Chapter 927 A Breakup?
Everything was going smoothly until Catherine suddenly called a halt. âIâm a bit tired today,â she said.
Branden paused, reluctantly withdrew his hand, and buried his head deeply in Catherineâs neck. After a while, there was no movement.
Concerned, Catherine gently patted his shoulder. âAre you okay?â
âIâm fine,â he replied hoarsely, showing restraint in his voice. Ðе composed himself, then got up and headed to the bathroom.
Lying on the bed, Catherine listened to the sound of water from the bathroom, feeling both amused and sympathetic. She gently stroked her flat abdomen, a wide smile on her face.
In the bathroom, Branden stared at himself in the mirror, for the first time feeling helpless. Was it he who had changed, or had Catherine lost interest in him?
As Catherine waited, Branden finally emerged from the bathroom. When he came out, she felt as if he had just. walked out of the cold storage, exuding a chill. âArenât you afraid of catching a cold?â she asked.
Shrugging off her concern, Branden said, âIâm strong and healthy. Itâs fine. âHe lay on the bed, not bothering to lift the blanket, and held Catherine tightly against the blanket. âRest well. Iâll massage your hand so you can sleep peacefully.â
Due to her long-term use of weapons, Catherineâs hands had always been prone to tendon inflammation. Unless she rested, the muscle damage and pain persisted.
Branden knew about her physical issues and would massage her hands whenever he had the chance, which effectively relieved her discomfort. Within three minutes, Catherine, who usually had trouble falling asleep, had drifted into a deep slumber.
The next day, after dropping off Catherine at school, Branden headed to the company for a meeting.
Paxton noticed Brandenâs low spirits during the car ride, evident from Brandenâs furrowed brows. After much hesitation, he couldnât help but ask, â Boss, is something bothering you today? You seem a bit off.â
Branden glanced at him, a simple look that still managed to startle Paxton, causing him to shrink back.
âImagine a couple, and the girl suddenly becomes very distant and rejects intimate communication with the guy. What does that usually mean?â he asked.
The abrupt question left Paxton momentarily stunned. âWhat could it mean?â he asked himself. It seemed like an issue related to romantic relationships, but was quite profound. Having never been in a relationship, Paxton was at a loss. After a long pause, he couldnât come up with a reasonable response.
As the car pulled up to the Duncan Corporation building, the driver, in a cold tone, remarked, âIn most cases, it means the girlâs lost interest. The guy needs to be careful; he might soon be replaced.â
Brandenâs expression immediately darkened at the driverâs words, his eyes turning much colder.
The driverâs words brought a sudden realization to Paxton, who promptly nodded in agreement. âThat actually makes a lot of sense. I didnât realize you knew so much.â
The driver gave a wry smile. âMy last girlfriend broke up with me that way. Iâve had some experience.â
Engrossed in their conversation, neither of them noticed Brandenâs increasingly dark expression. As Paxton became more convinced of the driverâs words, he was about to tilt his head to report to Branden. But at that moment, he felt a chill run down his spine.
âBoss, youâ¦â Before Paxton could finish, Branden pushed open the car door and left.
Witnessing this, Paxton quickly got out of the car. Before his feet even landed on the ground, Branden gave a cold command, âYou donât need to go upstairs. Thereâs no one supervising the construction site in Weseville. You need to go there.â
With the temperature soaring to at least 104 degrees Fahrenheit today, the ground was scorching hot. Sending him to the construction site in this kind of blazing weather could literally be torture.
âBossâ¦â Paxton pleaded desperately, almost kneeling on the spot.
Branden, however, didnât even look back and went straight into the elevator.
Paxton looked at the driver beside him, who seemed resigned. âPaxton, do you think the person Boss mentioned just now could be himself?â
Paxton immediately realized that Brandenâs anger might be because the person mentioned was actually himself. âDid Miss Swann cheat on Boss?â he wondered. He felt like he was about to hear something astonishing. Now, being sent to work at a scorching construction site didnât seem too unjust.
Alone in his office, Branden replayed the conversation between the driver and Paxton in his mind. He didnât believe Catherine would betray him. However, her recent behavior had been strange. Their contact had decreased, and she seemed uninterested in the food he made. Could Catherine really be growing tired of him?
Realizing the possibility, Branden became restless. He opened the most popular Q&A website and entered keywords in the search bar to find answers to his concerns about a relationship growing distant.
After sifting through numerous unsatisfactory answers, he shut down the computer and made a phone call. â Are you busy?â
Catherine replied, âNot really, whatâs up?â
Her cold response left Branden feeling even more disheartened. âNothing, I just miss you,â he said.
âOkay, Iâll hang up,â Catherine replied before ending the call, resuming her work without knowing that Branden had been staring at his phone in disbelief for a full five minutes after the call ended.
Branden noticed that Catherineâs current behavior almost perfectly matched the reactions listed in the Q&A for when a girlfriend wanted to break up. Feeling increasingly uneasy, he immediately searched for a few more keywords, such as, âHow to mend a relationship,â âHow to change a girlfriendâs mind about breaking up,â and so on.
Someone replied, âFocusing on romance, paying attention to details, reminiscing about sweet memories.â
After reading the answer, Branden slowly came to a realization.