liked boys and whenever he came to pick her up from kindergarten as a child, he would go and hug another boy….
It is also because she sees that her father prefers boys and her mother is incapable of having another brother so she is strong and determined to take the reins of the Carballo Group in the future, not wanting to disappoint her father?
Katarina’s heart was sinking, it turns out that she had been waiting for her mother to give birth to a son, who she knew was born, so knowing that Fabiana had given her a son, she felt that life was complete and worthy of her ancestors, and died with the corners of her lips raised….
Katarina’s fists clenched, unconsciously adding some more complexities to her hatred of her father….
Halfway through the day, Katarina tried to calm down, looked at Marisa and took her hand in hers.
-I’m sorry, I’m not a guy let you down….
Marisa burst out laughing.
-Silly, we were a little depressed at the time too, our Katarina proved to be nothing less than a man, your father and I, we are proud of you.
Katarina smiled from the bottom of her heart and wrapped her arms around her mother, resting her head on her shoulder. Whether her father was disappointed by her sex or not, it was a fact that he had loved her for over 20 years, and what she missed most was that her father had given himself to Antonio when he knew the truth….
In the middle of the day, she asked.
-Did you and Dad never realize that Antonio’s mother was Fabiana back then?
-We women don’t meddle in the company’s affairs, and you know that mom is not in good health and doesn’t like to deal with those noble women, what’s more, these twenty years, we haven’t seen each other, Fabiana naturally knows your father, but, so many years have passed and she hasn’t bothered us again, who knows, you and Antonio will have that destiny…..
Katarina clenched her fist. She didn’t know that women didn’t meddle in the affairs of the company, but it was only when she married into the Franco family that she realized that Fabiana made many of the big decisions in the Franco Group, and that Efrain was a puppet president, and that she had deliberately stayed out of the business world because she didn’t want her father to find out, right?
She lurks in the shadows and waits until she and Antonio decide to get married to reveal herself, pretending to be a great benefactor to her mother and letting bygones be bygones, when in reality she has never let bygones be bygones, even going so far as to use her own son as a bargaining chip to get revenge for her abandonment back then!
A flash of hatred in Katarina’s eyes, yes, she shouldn’t have let Fabiana off so easily either!
Though her own feelings towards her father were becoming more and more complicated, it was a fact that her father had been so angry with Fabiana that he had left early, and that was something she had to get out!
-Katarina, although Fabiana says she doesn’t care about what happened then, she still has some feelings about it, so she’s not as affectionate with you as she should be. Your brother-in-law is getting married, so you should go back and take care of him, so you don’t have to keep an eye on mom every day.
Marisa’s words brought Katarina back to her senses and the conversation turned to the question that had started it all: her mother wanted her to go back to the Franco family.
She pulled herself together and smiled.
-Mom, I’ll only come back someday to see about Marcos’ wedding, I’ll take care of it, don’t worry, it was Antonio who asked me to spend more time with you at home, when I see that you really don’t need me to worry, I’ll decide if I’ll come back or not.
He couldn’t go back, if he did, he wouldn’t be able to resist strangling that vicious and disgusting woman in the middle of the night!