Chapter 86 Catherine Must Apologize!
"Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
"No."
Alexander understood and signaled Annie to drive to a restaurant in the city center.
"Do you like paintings? Oil paintings or charcoal drawings? I have some nice paintings at home. I can send them to you next time."
"I prefer oil paintings. But you don't need to send me any. I have plenty of paintings already."
Dominic painted countless pictures for her every year, and Mars, Dominic's student, casually left his paintings at the Galactic Aurora Collective lab—there was barely any space left for them.
"Then tell me what you like."
Catherine couldn't help but look up at Alexander.
Alexander looked handsome and cold. You could tell from his face that he was a decisive and ruthless ruler, yet when he looked at her, his eyes were filled with irrepressible tenderness.
Those eyes were deep and sharp, with a hint of coldness, and his whole body radiated a cool composure. Yet the ruby cufflinks at his sleeves added an air of nobility.
"Why do you need to know what I like?"
"Although I could figure out your preferences, it's always better to give gifts that suit your taste. I prefer to give you things you'll actually like. And of course, I want to understand you."
Alexander removed the glasses from his straight nose and casually set them aside.
Without the barrier of those lenses, he could see Catherine's bright eyes more clearly.
"Before I knew you were my fiancée, wanting to know more about you was somewhat improper. Now I can get to know you, but I hope it's through you yourself, not through other channels."
Under Alexander's gaze, Catherine felt like she was looking into a deep starry sky.
"I understand."
"But if you want to know about me, you can use any method. I don't mind."
Catherine pressed her lips together and glanced at Alexander.
"I saw entertainment news this morning saying you were at a hotel with some unknown actress. You don't mind that either?"
Alexander's smile instantly froze!
Entertainment reporters would write anything for clicks!
If Catherine actually believed all that, he'd have no way to defend himself!
A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Catherine's mouth.
Seeing Alexander flustered, Annie, as a competent assistant, immediately stepped in to help.
"Ms. Windsor, that was someone from the Howard family, related to Mr. Howard. They were at a Howard Group hotel. We'll handle that media outlet, don't worry."
Catherine hadn't actually meant to test Alexander with that news.
She just occasionally enjoyed seeing him flustered.
Alexander gave a bitter smile, but his eyes never left Catherine.
"I understand. You're blaming me for not introducing you to the Howard family. I was worried about overwhelming you before, since my family can be a bit too enthusiastic. Since you've brought it up, I'll arrange it as soon as possible. Please give me some time."
Now it was Catherine's turn to stop smiling!
When did she ever say she wanted to meet his family!
But Alexander had already taken it to heart and immediately started arranging a Howard family dinner. Catherine tried several times to interrupt but couldn't, so she had to let it go.
The Martinez Mansion
Esme sat on the sofa, crying miserably, tears flowing like water from an opened dam.
"Grandpa, I never wanted to compete with Catherine for anything! But she's gone too far. She threw away a painting I worked on for two months!"
Samuel had seen Esme painting and knew that piece was the result of her hard work.
But if Catherine threw it away, she must have had her reasons!
Since the gallery was given to Catherine, Samuel didn't plan to interfere. Whatever Catherine wanted to do was up to her.
Seeing Esme crying so hard, Bethany felt a bit annoyed.
"Esme, the gallery belongs to Catherine now. Whatever she wants to do, we can't do anything about it. How about this—I have a small gallery. I'll give it to you. Take your paintings there and hang them up for your own exhibition."
Esme's crying stopped abruptly!
Bethany's gallery wasn't even one-tenth the size of Samuel's!
They were just brushing her off with such a small place?!
Why did Catherine get such a great gallery while she only got a tiny space!
"Dad, that's not what I meant. I just want an explanation. Catherine treated me this way—does she have some problem with me? That painting was my heart and soul. Grandpa, you're a creator too. You should understand what a work means to an artist, right?"
"Catherine treats an artist's work like this. Who knows what else she'll do with the gallery."
Samuel waved his hand dismissively. "Catherine can do whatever she wants. Worst case, the gallery closes down. Not a big deal."
Not a big deal?
That gallery was the largest art exhibition center in Imperia City and had the most works by Dominic. If Catherine ran it into the ground, wouldn't that prove she didn't deserve the gallery at all?
Why was Samuel so confident in her!
"Grandpa, I don't matter, but that painting took me two months of careful work. Catherine showed me no respect at all. She must apologize to me!"
Bethany felt conflicted too.
He couldn't bear to make Catherine apologize to Esme.
Even if Catherine did something a bit excessive, it wasn't a big deal.
But Esme had grown up with Lila and called him Dad. If Esme went to Lila about this, Lila would definitely cause trouble for Catherine again.
After a moment of silence, Aurora suggested, "Let's wait until Catherine comes back and ask her about it."
She believed that the gentle, lovely, thoughtful, and charming Catherine would never do something so disrespectful!
Aurora knew Catherine's character very well!
The Smith family had treated Catherine so badly, yet she hadn't used the Windsor family to get revenge. It was truly heartbreaking.
Aurora believed Catherine must have had her reasons for doing this.
Seeing that even now Aurora didn't believe her, Esme felt bitter and angry.
"Mom, are you saying you don't believe me? I'm your daughter too. Even if you care about Catherine, you can't ignore right and wrong!"
Grace couldn't stand it anymore and shouted.
"Enough! We can't just listen to your side of the story. When Catherine comes back, we'll ask her clearly. If she really threw away your painting without reason, she should apologize to you. But if there was a reason, that's another matter."
"Yes."
Esme didn't dare throw a tantrum in front of Grace and had to agree.
Damn it, even after all this they still sided with Catherine. If she didn't do something, she'd have no standing in the Windsor family at all.