Catrin stiffened at those words. "You are blaming for everything?" she asked as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
But Brenda didn't hesitate.
"Yes, you are to be blad for everything, Catrin." She said with conviction. She paused for a mont before continuing, "You only ever saw the struggle I left you with—but you never saw the reason why? Even after years, you never realized that what I gave you was not to make your life difficult but to make you live in happiness throughout."
She looked directly into her daughter's eyes.
"Idris loved you like no other. For years, no matter what you threw at him —your temper, your distance, your pride —he never lost his calm, he never gave up on you. Do you really think, with the way you have been, anyone else would have stood by you like that? Loved you the way he did?"
More than two decades had passed. It was ti enough —more than enough —for Catrin to understand this. Yet, she never did.
"You talk about struggles as if it's only you who went through it," Brenda added, her voice still steady. "But dear, you forgot —struggle is the essence of the life. One way or the other, everyone goes through it. No exceptions. But you make it seem like you were only one in pain. As if your suffering was unique."
Brenda's gaze sharpened, voice growing heavier with aning.
"Do you think you didn't make struggle? Or that Idris didn't silently suffer around you? Or —do you really believe you made life easier for Arwen?"
At the ntion of her daughter's na, Catrin flinched. As though sharp pin had struck her most sensitive nerve.
"You dare bring Arwen into this?" she snapped. "It's because of you that my relationship with my daughter is ruined."
Brenda couldn't help but chuckle —low, ironic.
"Really?" she said, amused. "Did you forget the damage you brought on her?"
Catrin flinched montarily, but it was just a fraction of a second. It disappeared before it even appeared.
Brenda noticed it but didn't comnt. Instead, she continued, "You think I damaged sothing you never even built? You bla for ruining a bond that never existed?"
"Mom—!"
"Don't raise your voice like that, Catrin," Brenda's tone dropped, quiet but commanding. It silenced Catrin at once. "Raising your voice won't erase what you have done. You were here mother —but you never treated her like your daughter. And if even pushing her away hasn't made you realize that, then I fear nothing will."
Catrin's jaws clenched. "I didn't push her away. I left her to realize. Once she understands, she will return —she will accept the arrangent I carefully crafted for her. Unlike you, I won't let her suffer. I will give her a life without struggle. And when the ti cos, you will see what a mother should be."
Brenda's lips curled in the quiet disappointnt.
"Arwen has nothing to realize," she said softly. "You do. And if you still believe she will co back to you, you are mistaken. You have already lost her. And when soone loses sothing, they never valued … they don't get it back."
Catrin's throat tightened. Her fingers curled into fists.
She wanted to argue. To scream. But deep down … sothing burned hotter than her rage — her disappointnt in Arwen.
"Mom," she ground out. "I didn't co her to discuss this futility. I ca here to ask why you didn't choose to be the President of the company? Why did you choose an —" her eyes flicked pointedly toward Margaret, "...outsider for it?"
"Outsider?" Brenda arched a brow, then glanced at Margaret with a gentle smile. "Since when do you decide who is outsider for ." She didn't miss to notice Catrin's aning, her misunderstanding. But she didn't plan to clarify.
"Mom—"
"Catrin," Brenda said firmly, "I told you this years ago. You will never be my choice when it cos to Davies Empire. You may be my daughter —but that alone isn't enough to lead the company."
Her voice softened, but her words held weight. "Don't ask to repeat what you already know. It won't make you feel better."
It wasn't that Brenda didn't want to appoint her own daughter. The truth was —she couldn't.
Davies International wasn't just a company. It was Brenda's life work. A legacy she had built from the ground up with blood, sweat and soul.
How could she entrust it to soone who didn't embody the very values it stood on?
Catrin felt a jab on her pride, a clear slap across the face. Again. Again. And again.
Her fists clenched as she sneered. "You still think I am not qualified? After all these years? After everything I have done?"
Brenda remained silent.
Catrin laughed bitterly shaking her head. "I rebuilt the Quinn Corporation. I restored the family's na and position in the society. And you still think I am not good enough?" She stepped a step closer, her voice rising in fury. "What exactly I am lacking then, Mom?"
Brenda looked at her, long and hard. Then she spoke, "Emotions."
Catrin blinked, finding it ridiculous. "What?"
"You lack emotions," Brenda repeated. "Not dramatics. Not the anger or the pride, but empathy. Compassion. The ability to understand and connect."
Catrin scoffed. "This isn't a therapy center, Mom. It's business. Emotions aren't necessary to run aa company."
Brenda shook ger head slowly. "That's where you are wrong." She folded her hands gently in her lap, her voice calm but unwavering. "Companies —especially those that thrive for decades —aren't just built on numbers and profit margins. They are built on people. Your employees. Your custors. Your partners. The culture you create within walls."
She looked up, her gaze resolute.
"Empathy is what helps you lead. Compassion is what earns loyalty. And connection? It's what inspires people to believe in your vision. Without emotion, your company might succeed for a mont —but it won't survive the storms that require heart."
She paused, then added quietly. "Davies International will outlive . And for that, I need a leader who understands both numbers and human nature. That's what you have never tried to understand Catrin, and it's exactly what you lack."
Catrin was stunned to silence. Her throat burned but no words ca out.
It wasn't like she believed Brenda's ideologies; she simply couldn't find anything to retort it with.
Brenda leaned back slightly, exhaustion becoming clear on her expression. "When I didn't choose you for it years ago, I wasn't looking down at your abilities. I just knew you didn't have what's needed to lead Davies Empire. I was protecting you from getting disappointed later."
Catrin stared at her mother begrudgingly, not yet ready to accept it.
However, Brenda was not at all bothered by her gaze. She simply darted her eyes to Margaret and said aningfully. "I have made my choice. You may not agree with it, but your agreent is not needed here. I will just tell you I haven't chosen any outsider. I have chosen soone who has always belonged to and the family —soone who sees people, not just the power."
Catrin followed her mother's gaze and glared at Margaret. Her expression turned defying. Glancing back at her mother, she scoffed, "You might have chosen soone, but let tell you. I will prove you wrong. This legacy will belong to , and I will make that happen right in front of your eyes."
She then turned to look back at Margaret, her gaze conceited, "If you think you chose the right person, let assure you, you chose the easiest target for . Defeating her won't be difficult. As long as I step up, even your trusted allies will support . Because ultimately in comparison to her, I am always better. And I don't even have to prove it. Just the blood running in my veins is enough to tell."
With that, she didn't stay. Turning on her heels, she left.
Reviews
All reviews (0)