All Too Late

“Chris, can you give your grandfather a call? Since he’s the one who came up with the idea.” Kathleen

flashed a sweet smile at him.

Her sudden request caught Christopher off guard. He quietly stared at her as he contemplated if he

should make the call.

“Can’t I speak to him? Was he expecting you to discuss such an important matter with me? Won’t he

want to speak to me instead?” she asked.

“All right.” Christopher pulled out his phone and dialed Felix’s number.

Meanwhile, Samuel stood aside in silence with a darkened expression.

While waiting for the call to get through, Kathleen took a sip of the water that Samuel had poured for her.

Soon, the call was answered.

“Grandpa, Kate would like to speak to you.” Christopher put the call in loudspeaker mode and placed his

phone before Kathleen.

Felix’s cold voice was heard from the phone. “Ms. Johnson, have you decided to hand over the land

deeds to us?”

“I can hand them over to you, but not without a price. Let’s see if you can offer me an attractive deal that

I can’t resist,” Kathleen replied. However, her words seemed to be implying something else.

“Is the condition of marrying into the Morris family not attractive enough for you?” Felix sounded

confident.

“Haha!” Kathleen burst into laughter. “Attractive? I think we both know very well how much the two mines

are worth. Also, I don’t think I need to remind you about their real value, right?”

“So? What are you trying to say?” Felix asked in an icy tone.

“I can give you what you want, but I’ll have to see if you can offer me a deal more attractive than what

Samuel has offered,” Kathleen answered.

“Tell me what you have in mind,” Felix replied.

“Honestly, when I married into the Macari family, I wasn’t interested in being a part of a wealthy family.

Besides, now that I’m wealthy on my own, I’m even more uninterested in marrying into prestigious

families.” Kathleen continued in an indifferent tone, “But since you’ve asked me to state my conditions,

how about letting Christopher marry matrilocally into my family? Of course, our children will take after my

last name. If you accept this condition, I will hand you the land deeds.”

“What did you say? You want Christopher to marry matrilocally into your family?” Felix thundered.

“Old Mr. Morris, do you think I don’t know what you had been fighting for was never the money but the

authority over Jadeborough in the future? Don’t you think you should pay a price that is befitting to reach

such a huge goal?” She smirked and went on, “You think too highly of the Morris family. If I really wanted

to marry into a prestigious family, it would never be the Morris family.”

Felix is way too confident!

“Even if I were in love with Christopher, do you think I ought to willingly compromise my self-interest? I’m

not so dumb as to hand over the two valuable mines in exchange for mistreatment and suppression from

the Morris family! You may dislike me for having married once before, but I similarly feel disgusted by the

Morris family’s greediness!” she added.

“You!” Felix was infuriated.

“The Morris family is known to be greedy and likes to take advantage of others, so would you allow

someone like me, who has nothing to offer, to marry into your family? Moreover, you even planned to

work with the Corbyn family. Do you think I am unaware of your plans to attack the Macari family once

you’ve attained the authority you seek? I may have divorced Samuel, but Grandma, Mr. Calvin, and Mrs.

Macari love me like I’m their own daughter. If you think I’m going to let anything bad happen to them,

dream on!” Kathleen snapped.

With that, she hung up the phone.

After listening to the conversation, Samuel realized that there was nothing for him to worry about.

Kathleen was surprisingly level-headed.

Hence, it was clear that she was not in love with Christopher.

She looked at Christopher solemnly and asked, “Chris, can you guarantee that the Morris and Corbyn

families would not join hands to fight against the Macari family in the future? Please think it through

carefully before answering me.”

Christopher fell silent.

“I know you can’t convince your grandfather. But, Chris, I’ll repay all the kindness that you’ve shown me

before. However, I am indebted to the Macari family as well. In fact, I am indebted to them more than

you, so I can’t be an ungrateful person,” Kathleen explained.

“I-I understand.” Christopher glanced at her with a soft look. “Kate, actually I can—”

“No, you will never be able to convince your grandfather.” Then, with clear, unwavering eyes, Kathleen

said firmly, “There is no point in discussing a hypothetical situation. As long as there is some uncertainty,

I will not take the risk. Besides, I don’t like you, and I’m not interested in marrying into the Morris family.”

“Chris, I’m not looking down on you,” Kathleen explained awkwardly.

“It’s fine.” Christopher’s face was clouded with disappointment. “I know I’m not as good as Samuel.”

Kathleen kept quiet, not knowing how to respond because that was not what she meant.

However, she decided not to clarify Christopher’s misunderstanding since she did not want to complicate

things further.

She believed Christopher would understand her concerns.

He merely felt dissatisfied that she chose Samuel over him.

At that moment, Samuel entered the ward with a medical report in his hand.

He left the room because he had gone to retrieve the report for her.

It was at that time when Christopher had come to see her.

“You’re awake?” Samuel asked Kathleen without sparing a single glance at Christopher.

Kathleen nodded. “Are the results out?”

“Yes,” Samuel replied as he passed the report to her. “It seems that pill is indeed an antidote. There are

no toxins detected in your body.”

“That’s good.” She heaved a sigh of relief.

Samuel’s expression darkened when he finally noticed Christopher.

Christopher quietly asked, “Where’s Clement?”

The question was directed at Samuel.

“He’s being locked up.” Samuel then continued coldly, “I’ve heard that the Corbyn family went to beg you

for help.”

When Kathleen heard what he had said, she froze on the spot.

The Corbyn family begged Christopher for help? Could the Corbyn family already have plans to work

with the Morris family?

Samuel turned around to pour a glass of water before passing it to Kathleen and coldly remarked, “Do

the Corbyn family regret their decision to use Astrid to ruin your relationship with Kate?”

Christopher remained silent.

“Otherwise, Kate would have handed the land deeds to you for the sake of helping her fiancé, even

though the engagement was fake. This way, the Corbyn family would be able to work with you with

confidence. Am I right?” Samuel questioned sarcastically.

Upon hearing his words, Christopher’s eyes turned icy cold.

“I bet the Morris and Corbyn families were already in cahoots when I ruined your plan with Olivia two

years ago. Too bad none of you had expected the land deeds to be in Kate’s hands,” he mocked.

A frown formed across Kathleen’s forehead.

The Morris and Corbyn families have been in cahoots since long ago?

With a smirk, Samuel continued, “I don’t want to wrongfully accuse you because I doubt you have any

say in the plan. I’m pretty sure your grandfather was the one who came up with this plan.”

“Samuel, don’t you think you know too much?” Christopher asked as he shot a cold glare at him.

“Haha! I think you just don’t want me to spill too much in front of Kate,” Samuel replied coldly.

Knowing that he could not refute, Christopher could only narrow his eyes and glare at Samuel.

“Samuel, you told me before you would never lie to me. So tell me, what do you know?” Kathleen asked

with knitted brows.

“I will tell you whatever you want to know,” he replied solemnly.

Worried about what Samuel was about to say next, Christopher quickly voiced out. “You don’t have to do

that. I will tell her myself.”

Samuel gestured for Christopher to go ahead and tell Kathleen everything.

There was no reason to stop Christopher from spilling the beans himself.

Looking at Christopher, Kathleen asked, “Chris, what’s going on?”

After a moment of hesitation, Christopher finally explained, “Grandpa told me that we can get married as

long as you hand over the two land deeds to the Morris family. From then on, the Morris family will treat

you well, like how the Macari family has been treating you.”

After listening to his explanation, Kathleen remained silent.

He quickly continued to explain when he noticed her silence. “Of course, I did not—”

“Okay,” Kathleen agreed before he could finish his sentence.

Her words caught Christopher by surprise.

Immediately, a look of thunder clouded Samuel’s face. “Are you sure?”

This woman will be the death of me!

“Chris, can you give your grandfather a call? Since he’s the one who came up with the idea.” Kathleen

flashed a sweet smile at him.

Her sudden request caught Christopher off guard. He quietly stared at her as he contemplated if he

should make the call.

“Can’t I speak to him? Was he expecting you to discuss such an important matter with me? Won’t he

want to speak to me instead?” she asked.

“All right.” Christopher pulled out his phone and dialed Felix’s number.

Meanwhile, Samuel stood aside in silence with a darkened expression.

While waiting for the call to get through, Kathleen took a sip of the water that Samuel had poured for her.

Soon, the call was answered.

“Grandpa, Kate would like to speak to you.” Christopher put the call in loudspeaker mode and placed his

phone before Kathleen.

Felix’s cold voice was heard from the phone. “Ms. Johnson, have you decided to hand over the land

deeds to us?”

“I can hand them over to you, but not without a price. Let’s see if you can offer me an attractive deal that

I can’t resist,” Kathleen replied. However, her words seemed to be implying something else.

“Is the condition of marrying into the Morris family not attractive enough for you?” Felix sounded

confident.

“Haha!” Kathleen burst into laughter. “Attractive? I think we both know very well how much the two mines

are worth. Also, I don’t think I need to remind you about their real value, right?”

“So? What are you trying to say?” Felix asked in an icy tone.

“I can give you what you want, but I’ll have to see if you can offer me a deal more attractive than what

Samuel has offered,” Kathleen answered.

“Tell me what you have in mind,” Felix replied.

“Honestly, when I married into the Macari family, I wasn’t interested in being a part of a wealthy family.

Besides, now that I’m wealthy on my own, I’m even more uninterested in marrying into prestigious

families.” Kathleen continued in an indifferent tone, “But since you’ve asked me to state my conditions,

how about letting Christopher marry matrilocally into my family? Of course, our children will take after my

last name. If you accept this condition, I will hand you the land deeds.”

“What did you say? You want Christopher to marry matrilocally into your family?” Felix thundered.

“Old Mr. Morris, do you think I don’t know what you had been fighting for was never the money but the

authority over Jadeborough in the future? Don’t you think you should pay a price that is befitting to reach

such a huge goal?” She smirked and went on, “You think too highly of the Morris family. If I really wanted

to marry into a prestigious family, it would never be the Morris family.”

Felix is way too confident!

“Even if I were in love with Christopher, do you think I ought to willingly compromise my self-interest? I’m

not so dumb as to hand over the two valuable mines in exchange for mistreatment and suppression from

the Morris family! You may dislike me for having married once before, but I similarly feel disgusted by the

Morris family’s greediness!” she added.

“You!” Felix was infuriated.

“The Morris family is known to be greedy and likes to take advantage of others, so would you allow

someone like me, who has nothing to offer, to marry into your family? Moreover, you even planned to

work with the Corbyn family. Do you think I am unaware of your plans to attack the Macari family once

you’ve attained the authority you seek? I may have divorced Samuel, but Grandma, Mr. Calvin, and Mrs.

Macari love me like I’m their own daughter. If you think I’m going to let anything bad happen to them,

dream on!” Kathleen snapped.

With that, she hung up the phone.

After listening to the conversation, Samuel realized that there was nothing for him to worry about.

Kathleen was surprisingly level-headed.

Hence, it was clear that she was not in love with Christopher.

She looked at Christopher solemnly and asked, “Chris, can you guarantee that the Morris and Corbyn

families would not join hands to fight against the Macari family in the future? Please think it through

carefully before answering me.”

Christopher fell silent.

“I know you can’t convince your grandfather. But, Chris, I’ll repay all the kindness that you’ve shown me

before. However, I am indebted to the Macari family as well. In fact, I am indebted to them more than

you, so I can’t be an ungrateful person,” Kathleen explained.

“I-I understand.” Christopher glanced at her with a soft look. “Kate, actually I can—”

“No, you will never be able to convince your grandfather.” Then, with clear, unwavering eyes, Kathleen

said firmly, “There is no point in discussing a hypothetical situation. As long as there is some uncertainty,

I will not take the risk. Besides, I don’t like you, and I’m not interested in marrying into the Morris family.”