A pitiful smile crept up on Catherine''s face. "So that''s what you think of me. Dad, have you ever loved me and tried to understand me? To be frank, I''ve long since known Shaun. He''s the one who forced me to be with him. Recently, he''s been suppressing mypany and Wesley. It''s all his doing. Do you think I enjoy living a life without dignity? Do you think I enjoy being pointed at and criticized as a b*stard?!"


    As she went on, she eventually choked with tears.


    Joel was dazed. "What? Why didn''t you tell me earlier?"


    "Would it make any difference if I told you?" Catherine gave him a mocking look. "You couldn''t even protect me in your own house, much less in front of Shaun."


    An awkward expression crept up Joel''s face. All of a sudden, he seemed like he had grown a few years older.


    "I''m useless. I brought you to Canberra but left you to be bullied by others. I''m going to look for Shaun now. He has gone too far."


    "You don''t have to look for me. I''m here."


    The door of the private room was violently kicked open, and Shaun''s tall and sturdy figure walked in. He


    kept a cool expression on his handsome face, as if he was ate guest.


    "Why are you here, Shaun?" Catherine rose to her feet in a fit of fury. "You tailed me!"


    "I didn''t tail you. I just came with you to meet Dad."


    Shaun dragged the chair beside her and sat down. His shameless look made Joel''s blood boil. "Who''s your dad? You''ve been forcing Catherine to listen to you while you''re in a rtionship with Mnie. I''ll certainly not let my daughters marry such an awful man like you."


    "I''ve set my heart on Catherine. You should''ve been clear about this the night before yesterday."


    Shaun ced his big palm on the back of Catherine''s hand and looked at her with deep, gentle eyes. "I want to marry her."


    Those five words gave Catherine a shock.


    She turned around and stared at him incredulously. Was he really going to marry her?


    Did this mean everything that Chester said was true?


    "Impossible!"


    Joel pped the table in a huff. "If you want to marry her, why did you get into a rtionship with Mnie i n the first ce? Everyone in Melbourne now knows that Mnie is your girlfriend, and the next thing they know, you''re getting married to Catherine. Have you ever thought about how people would criticize her?"


    "Previously, we had a misunderstanding in Melbourne 99


    "I don''t care." Joel waved his hand. "When you love someone, you should respect and protect her, instead of hurting her..."


    Shaun''s brows gave a slight twitch. "Uncle Joel, you used to let Aunty Sheryl down too. Shortly after she got pregnant, you married another woman. You''re a failure at rtionships." 2


    Joel''s face turned pale. "Yeah. That''s exactly why I want to protect Catherine..."


    "Protect?" Shaun took the empty coffee cup from the table. "Where were you when Catherine got kicked out of the house by Nic and Mnie? If you had protected herst night, would she have been hurt by your wife and daughter?" 1


    At that, Joel went deathly pale.


    Catherine looked down in silence.


    Indeed, Joel had never been capable of protecting her.


    "Look. You don''t know anything, and you can''t even protect her. You don''t even have the audacity to go against the Yule family, which also exins why you wronged Aunty Sheryl back then."


    Shaun''s eyes were fierce. "I''m different from you. I want her. Even if I fail to be the president of Hill Corporation and everyone in the Hill family opposes it, I will still marry her." 1


    He uttered every word so powerfully that Joel was taken aback, and so was Catherine.