?Chapter 844:


    Danna held her ground, defiance burning in her gaze. Her father’s grip tightened around her arm as his voice dropped to a low, menacing growl. “Apologize now, or you’re out of the Becker family—for good!” Her wide, unblinking eyes shimmered with betrayal, a raw disbelief twisting through her chest. Was this really her father? The man who had once cradled her when she scraped her knee? Now, for Corrine’s sake, he would cast her aside like she was nothing? Was she, his own daughter, worth less than that woman?


    “What are you waiting for? Apologize!” His urgency betrayed his fear of the consequences.


    Danna bit down on her lip until she tasted iron. The words scraped out like sandpaper. “I’m sorry…”


    Her father’s re darkened. “Properly! That’s not an apology—that’s a joke.”


    Danna curled her fingers into fists by her sides. “Miss Hond,” she forced out through gritted teeth, “I’m sorry.”


    Corrine barely reacted, only the flicker of her brow hinting at mild amusement. “Now that we’ve settled that, let’s move on to the second matter.”


    Danna tensed. There was something far too pleased in Corrine’s tone.


    “Miss Becker, you attacked my staff unprovoked. Medical fees, emotional damages—you owepensation.” Corrine tilted her head. “Shall we settle this by card or cash?”


    Danna’s nails dug into her palms. “Corrine Hond, don’t push your luck!” she hissed. “Even if you’re Corry, even if you’ve got talent, what gives a low-born girl like you the right to act high and mighty in front of me?”


    “Because I am her backing.” A voice cut through the room like ice cracking over deep water.


    Danna went stiff again. The room seemed to shrink as she turned, finding Nate standing there—calm, unreadable, yet carrying the kind of weight that made her blood run cold. Tears burned at the edges of her vision, threatening to spill.


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    “I’ll pay.” Her father rushed forward, all too eager to appease. His smile was thin, servile. “Miss Hond, my daughter has been spoiled rotten. Please, let’s not take this to heart. We’ll handle it however you see fit.” The obsequiousness in his voice triggered something deep within Corrine—a half-healed wound, buried in memory.


    Impatience crept into her gaze. “Jacob, take care of the rest.”


    “Yes.” Jacob nodded.


    Without another nce, Corrine turned on her heel. Nate fell into step beside her, his arm slipping around her waist with effortless possession.


    “You’re upset,” he murmured.


    A quiet statement. No hesitation. No doubt.


    Corrine cast him a sidelong nce, a shadow of a smile tugging at her lips. “Am I?”


    Nate simply raised an eyebrow.


    He didn’t need to answer. He knew.


    At Celtis Estate, Nate emerged from the kitchen, the steam from a cup of warm milk curlingzily in the air when his phone buzzed.


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