She Outshines Them All (Athena and Matthew)

08:18 Mon, Dec 2 Chapter 490

"You didn't directly tell Zilvia to leave the Donovan family," Athena said, her voice sharp and cold. "Instead, from the moment you started raising her, you made her believe that ordinary, uneventful life wasn't worth living-that she had to break free from the dullness of the everyday, chase after excitement and luxury, and become someone powerful and wealthy."

Catherine froze, stunned by Athena's words. She stared at her in disbelief, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Athena, we just first met..." Catherine's voice cracked as tears streamed down her cheeks. "What gives you the right to accuse me like this?"

But Athena was unmoved by her tears or her grief. She continued speaking as if she hadn't heard Catherine at all. "Zilvia was just five years old-a little girl who'd known nothing but a safe, peaceful life. She was well-fed, well-loved, and had never experienced hardship or pain.

"So tell me, why would a child like that suddenly decide her home life was boring? What could make her yearn for the glittering, bustling world outside?"

Catherine's tears flowed freely now. "What are you trying to do? Take your anger out on me? Or are you just trying to show off how clever you are, like some kind of genius detective?"

Athena gave her a faint smile, calm and unbothered. "No matter how bright a child might be, her understanding of the world comes entirely from what she sees, hears, or experiences. Her thoughts are shaped by the boundaries of her knowledge.

"So why would Zilvia, a girl who doesn't like crowds or play with other kids, and prefers to be on her own, suddenly feel like her life at home was dull? Why would she think a family like Nellie's is what she truly wants?"

Her gaze was sharp, cutting straight into Catherine. "Because you taught her to think that way."

"That's ridiculous!" Catherine's voice cracked with desperation as she shouted. "You didn't even return to the Donovan family until four years ago! You know nothing about me or Zilvia! Everything you're saying is pure speculation!"

"Speculation?" Athena's expression hardened, her eyes narrowing with an icy glare. "Then explain this-why do you treat your daughter, Maria, with such indifference and disdain, while giving so much care and attention to Zilvia, the daughter my mother gave birth to? Why do you insist on handling everything for her yourself, never trusting anyone else to step in?"

"I-I..." Catherine stammered, struggling to find her words. "Maria is older than Zilvia. She's already living with the Donovan family and using their resources. Of course, I had to prioritize Zilvia-"

Athena's laugh was bitter and scornful. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe that?"

Her voice turned colder, her words like a blade. "The truth is, you don't care about Maria because you think she's a disappointment. She doesn't meet your expectations, and you've decided she's useless in helping you change your fate. "When Maria was a child, how many times did you tear her down? How many times did you mock her or deny her worth?"

Maria had once confided in Athena, speaking haltingly about her childhood. She'd been a shy, skinny, dark-skinned girl with little to say and even less confidence. The entire family had seemed disappointed in her, but no one's disapproval had been as cruel or cutting as her mother's.

Her mother had often looked at her and sighed in frustration. "I'm beautiful-so why didn't you inherit my looks? Instead, you got your father's face and his short height. You won't even grow up to be attractive.

"As a girl, being unattractive is bad enough. But you're not good at school, you have no charm, and you don't even know how to make people like you. Is there anything you're good at? Anything at all?

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08:18 Mon, Dec 2

Chapter 490.

"I don't even know why I went through the pain of giving birth to you. What was the point?"

3

Catherine always said to Maria, "You're hopeless," she'd say. "You're plain, awkward, and completely out of touch. It's infuriating."

And there were always comparisons to Zilvia. They came like clockwork, relentless and cutting. "Zilvia is two years younger than you, and she's already better than you in every way. Why can't you be more like her?

"If you were even half as good as Zilvia, I wouldn't feel this constant disappointment...

"When I see the two of you together, it's like watching a maid stand next to a princess. Doesn't that humiliate you? Don't you want to improve yourself? To be better?

"You have no ambition. You're hopeless. I can't bring myself to care anymore."

By the time Maria was eight, those words had etched themselves into her soul. Her mother's constant criticism and disdain had made her insecure, painfully sensitive, and deeply afraid of rejection. Those scars were still with her, even now.

Even though Maria had grown into a renowned jewelry designer, even though the Donovan family treated her with kindness and respect, she still couldn't shake the fear of her mother's judgment. Around Catherine, Maria reverted to the timid, self-doubting little girl she'd been, constantly worrying about falling short.

Athena had made up her mind. For Maria's sake, she couldn't let Catherine stay in the Donovan family.

Catherine's face flushed crimson. Gritting her teeth, she snapped, "Is that what Maria's been saying about me? I gave her everything I had and tried my best to teach her, but she just wouldn't learn. Forcing her didn't work-it only pushed her further away. But Zilvia? She loved learning. So yes, I focused on her. What's so wrong about that?"

"Oh, you were dedicated all right," Athena said, her voice dripping with cold amusement. "But let's talk about what you taught her. Those bedtime stories you read-weren't they all about palace intrigue, the lives of tycoons, heiresses, and princesses? Didn't you fill her head with dreams of becoming someone like that?

"And when you took her out, wasn't it always about pointing to the mansions and luxury cars, saying how wonderful the lives of the rich were? Didn't you scoff at the Donovan family's humble lifestyle, calling it dull and uninspired, and tell her to aim higher? To work hard so she could leave this small town behind and join the ranks of the elite?"

Athena's voice turned razor-sharp. "Most kids would shrug that off, not get it. But Zilvia's not like most kids. She's clever, maybe too clever. She soaked it all in, every word. And she started dreaming of that life you described-one that was so much bigger, so much brighter than the one she had."

Catherine's jaw tightened, her eyes widening in shock. Her thoughts raced, 'How does she know all this? How could she possibly...'

But Athena wasn't finished. "Oh, and then there's the school," Athena said with a cruel smirk. "Kitmore City's most elite private kindergarten, where every kid came from a wealthy or powerful family.

"Every morning and afternoon, the lot was filled with luxury cars, the parents and nannies decked out in designer everything. You were there every day, Catherine. Don't tell me you didn't feel it-the envy, the longing. Don't tell me you didn't point it all out to Zilvia. Didn't you tell her, 'Look at those cars, those clothes-that's what life should be like?

"And maybe you didn't stop there. Maybe you told her how much smarter she was than those kids. But then you'd remind her of everything she didn't have. That her clothes weren't as nice, her toys weren't as expensive, her life wasn't as fair. Maybe you even said, 'A kid as brilliant as you? You should've been born into a family like that.' Or worse, 'You deserve a life like theirs.

Wait-"Catherine's voice cracked, her hands trembling. She stared at Athena as though the younger woman had just read her mind. "How do you know all this? You weren't there. You couldn't have..."