She Stuns the World - Chapter 885: Chapter 885

Catherine finally lost control, her voice rising in a desperate, frantic shout, "I didn't!" Her face drained of color, her body trembling as she fought to hold herself together. "My sister is the best person in the world to me. I would never betray her! If I had done something like that, do you think the whole Donovan family wouldn't have noticed?
"Athena, if you don't like me, fine, I'll leave and never come back, but you can't slander me like this! Do you understand how malicious it is to ruin a woman's reputation like this?"
Athena remained unfazed, her expression cool and composed. "That's the thing about you. You understand men too well. My father–he's a typical straight-laced guy, honorable, devoted to my mom. If you'd so much as shown any interest in him, he would've called you out, maybe even kicked you out. That's why you've been so careful."
Catherine's breath hitched. "Careful how?" she asked, voice trembling.
Athena's tone took on a sharp edge. "When no one's around, maybe it's a subtle touch of your fingers, or walking around in your nightgown. Or maybe you'd pretend to cry, just enough for him to notice. Or, perhaps, you'd 'accidentally' fall and land right in his arms. But the sad part is, to my father, you were just another relative.
"He didn't see you the way you wanted him to–no matter how many hints you dropped, he couldn't sense any of it."
Athena pressed on, her voice cold and cutting. "It must have been so frustrating for you, right? You must've thought, 'Why did my mom end up with such a great guy when I'm just as good, if not better? Why can't I find a man like him?'"
Athena wasn't just guessing–she'd heard the stories about Claire, and Jaden's words only confirmed it. He had told her that the whole family loved Catherine, but he didn't. He couldn't explain it, but something about her felt off. Jaden had sensed something that Athena only now understood–he was ten when she and Zilvia were born, so maybe he'd picked up on something back then.
Catherine's hands shook as she tried to control her anger. "You're slandering me! You're trying to destroy the reputation of a woman older than you!" she snapped, eyes blazing with fury.
Athena's lips twisted into a cold smile. "Slander? My parents and brothers are downstairs. Should I call them up, one by one, and ask them if they ever saw you in front of my dad–wearing that nightgown, drinking, crying, or stumbling into his arms with that 'oh-so-innocent' look?"
She didn't let up. "After all these years at the Donovan family, you've got to know that if you did any of those things, no matter how well you hid it, someone would've noticed. But no one said anything because they're all too honest to think that way."
Catherine's face went pale, her lips trembling as she seemed to search for words, but nothing came out.
Athena's gaze was icy, her voice sharp as a knife. "You can deny it, but if you do, I'll call everyone in here to verify. If I'm wrong, I'll apologize, and you can stay here for as long as you like."
Catherine wanted to scream, "I'm in the right. You can check all you want." But the words never left her lips.
The Donovan family wasn't filled with naive kids anymore. If they started recalling things from the past, any little hints she'd dropped with Wesley could easily confirm Athena's suspicions.
Athena smirked when Catherine stayed silent. "Of course, you don't love my dad, do you? You were probably just bitter that my mom married so well. You wanted to be loved and cared for like her, didn't you?"