Chapter 6

The housekeeper stiffened, a flicker of fear crossing her face.

Karina noticed but said nothing. She simply turned and went back to her room.

Mark’s uncle, Nathan Foster, was a forbidden subject in the Foster family.

He was also the person who had suffered most because of the family’s rigid rules.

Years ago, Nathan had ignored everyone’s objections and insisted on marrying a woman from an ordinary background.

But Judy had refused to allow it.

She had even threatened to take her own life if he went through with the marriage.

In the end, Nathan gave in.

He followed the family’s wishes and married a woman from a wealthy family whose background matched his own.

But a loveless marriage was nothing but torture.

Nathan’s heart had always belonged to his first love, and he treated his wife with nothing but coldness.

Yet the Foster family had one ironclad rule.

Once you married, divorce was never an option.

After the wedding, Nathan cut off all contact with the woman he loved.

But behind the scenes, he continued helping her whenever he could.

She worked hard too and eventually worked her way up to a management position.

When Nathan’s wife found out, she went ballistic.

From then on, their home was filled with constant arguments.

Eventually, Nathan couldn’t take it anymore.

He became the first person in Foster family history to ask for a divorce.

That was what finally pushed his wife over the edge.

She completely lost control.

One day, while the two of them were driving back to the Foster estate, another argument broke out.

In the middle of the fight, his wife suddenly grabbed the steering wheel.

The car crashed.

She died at the scene.

Nathan survived, but he lost the use of both legs.

After that, he shut himself away in his room and rarely came out.

The bitter irony was that the woman he had loved soon married someone else.

The tragedy devastated Judy as well, and her health had never fully recovered.

She had spent most of her life ruling the family with an iron fist.

She’d never imagined that her own stubbornness would destroy her son like this.

But regret couldn’t undo what had happened.

Karina lay in bed, staring at the pale moonlight outside the window.

Her heart felt cold.

How were she and Mark any different from Nathan and his wife?

Maybe the only difference was that Judy had learned from Nathan’s tragedy and made sure Karina and Mark had a child.

But Karina refused to follow Nathan down the same path.

And she refused to let the Foster family trap her for the rest of her life.

If this suffocating marriage was destined to ruin someone, Karina refused to be the one it destroyed.

She closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

She slept through the rest of the night without dreaming.

The next morning, Karina got up on time, got ready, and went downstairs for breakfast.

The rest of the Foster family was already seated at the table.

The atmosphere was so tense it was almost suffocating.

Judy sat at the head of the table, her expression grim. She hadn’t touched her food.

After a long silence, Mark’s father, Richard Foster, finally spoke.

“Mom, at least eat something.

“I’ve already had someone contact Mark. I told him to come back to the estate immediately.”

“Eat?”

Judy slammed her palm against the table.

Her voice rang with fury.

“He doesn’t care about his grandmother or this family anymore!

“Clearly, no one listens to me anymore, so why should I bother eating?”

The entire table fell silent.

No one dared argue with her.

Caroline quickly reached over and rubbed Judy’s back.

“Don’t get yourself worked up. It’s not worth making yourself sick over him.

“When he gets back, punish him however you want. None of us will stop you.”

Ryan shrank back in his seat.

“Mom, we can’t hit him again.

“The welts on Mark’s back from yesterday haven’t even scabbed over yet. I don’t care how tough he is, he can’t take another beating like that.”

“You talk too much.”

Caroline lightly smacked the back of his head and scolded him.

“Your brother was acting recklessly. Why didn’t you stop him? Now you’re worried about him?”

Ryan looked wronged.

“How was I supposed to stop Mark? It’s not like I sleep in the same bed as him.

“How was I supposed to know when he left?”

The moment he finished speaking, every eye at the table turned toward Karina.

Ryan gave her a pointed look.

“Some people sure seem comfortable enough, sitting there and eating like nothing happened.

“If you can’t even keep your own husband from running off to another woman, maybe you’re just useless.”

“Enough!”

Richard frowned sharply.

“One more word and you can get out.”

Ryan reluctantly shut his mouth, though the resentment in his eyes remained.

Karina stayed calm throughout, as if none of this had anything to do with her.

She’d known from the day she married into the Foster family that none of them truly accepted her.

Whenever something went wrong, they always found a way to blame her.

Now Mark had gone running to another woman, yet instead of condemning him for betraying his wife, they blamed Karina for failing to keep her husband in line.

How ridiculous.

Ignoring everyone’s stares, Karina lowered her eyes and continued eating.

When breakfast was over, she calmly wiped her mouth, excused herself, and rose to leave.

Judy narrowed her eyes.

“Karina Jackson, stop right there!

“Haven’t you noticed someone’s missing from the table?”

Karina paused, her expression indifferent.

“If someone’s missing, send somebody to get them. Why are you asking me?”

That pushed Judy over the edge.

Her face darkened.

“Is this how you act as a mother? Look at the time. It’s almost eight!

“Your son still isn’t out of bed, and you’re just going to let him sleep in?”

Just then, the housekeeper hurried into the room.

“Ma’am, Jack refuses to get up. He’s throwing a tantrum in his room, and nothing we say is working.”

Judy’s anger flared even hotter.

She turned to Karina.

“Go upstairs and bring him down!”

Karina clicked her tongue, clearly annoyed.

“He’s the Foster family’s grandson. His last name is Foster, not Jackson.

“If none of you can get him out of bed, that sounds like your problem.”

Everyone’s expression changed.

In the past, Karina had handled everything when it came to Jack.

His meals, his daily routine, his schoolwork, his behavior.

She took care of every little detail herself.

But whenever she got even slightly strict with him, Jack would cry and complain.

Judy might sound tough now, but the second Karina actually raised her voice at Jack, Judy would be the first to criticize her for being too harsh.

Everyone else got to play the loving family while Karina was forced to be the bad guy.

And now that she’d stopped doing it, they still blamed her.

That was the Foster family for you.

Nothing but double standards.

It made her sick.

Caroline trembled with anger.

“Karina Jackson, are you trying to rebel against this family?”

Karina lifted her eyes, her gaze cool and steady.

“I’ll treat all of you exactly the way you treat me.

“I have somewhere to be. I’m leaving.”

With that, she turned and walked away.

Ryan stared after her in disbelief.

“I think she’s seriously lost it. That’s her own son!”

Judy shot to her feet, her chest heaving.

“Get Mark back here immediately!

“Tell him to come straight to my study!”

Karina couldn’t have cared less about what happened next in the Foster family.

She was already walking briskly down the hill, checking the rideshare queue on her phone.

She certainly wasn’t going to count on the Fosters to arrange a car for her.

Right now, her top priorities were replacing her car and finding somewhere else to live.

She didn’t want to spend another day in that house.

As she walked, a black sedan pulled up in front of her.

The window rolled down.

Ethan sat behind the wheel.

“Mrs. Foster, get in.”

Karina wasn’t about to turn down a ride just to prove a point.

She opened the door and got in.

It would’ve taken at least half an hour to walk to the main road.

If there was a car available, she was taking it.

A moment later, Ethan handed her a folder.

“Mrs. Foster, Mr. Foster asked me to give you this.

“The entire top floor of Fulton Tower has been transferred into your name.”