Chapter 179 Catherine’s POV

Chapter 179 Catherine’s POV
The candle flickering between us on the white tablecloth caused a warm glow across Tyler's face. In what felt like forever, the crushing weight in my chest had lightened enough for me to breathe, we were sitting in a quiet dimly lit corner of an upscale Italian bistro tucked away in the city.

Tyler reached across the table, his broad hand covering mine, his thumb gently tracing the knuckles of my left hand. His soft dark eyes held that familiar gaze that always made my heart race, a reminder of our passionate night we had shared back.

"You're finally smiling tonight," Tyler murmured, his deep voice low enough that it didn't travel beyond our table, "it suits you."

"I'm trying, Tyler," I whispered, offering him a faint genuine smile, "it's just nice to feel human for an hour." In his presence, the terrifying shadows of the stalker and the looming threat of my past seemed to have retreated.

Then slowly that thought crept under my neck, I was deeply entangled in this secret affair with my son's best friend, a reality that still kept me on my toes but in moments like this, the guilt was temporarily drowned by the comfort of his touch.

The restaurant's heavy front doors opened and the cold draft of the night air swept across the room. I didn't think anything of it at first, casually taking a small sip from my glass of red wine but as my eyes swept past Tyler's shoulder towards the station, my blood turned to ice in my veins.

Summer, my daughter-in-law was walking into the soft light of the restaurant, my heart hammered violently against my ribs, the wine glass slipped from my suddenly numb fingers, clattering loudly against the wooden rim of the table before spilling onto the tablecloth.

"Catherine?" Tyler called out immediately, his brows pulling together in concern as he reached for a napkin, "what's wrong? Did you—"

"Don't look," I said in a bit of a panic, whispering softly as my hands shook so violently I had to press them flat against my lap beneath the table, "Tyler, don't turn around. Summer..." but before Tyler could even hear what I was saying properly, Summer's eyes scanned the dining room and locked directly onto our corner.

Her face instantly lit up with shock followed with a wide radiant smile, "Catherine?!" Her voice rang out across the quiet restaurant with a bright tone layered underneath. There was no escaping now. Different kinds of emotion, from panic to fear to things I couldn't even describe surged through my body that I couldn't even speak.

Summer immediately wove her way through the small tables, her heels clicking against the polished floor, "oh my goodness, mom! I can't believe my eyes! When did you get back into the country?!"

I forced myself to sit up, plastering a strained smile onto my face when every nerve in my body screamed in agony, "Summer... hi, darling. I... I mean we just arrived recently, it was a bit sudden."

"A bit sudden? You're telling me!" Summer gasped happily, coming to a stop right beside our corner. She reached down, wrapping her arms around my shoulders in an affectionate hug. I stiffened instinctively before forcing myself to return the embrace, my eyes darting toward Tyler.

Summer pulled back, her eyes finally dropping to the tall man sitting across me, her bright expression shifted to pure shock, "oh my God!Tyler?! What on earth are you doing here? I haven't seen you since the wedding, I thought you were stuck dealing with things in London."

He smoothly stood up, adjusting the button of his suit, his expression turned into a friendly smile, "hey, Summer," he said, his voice entirely steady compared to the wave of terror in my body, "you're right. It's been a crazy hassle but it finally wrapped and since Catherine was coming back, I decided to tag along."

Summer laughed softly, covering her mouth as she normally does as a bit of a habit, "my husband always says you're more like a brother to him than a best friend, but taking care of my mother in law like this? You really are family, Tyler."

The overwhelming guilt of betraying my son rushed back with a huge force threatening to tear apart the slight composure I was trying so hard to maintain. "It's really no trouble at all, Summer," Tyler replied, his tone smooth though I caught a slight tension in his shoulders. "Catherine has been through a lot lately, I just wanted to make sure she had a decent meal."

"Well, you two are absolute angels, but you are definitely not eating alone tonight," Summer announced, clapping her together.

"What?" I gasped out, my voice sounding far from excited. Summer looked at me with a wide smile on her face, "you are coming to sit with us!" She insisted, her eyes sparkled with excitement as she pointed back towards the front entrance of the restaurant.

"Richard is just outside parking the car, he's going to be absolutely thrilled! He's missed you so much, Catherine, and he's been dying to catch up with Tyler! I know how many times he looked at tickets to London but you know... he had to think about the kids and many other things."

Before I could even protest or say a single word, "there won't be any excuses and before you think you're intruding, you're definitely not!" She grabbed my arm gently, encouraging me to slide out of the corner.

"Catherine," Tyler said softly, his voice holding a subtle warning as he stepped out of the corner, offering me his hand to steady my trembling frame. I stared at him, weak and absolutely nothing to say, "we shouldn't keep your son waiting."

Tyler's jaw was set tight, the colour slowly draining from his face as he realized the nightmare we had just walked into.

There was no escape from this one.