Chapter 111: How Did You Know I Was Acting With Him?
He spits out these words gnashing his teeth while feeling a strange pleasure of revenge. Blue veins stood out on his forehead, his throat gulping, Cathryn believed that if he were not trying to hold his voice, he would go savage at any second.
His words stunned her, though. She had never realized this man could be so horrible and pathetic. What kind of hatred was there in his heart that could make him suffer so many years?
Although, these words were not much of a threat for her, as now that she had decided to give up acting to pursue becoming a teacher. She stared at her ex-husband and boss for a long while and finally sighed and asked.
"Can you tell me what makes you hate me like this?"
"Go back home and ask your noble mother." Jordan closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, "Ask her about a female bus conductor fifteen years ago."
A quiet person is often self-restraint.
In Cathryn's impression, her mother was mostly cold and quiet, but she never had the kind of pettiness or unreasonableness like many women had. She couldn't explain to Victoria, though, and was expelled from her producer's office.
She was quite lost in confusion, her face was pale, and the sunlight felt strangely dazzling.
Jane had been waiting outside and trying to listen to whether there was anything wrong inside. But instead of hearing anything, Cathryn suddenly walked herself out.
"Is everything alright?" Jane greeted her and went to take Cathryn's arm, her ankle had not fully recovered.
"Yeah," Cathryn snapped back to reality when she heard Jane's voice. She smiled at her assistant, "Let's leave here."
It was supposed to be her shooting day, but she was asked to leave. What could they have talked about in the office? Jane was smart enough to draw some conclusions. She didn't ask and held her arm, and they leaned on each other into the car.
They drove back to the hotel, packed the luggage, and rushed to the airport. Cathryn kept her eyes closed on the way. She looked calm and showed not the slightest emotion.
It turned out to be a trap in the very beginning that Jordan had put her in "The Alert" movie. He just wanted to let Victoria see her daughter in it. She only went to see the movie because of Cathryn, but if she never knew her relationship with Jordan, it would be alright.
She believed her mother, and she wouldn't allow anyone to trash her without evidence. She recalled, however, when they were together, the disgusted look on his face when she mentioned her family and that wistfulness he had when she brought him their hometown snacks.
A complicated mood flooded her head.
Perhaps he really had a tragic childhood and teenage years, but everything must have been caused by various reasons. Whether Victoria had hurt his family like he said or not, it was unfair that Jordan should blame her for everything and take vengeance on her.
****
As soon as she returned from the set, Cathryn stayed on Flower Island preparing for the Teachers Qualification Exam and pondering about Jordan and her mother.
She decided not to follow Jordan's demand to ask Victoria about the lady conductor fifteen years ago. She didn't want her mother to know about her bad relationship with Jordan Riggs and, in turn, blamed herself after knowing about their divorce.
But her mother called her soon, on the day when the teacher qualification registration began. She called because Cathryn never seemed very concerned about the exam, she didn't want her to miss the sign-up.
"I know that, mom. I'm actually working hard this year." Cathryn promised, "I can definitely get it."
"Fine," She could hear her cold smirking smile over the telephone, and more so from the indifferent tone. "Don't be passive about it."
"Mom, you see, if I become a teacher, then we would be a family of teachers," Cathryn answered in a light mood.
"The TV series you played with Jordan Riggs, when is it going to air?" asked Victoria suddenly.
Cathryn's smile froze, her heart sank, and her lips quivered.
"How did you know I was acting with him?"
"Cathryn, you were in the headlines. It was quite the topic in the school for a while. Don't you believe that teachers gossip, too?"
"Ha, ha." Cathryn laughed dryly. "Then you should know that this upset Miss Athena Green, and my scenes were cut off completely. You won't see me when it airs. No more expectations, everyone."
A long silence came from the other end.
Cathryn felt guilty and tried to switch the subject. She laughed again and continued, "But the exam is coming, you know, no drama will take my study time now."
Finally, there was a response from the solemn mother. Victoria confirmed shortly and asked her daughter again to try hard on the test before hanging up the phone.
The mid-term test had just finished, and the air-conditioned office was silent with all the teachers busily reading the papers. Victoria went to sit on her seat for a while and decided to take a break, and went into the bathroom.
On Cathryn's old phone, in addition to her wedding photo with the certificate, she had Jordan's phone number there too. It was kept secret, though, the name was nothing but an "MW" ranking first in the address book.
Victoria saw the address book and felt sorry. That man had no love for her daughter, yet she must have cherished him deeply. She felt horrible that such an ungrateful man bullied Cathryn, and the reason was all because of a mistake she made fifteen years ago.
Jordan Riggs was filming his scene when his phone rang. It buzzed for a long while until he caught a break and picked it up.
He heard from his phone the voice of Victoria Riley.
"Hello, my name is Victoria Riley, Cathryn's mother."
Jordan had hated Victoria much more than he hated Cathryn. He even blamed her for his separation from her.
He had believed that this mean, vicious woman must have a bitter face, but when he sat in the booth and saw a woman wearing a long plain gown and sitting quietly like a statue, he raised his eyebrows.