Built His Empire Then Watched It Burn When He Cheated novel Chapter 748

"Now that I've finally found the person I love—a woman I want to start a family with—you keep trying, again and again, to break us apart. Tell me… how can such a mother exist, one who can't stand to see her own son happy?"

Anneliese felt her heart clench tightly as she listened, Jonathan's every word stabbing painfully at her. Gently withdrawing her hand from Penelope's grasp, she stood and walked to his side, holding his hand.

Jonathan immediately spread his fingers and interlaced them with hers, his thumb gently brushing over her skin to tell her he was fine.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, went pale under the forceful questioning.

How could she not know that she had repeatedly wronged him over the years? It was the reason for the long-standing tension between them. Yet, whether as an adult or as a child, he had never once complained to her about these grievances.

Even back then, when she accidentally gave him the wrong medicine at eight years old—sending him to the ER for a stomach pump and nearly costing him his life—when she sat by the hospital bed and watched the young boy open his eyes, his face deathly pale, he only turned his head away and chose to ignore her.

Some truths, if he never mentioned them, she acted as if she didn't know.

She had always pretended not to notice the grievances and resentment eating away at him, not to realize how much she owed him—just so their superficial mother-son relationship could remain intact.

After all, she knew her son—he was always reserved, proud, and fiercely self-respecting.

She never imagined these words coming from his mouth, not even once.

How could she have expected that he would make such accusations toward her in front of so many people, completely ripping open the festering wound that had been hidden between them for years?

A sudden wave of fear and panic flooded her at that moment.

Her lips trembled. "No, it's not like that! When you were little, I couldn't raise you myself because of your father. His affair broke me mentally. At that time, I couldn't even take care of myself; I kept wanting to hurt myself.

"How could I possibly have taken care of you properly? How can you blame me for that? As for the time I gave you the wrong medicine… I swear, it was because your fever was too high. I was anxious and terrified—you were burning up—that I made a mistake in my panic…"

Though she rushed to defend herself, she stopped cold when she met his eyes… His cold, mocking gaze, devoid of any emotion, made her realize how flimsy, hollow, and unconvincing her excuses sounded.

"Jonathan… I'd been drinking that night when the fire broke out. You know that. I wasn't clear-headed then. The fire was raging beyond control by the time I came to my senses. My first thought was to run outside to find you, but the door and the entire corridor were in flames by then.

"I tried over and over… but I couldn't get through the flames. Then, I thought about climbing into your room through the window…"

"Enough!" He suddenly interrupted her frantic explanation, his voice cold and hard.

Her eyes reddened, startled by the frosty indifference and sharp scorn in his gaze. "Jonathan, please…" She subconsciously stepped forward and grabbed his arm. "Believe me…"

Lifting his hand, he slowly pulled his arm from her grasp.

Anneliese could sense the grief and sorrow emanating from Jonathan, hidden beneath his ruthless mockery. Instinctively, she tightened her grip on his hand. Her gaze was fixed on him alone, worry plain in her eyes.

He sensed her concern, the tension in his arm and shoulders easing slightly in response, yet his mocking gaze never left his mother's now visibly panicked face, even as his voice settled into a calm, distant coolness.