Chapter 234: Have You Forgiven Him?

Justin admitted, "I taught her. She was smart enough to play along."

Both Cathy and Joanna looked at him with complicated expressions.

Thinking of Claire's attitude toward her, Joanna hesitated to speak.

Cathy asked for her. "Did Claire do this willingly?"

"Doesn't matter."

Justin's expression didn't change. "What matters is that your mother's company, Everglory Construction, has been preserved. And Leon and Claire won't be bothering you anymore."

He said this while looking directly at Joanna.

Diana and Cathy were also watching Joanna's reaction.

"Thank you."

Joanna could guess that the reality was definitely not as simple as Justin made it sound.

He must have used certain methods.

Leon and Claire didn't dare oppose Justin, so they compromised.

But as Justin said, the process didn't matter—only the result did.

"Don't mention it."

The corners of Justin's mouth lifted slightly.

He turned to Cathy, in a noticeably better mood. "Once you take over, you can establish a long-term partnership with Lawson Group. That'll help rebuild your reputation in the industry."

As long as they managed it properly, it would save far more time and effort than starting a company from scratch.

Cathy was floored by this news, her excitement barely contained. "If that's the case, I might not even need to go hunting for investors anymore."

Justin's eyes flicked briefly toward Diana. "You won't. If you run into cash flow issues down the line, I can arrange early payment on invoices to ease the pressure."

Joanna glanced at Justin out of the corner of her eye.

She hadn't decided whether she wanted to get back together with him.

The fact that he was doing so much for her left her feeling... unsettled.

Cathy, meanwhile, was focused on the phrase "early payment on invoices."

Combined with the fact that Justin had suddenly partnered with the Lopez family over a month ago and specifically requested her as project lead, Cathy suddenly understood.

This wasn't just a project to thank her. It was a way to tie her in.

Cathy immediately sobered up. She deliberately put on a stern face. "You're really that generous? Or are you setting a trap so you can use it against us when you and Joanna get divorced?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Justin's expression darkened. His gaze turned cold.

Through gritted teeth, he said, "That day will never come. Because I'm not getting a divorce."

He would never turn against Joanna.

But to Cathy, his words only confirmed her suspicion.

"Whether or not you divorce isn't up to you!"

Cathy stared him down. "I'd rather turn down your project than give you leverage over Joanna."

Justin's eyes narrowed slightly, a mix of impatience and disdain crossing his face.

Cathy raised her chin, refusing to back down.

Just when she expected him to make some kind of promise, Justin turned his face away, propped his head up with one hand, and looked elsewhere. He said nothing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cathy looked at Joanna. "Is he admitting it?"

Joanna gave her a small smile, trying to ease the tension. "Let's not talk about future partnerships yet. Let's focus on getting the groundwork done first."

They needed to understand the company's current situation, and they still had to discuss how they would each contribute capital and divide shares.

There was plenty of preliminary work to do.

Joanna thought for a moment. "How about this—I'll contact the company to gather the materials we need, and once I have them, I'll hand everything over to you."

"All right."

Cathy agreed.

Once they had that sorted, they could decide whether to work with Justin.

If he made unreasonable demands later, they just wouldn't partner with him.

Cathy had already prepared herself to build something from the ground up if necessary.

As the two of them discussed next steps, Joanna's phone buzzed.

Before she could even pick it up, Justin said, "I already sent everything to your email."

Joanna opened her inbox and found that he had, in fact, already done it.

Justin had already taken care of everything. She didn't need to lift a finger.

Joanna forwarded the email to Cathy, and out of a sense of professional boundaries, she emphasized, "Review the company's condition first, then decide whether you want to take over Everglory Construction. Don't force it."

Cathy shot Joanna a look. "You're overthinking it. I'm serious about starting this business. Of course I'm not going to force anything."

As she spoke, Cathy pretended to look at the email, but in reality, she typed out a message in their chat: [So... have you forgiven him?]

Joanna stared at the screen, then glanced over at the figure by the window. She lowered her eyes.

Cathy didn't actually expect an immediate answer.

She was about to change the subject when her phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, Cathy stepped out to take the call.

On the other end, a sharp voice demanded, "I told you to find out which hospital Justin is in. I told you to visit him and build a relationship. Did you do it?"

Just a week ago, Cathy's parents had somehow found out that Justin was hospitalized and insisted she use the opportunity to get close to him.

They were convinced that since Justin had specifically requested Cathy as the project lead, he must have taken an interest in her.

They wanted her to seize the chance and marry into the Lawson family.

That way, the Lopez family and the Lawson family would be connected by marriage, giving the Lopezes an unshakable backer and powerful support.

Cathy had immediately explained that Justin could never be interested in her, and she had no interest in him either. She told them to drop the ridiculous idea.

In response, she was berated for being "useless" and subjected to half an hour of scolding.

Eventually, she left home in anger, ending the farce.

It was because of that incident that Cathy saw through her family's intention to use her marriage for profit. That was what pushed her to decide to start her own company.

She'd deliberately avoided going home these past few days and dodged the topic on the phone. She thought they'd finally given up. But apparently, her father was still clinging to the idea.

Cathy gripped her phone tightly and walked farther down the hall before speaking. "Let me be clear with you. Justin is already married. He just hasn't made it public yet. So there's no way I could be with him. Drop your scheming."

"Married? To that woman from the rumors—Lillian? When did this happen?" Her father, Cedric Lopez, sounded stunned.

"Not Lillian. He's been married for three years!"

Cedric let out a breath of relief. "If you're going to lie, at least make it believable. If you'd said he just got married and hasn't had time to announce it, I might've believed you. But married for three years? What kind of joke is that?"

He shot back, "Who is he? How could someone like him be married for three years without going public or having a wedding? Stop making things up. You need to do what I told you."

"Believe it or not, that's up to you. Either way, nothing is happening between him and me."

To make sure her parents wouldn't keep pushing, Cathy added, "And one more thing—I decide who I marry. Don't even think about forcing me into some arranged marriage for your benefit."

With that, Cathy hung up.

Standing in the hallway, she took several deep breaths to calm herself before turning to head back.

But Cedric called again. "Fine. You say he's married. Then tell me—who's his wife?"