Chapter: 245

As they left the rehabilitation room, Marie sensed Bethany's unusual quietness. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," Bethany replied, caught off guard.

"You're a poor liar. Tell me, what's going on?" Marie pressed, stopping to face her daughter.

In the bustling hospital corridor, the throng of people seemed to add pressure to Bethany.

Seeing her daughter's hesitation, Marie asked, "I told you to divorce Jonathan. Is it done?"

"Mom..."

"Don't tell me you've fallen for him!" As her mother, Marie knew Bethany too well. "Bethany, I've always said we shouldn't aim too high. Don't try to marry into wealth. You don't belong in their world. If they get tired of you, you'll have no means to fight back."

Marie had seen it all over the years.

If her family had held a higher status than the Holt family back then, her husband wouldn't have dared treat her so _ poorly.

Unfortunately, her background couldn't match his, leaving a vast gulf in status. Ultimately, she had endured his mistreatment.

Now, Bethany was following the same path she had once walked, finding a man far wealthier and more powerful than the Holt family. Marie found it alarming.

She knew too well that if Bethany suffered at the hands of the Bates family, she could do nothing to seek justice for her daughter. There were just some things people couldn't do, not out of unwillingness, but sheer inability.

The Bates family, prominent not just in Odonset but across the country, wielded considerable influence. Bluntly put, even if Bethany died in the hands of the Bates family, Marie might be powerless to avenge her.

Bethany said sincerely, “Mom, don't worry. He treats me really well.”

"Do you think I would have married your father if he hadn't treated me well?"

Bethany fell silent.

Marie scoffed, “When a man is on top of the world, there's nothing he can't promise. You're young and easily dazzled by him!"

Bethany had anticipated her mother's objections, but this time, her decision remained firm. "I want to trust him once."

"You really are my daughter." Marie's face darkened. “Fine, if you refuse to leave him, then don't come here again. Don't visit me, and don't call me your mom."

Bethany pressed her lips together as a feeling of powerlessness overwhelmed her.

She knew only harsh words would come out of her mother's mouth. For years, it had been like that with her. Either her mother threatened to sever their relationship or refuse treatment.

“Don't I get a choice? The fact that my father cheated does not mean all men are like that," Bethany said, her voice trembling in anger.

Although she didn't know how her father had managed to win over her mother in their youth, nor did she know the details of their relationship, Bethany believed Jonathan was not an irresponsible man.

She knew he wouldn't abandon his wife and children like her father did.