Chapter 2: Family Issues

It was King Shawn, the drop-dead handsome king of Australia. The King was renowned for his wealth, power, and influence, making him one of the most eligible bachelors in the world. Her heart fluttered as she watched him speak with eloquence and grace and somehow, she forgot all about Tristan. She couldn't help but be drawn in by his charisma and commanding presence.

”He's truly mesmerizing." Catherine thought to herself.

She found herself admiring King Shawn's chiseled features, his piercing blue eyes, and the air of authority that surrounded him. She envisioned a world where she could stand by King Shawn's side, a queen who would be cherished and adored. It was a fantasy that momentarily allowed her to escape the harsh reality of her own heartbreak.

“If only... If only life were like a fairytale." Catherine said smiling wistfully.

She knew deep down that finding love with a powerful king was nothing more than a distant dream. But for a brief moment, Catherine indulged in the fantasy, finding solace in the idea before quickly snapping out of her thoughts. “That is an impossible dream.”

She turned her attention to Zowie, her 4-year-old orange tabby cat, who had now fallen asleep beside her. Catherine gently stroked the fur on the back of her cat, feeling comforted by the rhythmic rise and fall of her breathing. Four years ago, she’d found this little fluffy cat crying helplessly for its momma at the park. Catherine decided to take it home and the rest was history.

She remembered when her old childhood dog, also named Zowie, was poisoned to death by non-other than Evelyn and her other step sisters. Catherine had gotten into a fistfight with the girls afterward but she was eventually outnumbered and severely beaten.

When the elders of their family summoned the girls to explain the situation, they accused her poor dog of destroying the girls' room cabinet. Meanwhile, the real culprit was Evelyn. It was all a setup by her to get rid of the one thing that was precious to Catherine after her mum died. She was only 11 years old back then and her mum had gifted her the dog on her birthday, barely a month before she passed away in a terrible Thanksgiving day accident.

Every time she was bullied by her wicked step-siblings or cousins, Catherine always found comfort with her little puppy but then she eventually lost it as well. From their childhood to this moment Evelyn has never stopped tormenting her.

Amidst the hurt and betrayal she was presently facing, memories of her painful childhood kept crawling back, further adding to her misery. She felt like she was never meant to be happy in this life.

Her family, the Jones Clan, was ranked 16th in the hierarchy of the wealthiest and most powerful Kindred families in Australia. All her grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles, aunties, cousins, nieces, nephews, and parents all leave in the same huge villa. It was all so suffocating for Catherine and she always felt like everyone was out to get her, especially since her mother passed away.

And that’s why at the age of 16, she decided to study abroad in America as an excuse to only come back home whenever she wanted. It wasn’t that hard for her to achieve a scholarship to study in the US due to her intelligence.

However, her problems were far from over. Even though she already bagged the scholarship, there were still tons of things she needed to pay for on her own as well as her feeding expenses. Back then, when she first arrived to start school at NYU, she struggled to eat even 2 square meals a day despite being from a rich family.

It was all thanks to her own Father, Magnus Jones who convinced the elders of the Jones Family not to give her a dime because she refused to study in Australia like his other children and even ran off on her own to the USA. Of course, that happened because he was manipulated by her stepmother, Elissa who hated the fact that Catherine was going away and her daughters would no longer have someone to bully each day.

Despite her two best friends, Vanessa and Steven trying their best to support her, she still encountered difficulties. If it wasn’t for her father’s younger cousin, Desmond who started secretly sending her some money, Catherine would have dropped out at the beginning.

She hated living in the Jones villa as she felt as if everyone was always out to get her, especially since her mum was gone and no longer there to protect and defend her and Austin, her little brother. After all, people will always want to pick on the weak ones who were defenseless to feed their egos.

She felt bitter about how she was treated back home especially when she was younger and that was one of the reasons she kept thriving to be a strong independent woman. The truth is, she'd been so hopeful Tristan would propose to her soon and she wouldn't have to go back there after getting married. But right now, that seemed like an impossible dream. Catherine took a deep breath, trying to shake off the hurtful memories of her past as she stared blankly at the wall.

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The next few months flew by in a whirlwind of hurt and depression for Catherine. Evelyn kept tormenting her by sending her pictures of herself with Tristan through anonymous texts. Catherine couldn’t believe her petty her evil stepsister was. The betrayal was a struggle to forget but she knew she had to move on from those two devils, who were now engaged.

Just as she kept thinking about it, the song ‘Traitor’ by Olivia Rodrigo came on from her speakers as if trying to elevate her pain. She always felt teary whenever she listens to this song which always reminds her of the past, and NO, she didn’t feel like shedding a single tear over that jerk again.

She couldn't believe that they had the audacity to get engaged after what they did to her. And Evelyn never missed an opportunity to flaunt her engagement ring in front of her. The engagement ring that was supposed to be hers.

What hurt Catherine more was the whole family never cared about her feelings, instead, they were all rooting for them to get married. It was as if she didn't matter to anyone. 

Suddenly, the buzzing sound of her phone jolted her from her deep thoughts.