Chapter 333

When Hogan Chambers was a young man, he’d been a notorious playboy-never short on lovers, never short on illegitimate children, either.
But after losing two sons to vicious family infighting, he finally realized that having too many children was more curse than blessing. He settled his affairs, arranged for his lovers and their children to be taken care of elsewhere, and kept only his son Brian and daughter Donna close by.
Unfortunately, Brian was more interested in parties and pleasure than business. With him at the helm, the sharks began to circle.
It wasn’t until Daniel came of age and managed to secure the family inheritance— outmaneuvering the rest of the clan-that the chaos within the Chambers Group finally came to an end.
Back then, Donna had been a tremendous help to him.
Daniel respected her deeply.
When Daniel brought Nora to the old family estate, the staff had already prepared an impressive dinner spread.
Donna, with her daughter Judy, sat beside Mr. Hogan Chambers, her gentle smile softening her features. Brian arrived late, sliding into the seat on the other side of the old man. Mrs. Chambers, sitting next to Brian, made a point of inching her chair away, her distaste on full display.
With the family gathered around the table, Mr. Hogan Chambers was visibly pleased.
Halfway through dinner, Donna set down her fork and spoke in a gentle tone. “I heard you two are getting divorced?”
She really knew how to hit a sore spot.
Mrs. Chambers’ face instantly darkened.
Donna acted as if she hadn’t noticed, continuing, “Honestly, I don’t see the point. After all these years together, why go through a divorce and make yourselves the talk of the town?”
Mrs. Chambers slammed her fork down, the noise ringing out across the table. “My life is none of your business.”
Donna remained unfazed, her expression tolerant and almost maternal. “I’m only thinking of you. Dan’s grown up now-you should be enjoying your life, not starting over. If you get divorced now, people will just gossip behind your back.”
Mrs. Chambers had finally come to terms with the idea of divorce, yet here was Donna, picking apart her decision in front of everyone. She’d had enough.
“Gossip? Was I the one running around and cheating all those years?”
“He knows he was wrong,” Donna sighed, her voice carrying a note of weary patience. “Why not let it go? The two of you could spend the rest of your lives together in peace.”
Brian seized the opportunity. “The person I’ve wronged most in my life is Lilian. She raised Dan, and I treated her so poorly. That’s on me.”
He looked at Mrs. Chambers with a softness that seemed almost genuine. “Lilian, I’m sorry. I want to make it up to you, truly. Will you let me try?” ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by
Nora, picking at her food, finally understood what was happening. Brian, having been told by his own son to divorce and leave with nothing, had brought Donna in to play mediator.
Curious, she glanced at Mrs. Chambers, waiting to see her reaction.
Mrs. Chambers stared straight ahead, silent and cold. She’d waited most of her
life to hear Brian apologize, but now that he had, she found she no longer wanted
it.
The moment she decided to go through with the divorce, she’d sworn to cut Brian out of her life for good.
“You’re so happy you can’t even speak, huh?” Donna grinned, twisting Mrs. Chambers’ silence into something she wanted to hear.
Mrs. Chambers snapped back to reality and let out a sharp laugh. “Happy? If you want the truth, I just feel sick.”
“When we got married, he chased after his so-called freedom and true love, threw me aside without a second thought. Now, because of money, he puts on this act and says he wants to make things right. Does he take me for a fool?”
“The only reason I’m sitting at this table is for Dan’s sake. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even look at him.”
She made her position painfully clear.
Brian bowed his head, guilt written plainly on his face. “Lilian, you’re right to blame me. This is all my fault.”
Donna, suddenly out of things to say, forced a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“He’s apologized, hasn’t he? Why not give him a little time, see if he’s really changed? If he has, maybe you can forgive him.”