Chapter 976 She Left Because She Loved You
"The Chamberlain family has now latched onto the Lundrigans Group, and they're still not satisfied," Joseph said coldly. "They are greedy."
"They've already become the leading enterprise in Madison, and they probably want to expand internationally," Nathaniel echoed.
Joseph suddenly fell silent, his disdainful gaze fixed on Nathaniel.
"Mr. Hernandez, did I say something wrong?" Nathaniel asked uneasily under Joseph's gaze.
"Nathaniel, you are my most capable assistant. No matter where I go, you follow. You should understand me better than anyone." Joseph's eyes flashed with a chilling gaze. "Didn't you notice my sudden change three years ago?"
Nathaniel's eyes trembled. Joseph caught the look in his eyes.
"What change, Mr. Hernandez? Haven't you always been like this?" Nathaniel quickly composed himself and replied.
"Nathaniel, can I still trust you?" Joseph stood up. "Our relationship is purely professional. Recently, many high-level executives in the Hernandez family have resigned one after another, and even people in the secretarial department have left. Do you want to leave here?"
Nathaniel was startled and shook his head. "Mr. Hernandez, I met you when I was fourteen. You know, after my mom passed away, my dad remarried and didn't care about me, not even paying for my tuition. I was a kid with no future, always getting into fights. It was you who changed me.
"You paid for my tuition and sent me to school. From then on, I swore to follow you for life. After graduation, I didn't have much business talent, but you taught me everything. I will never forget that. I swore to follow you for life."
"For life?" Joseph laughed self-deprecatingly. "What if my path gets worse and worse?"
"It won't. People outside don't understand you. I know your capabilities best," Nathaniel said softly. "Even if you're no longer the president of the Hernandez family, with your skills as a lawyer or your keen sense of the financial market, you'll be admired in any industry."
Joseph laughed, but it sounded sad. "I'm very talented at making money, but when it comes to love, I'm like a fool. Nathaniel, I don't believe you didn't notice my sudden change in attitude towards Cassie three years ago."
Nathaniel's pupils dilated. He had suspected it before, but he didn't expect Mr. Hernandez to really notice it.
"You must have noticed it long ago. Why didn't you warn me?" Joseph suddenly grabbed Nathaniel by the collar, his eyes filled with anger. "If you had warned me earlier, I wouldn't have been a fool for the past three years, completely unaware that I was under Megan's hypnosis."
After Joseph finished speaking in a rage, he noticed that Nathaniel didn't seem too shocked, as if he had known all along. "You knew I was under hypnosis?"
Nathaniel nodded painfully. He knew he couldn't hide it from Joseph any longer. "Miss Brooks and I noticed your odd behavior right away."
Joseph's body trembled violently, and he asked hoarsely, "Cassie knew it, too?"
"Yes, Miss Brooks is your wife, and I'm your assistant," Nathaniel said bitterly. "Three years ago when Megan suddenly returned, coupled with the issues with Nina's family, you and Miss Brooks argued every day. The conflicts and misunderstandings deepened daily. Miss Brooks didn't trust you, and you two often didn't talk with each other. You always stayed at the office, not wanting to go home, and when you did, you fought."
"But I knew you still cared about Miss Brooks and your child. Then, one day, after Megan treated you at the Hernandez House, you suddenly became extremely cold towards Miss Brooks. Even when she was pregnant, you insisted on divorcing her. Youalways accompanied Megan, even sleeping at her place at night," Nathaniel continued.
Joseph's fists clenched, veins bulging.
Joseph remembered those times. He was cruel to Cassie, sleeping with Megan while Cassie was pregnant.
Nathaniel sighed. "Lucas and Michael thought you still had feelings for Megan and you preferred her after she returned, but I know you love Miss Brooks more. Even if you wanted to reconcile with Megan, you would have given Miss Brooks a proper way out."
"Yes."
'How could I bear to lock Cassie up.' Joseph turned away, not wanting anyone to see his reddened eyes. "Cassie knew the truth. Why didn't she ever tell me?"
"Would you have believed her?" Nathaniel asked. "At that time, you trusted Megan completely. If she had told you, you would have thought Miss Brooks was being malicious."
Joseph fell silent. Yes, he wouldn't have believed it then.
Nathaniel continued, "We consulted with a renowned psychologist about your condition. The doctor said you might be under an ancient form of hypnosis, which is very difficult to cure. If the treatment fails, you could become a fool."
"When Miss Brooks heard this, I saw the despair on her face. Later, she said she didn't want to wake you up. Miss Brooks wanted a divorce, to leave, and let you spend your life with Megan. She loved you then, afraid you'd become a fool. She'd rather endure the pain of being abandoned alone."
Hearing this, Joseph suddenly felt heartbroken. He held his forehead, his eyes stinging with tears.
He said to himself inwardly, 'Yes, Cassie mentioned divorce back then, but I forced her to stay and give birth to my child, planning to let Megan take care of the child later so Megan wouldn't have to endure the pain of childbirth. Cassie was so desperate and angry then, but I ignored her and locked her up. Megan's claim that Cassie had a mental illness was definitely false. But I sent her into a cold mental hospital when she was abandoned and miscarried. How did she survive that despair? How much suffering and harm did Cassie endure? No wonder she hated me so much.'
For the first time, Joseph hated himself this much.
"Nathaniel, were you involved in Cassie's fake death at the hospital?" Joseph suddenly asked.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Hernandez." Nathaniel no longer hid it. "I saw things were getting bad and notified Liam. If we hadn't done that, Miss Brooks wouldn't have made it. She was already overdosed and delirious."
"You did the right thing." Joseph patted Nathaniel's shoulder gratefully. "Nathaniel, thank you."
"I'm just glad you're not blaming me." Nathaniel sighed in relief.
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