"You live in a place like this?"
The mont Catherine walked in the door, she arrogantly comnted on Don Quixote’s house on Bei Ling Ridge, "I thought you’d made a coback, but this place is just so-so."
Don Quixote stood at the door, showing no intention of inviting her in for a cup of tea.
In fact, if he’d had a teapot handy, he probably would have thrown the tea right in Catherine’s face.
As soon as she ca in, Lily shrank behind Don Quixote, gripping his pants tightly and peeking at Catherine with half her head.
"If you have sothing to say, say it," Don Quixote said coldly. "If you’re here to start a fight, don’t do it in front of the child."
Catherine waved a hand in front of her nose in disgust, as if the air were thick with the stench of poverty. She scanned the room’s old furniture and slightly cramped layout with contempt, her eyes finally landing on Don Quixote’s faded, washed-out shirt.
"Hmph. A place like this? Even if you invited , I’d worry about getting my dress dirty," Catherine said smugly. "After all, we’ll soon be living in two different worlds."
"Are you dying?" Don Quixote said. "Thank God. That would be the best Christmas present I could ask for."
"Oh, put away that vicious attitude of yours." Catherine wasn’t angry. On the contrary, she acted as if she’d heard a joke, casually tucking her curly hair behind her ear. In doing so, she deliberately let the massive diamond ring on her fourth finger flash a blinding glint of light.
"I don’t expect you to understand. After all, you’re not the man you were in your early thirties," she said, looking at Don Quixote with an almost pitying gaze. "I’m getting married, right after Christmas."
"To whom?" Don Quixote scoffed. "That trust manager you’ve only known for a little over two weeks?"
"Lily, that little blabbermouth, really does tell you everything," Catherine said. "For truly compatible souls, ti is no issue. Robert Anderson is nothing like you. He’s soone who truly understands ."
"If he didn’t have money, you would’ve told him to get lost ages ago," Don Quixote retorted. "Just like when you married . You were only after my money then, too. You put on a much better act when we signed the divorce papers, crying your eyes out and begging to sign—so I’d take all the debt while you got the property and cash. You said that way, you could support after I went bankrupt. You’re a real scher. Good luck to your future husband."
"How dare you compare yourself to Luo Luo? That’s ridiculous," Catherine said. "He’s the only one who’s understood in all these years. We both love the California sun—he’s already picked out a seaside villa in Santa Barbara and promised to start a whole new life with ."
As she spoke, a rapturous expression appeared on her face, as if she could already sll the sea breeze blowing in from the Pacific Ocean.
"You can’t even imagine how generous he is," Catherine boasted. "Yesterday on Fifth Avenue, I just glanced a couple of tis at this forty-thousand-USD ring, and he swiped his card without batting an eye. You weren’t even willing to buy a ring this expensive when we got married. He said I’m the purest soul he’s ever t in this filthy world, and that only the best things are good enough for ."
Li Wei, who had been leaning against the wall without saying a word, couldn’t help but feel the corner of his mouth twitch when he heard the phrase "purest soul."
’Do won actually fall for that kind of crap?’
"So you just ca here to show off the great man you’ve found?" Don Quixote’s resentnt boiled over, and he prepared to kick her out. "If there’s nothing else, get the hell out."
"Hold on!" Catherine pulled a docunt out of her handbag and tossed it onto the shoe cabinet by the door. "This is the second reason I’m here."
"Luo Luo wants us to have a world that belongs completely to the two of us. He doesn’t want the crying of a small child in the house," she said with a shrug. "So, I’ve agreed to give up custody of Lily. This is an agreent to relinquish custody and waive any future claims to alimony from you. My lawyer already drew it up. As long as you sign it, Lily is yours from now on. We’ll be even."
The air in the room seed to freeze for a few seconds.
Don Quixote stood frozen on the spot. He had been preparing for a long and expensive court battle with Catherine, even steeling himself for the possibility of going broke to win custody of his daughter.
And now, happiness had arrived so suddenly it was almost absurd.
"Are... are you serious?" Don Quixote’s lips trembled. "You’re that desperate to get rid of your own daughter?"
"He’s willing to spend over a hundred thousand USD on in just two weeks. That’s proof enough of his ans and his love for , so don’t make it sound so ugly. This is better for everyone," Catherine said, glancing impatiently at her watch. "Sign it quickly. Robert is waiting for in the car. We’re going out for French food to celebrate. I don’t want to keep him waiting; he’s very particular about ti."
Don Quixote wasted no more words. He didn’t even look for a proper pen, just rushed back into the room, grabbed a felt-tip pen, and hurried back out. He quickly signed his na on the docunt, pressing so hard the ink nearly bled through the paper, as if terrified Catherine would change her mind if he delayed for even a second.
"Take it!" He shoved the signed copy of the docunt back into Catherine’s hand. For the first ti, there was no anger in his eyes, only the ecstatic joy of liberation. "Now, take your diamond ring and your Robert, and get out of my sight."
"Hmph, so crude." Catherine took the docunt back and stroked Lily’s small face, completely ignoring that her own daughter was now biting her lip, with huge teardrops welling in her eyes. "It’s okay, sweetie. I’ll still be your mother. If you get a chance to co to California, we’ll hang out together."
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