The Billionaire’s Secret Quartet novel Chapter 1596

Seeing Matilda's agitated expression and the impact she felt, Rosalind realized she had misspoken and hurriedly said, “I’m sorry, Mom. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Matilda, breathing heavily with a mix of anger and frustration, exclaimed, “I can’t believe I let myself be mocked by my own husband’s secret child! How useless can I get?”

Her words were not just spoken in anger but were a true reflection of her feelings and grievances.

When she found out that Joshua’s daughter was Thalassa, Matilda struggled to accept this reality, feeling a mix of distress and anger. She was also extremely averse to Thalassa, not wanting to see her at all. Every time she saw Thalassa, it was a reminder that her husband had been with another woman and even had a child with her. It was evidence of her husband’s betrayal!

But no matter how unwilling she was to accept this or how much anguish she felt, the fact remained that her husband’s child with another woman was already grown up. Apart from trying to suppress her pain and accept reality, what else could she do?

“Mom, I’m sorry...” Rosalind, feeling guilty for her words, apologized.

Just then, doctors and nurses wheeled Joshua out of the emergency room. Matilda, putting her distress aside, hurried to check on Joshua.

Various monitors beeped around him, his chest wrapped in bandages, with his hospital gown partially open, revealing bandages stained with iodine. His eyes were closed, unconscious.

Matilda, still worried, asked the doctor, “Why is he still unconscious? Is it serious?”

“The effects of the anesthesia haven’t worn off yet. He should wake up in about three hours,” the doctor explained. Only then did Matilda's worries begin to subside.

“Thank you, doctor.”

Despite her grievances about Joshua having a child outside their marriage and the pain it caused her, Matilda was still deeply concerned for him, afraid something worse might happen to him. She had spent her life with this man, and to learn about his past affair and child in their twilight years was devastating.

Matilda had been through stages of breakdown, pain, and blame toward Joshua. She had even considered divorce, thinking it would end the turmoil over whether he had been with another woman. But no matter how angry or conflicted she felt, or how harshly she spoke, deep down, she couldn’t bear the thought of divorcing Joshua. Even after his mistake, she couldn’t bring herself to leave him.

This, perhaps, is the nature of love and marriage – full of contradictions, pain, and struggle, but also holding on to the memories of happier times, unable to let go. Having loved deeply and still in love, how could one easily let go?

Rosalind, walking beside the hospital bed, seeing her mother’s concern for Joshua, understood the depth of her mother’s love for her father, and vice versa. She realized the magnitude of the hurt her offhand comment had caused her mother.

Joshua had explained to Matilda, Rosalind, and Reginald that his relationship with Evelyn happened before he was married to Matilda. Moreover, Evelyn had saved him when he was still striving for success. He was grateful to Evelyn, and he wanted his family to also feel gratitude toward her.

Joshua shared this to encourage them to treat Thalassa kindly and to accept her as part of their family from the bottom of their hearts. Rosalind, having received a good education, didn’t reject Thalassa as part of her family. But learning about Thalassa and Lysander’s relationship and their four children made it impossible for Rosalind to view their sisterly relationship equally. Hostility naturally arose, and she found it hard to let go. She thought her mother probably couldn’t let go of Thalassa’s existence either.