When the early light of the sunrise beamed on Catherine's face, she turned to the right, resting her head on Rome's chest.
Then she slowly raised her lashes and deeply sighed, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
At that moment, she felt Rome's fingers caressing her hair as his voice echoed into her ear, "What's troubling you?"
"Today is the board meeting, and I just feel like I should let Richard have the position," Catherine mumbled, snuggling further into Rome's arm.
"I see. You have allowed Jeff to get in your head."
"Umm…"
Shifting in another position, Catherine rested her chin on Rome's chest and met his eyes.
Then she pouted and mumbled, "What do you mean?"
"It's called mind game. He is playing on your emotions to get you to willingly lose." Rome softly said.
"I know, but…"
"You are so close to gaining it all. Do you really want to quit?"
"No,"
Smiling, he tapped his finger on Catherine's nose and said, "That's what I thought. So go today and be great."
"Thanks, babe. I needed to hear this." Catherine said, exhaling softly.
At seven o'clock, the table was set for breakfast, and everyone was already seated, except for Catherine and Rome.
However, a few seconds later, they walked into the dining room, and when Catherine locked eyes with Jeff, she raised her chin and maintained eye contact with him for a moment before sitting down.
Afterward, Rome took his seat, and they ate in silence.
"So, you found someone to replace us," William mumbled, frowning at his food.
"Yes, and if I could switch you for a better son, I would. I can't believe I have been living under the same roof with wolves!" Mr. Barlow lashed out in anger, feeling his rage from yesterday resurfacing.
"Honey, you know what Doctor Len advised. You can't get worked up anymore. It's not good for your health." Madam Rosey gently said.
"Maybe if I didn't have disgraceful children, I wouldn't be in a poor health condition!"
"Are you blaming me for not birthing good sons! Your blood runs through their veins, so maybe you should be pointing your finger at yourself!"
The sudden rise in Madam Rosey's voice immediately made the dining room fall silent.
Clearing his throat, Mr. Barlow stared away from his wife and focused on his food.
After breakfast was over, one after the other, everyone left the dining hall and headed out of the mansion.
A while later, Mr. Barlow's car came to a stopped in front of the DreamTeam building, and it didn't take long for Richard's vehicle to arrive in the parking lot.
Then a few seconds later, Rome slowed down Catherine's sedan a few distances away from Jeff's car and brought it to a stop.
Within a few minutes later, they all arrived inside the building, and since the was only a few minutes left for the board meeting to start, Catherine, Jeff, and Mr. Barlow when to the board room while Rome waited patiently in Catherine's office.
After taking their seats around the oval table, a lady came into the room and serve everyone a drink. Then she rolled the trolley out of the room and shut the door behind her.
Feeling overwhelmed by nervousness, Catherine picked up her coffee and since it was lukewarm she drank it all in one go.
The was a salty taste on her tongue afterward. But not wanting to complain, Catherine set the mug down and took in a deep breath.
However, when the meeting began, she started feeling dizzy and lightheaded.
Striving to stay awake, she gently shook her head and sat up straight.
About five minutes into the meeting, Catherine slowly started losing herself, and she could barely keep her eyes open.
But unlike her, Richard was extremely active in the meeting, and quick to respond to question thrown at him.
"Miss, Catherine," A lady called out to Catherine after addressing a question to her and she didn't respond.
"Catherine!" Mr. Barlow shouted, glaring at his granddaughter.
Finally, she forced her eyelids opened and looked at him. Then she smiled and giggled softly before squeezing her eyes shut for a moment.
"I think I need to take a nap," Catherine mumbled, resting her head on the table.
So without any hesitation, he woke from the couch and left the office, heading straight for the conference room.
It took a while for all the board members to place in their votes, and realizing that Catherine had zero votes, Mr. Barlow stood to his feet and said, "My grandson will ascend to his uncle position."
Then he looked at Catherine and said, "Your cousin has gotten the position so you can stop the act now."
But when she didn't respond, Mr. Barlow assumed that she was overwhelmed with shame and that's why she wasn't replying. So he turned to leave, but the room door suddenly opened and Rome walked inside.
When he saw Catherine's head resting on the table, he scowled at Mr. Barlow and coldly asked, "Why is my wife like that!"
"Because she still playing her role. Maybe after we leave she will have the face to get up." Mr. Barlow sarcastically said.
Ignoring his response, Rome rushed over to Catherine, tapped her on the arm, and mumbled, "Are you feeling under the weather?"
When Catherine didn't reply, he stared back at Mr. Barlow and frowned. Then he placed his finger to her nose and realized that she was still breathing.
At that moment, Catherine slowly raised her eyelids halfway, stared at him, and mumbled, "I don't feel good."
Even though the anger Rome felt was causing his heart to pound, he kept it together and immediately lifted Catherine from the chair, securing his grips on her legs and arms.
Afterward, Rome carried her to the door. Then he stopped looked at Mr. Barlow and said, "Catherine was fine this morning. She didn't look sick or anything, and now she's like this, and you think she's what, acting! Are you sick in the head!"
"Who do you think you are talking to, you useless fool!" Mr. Barlow shouted, feeling a bit afraid that he might have read into things wrongly.
With his icy gaze fixed directly on Mr. Barlow's eyes, Rome coldly uttered, "Pray that nothing happens to her, or else…"
Then he turned around and walked out of the room, striving to restrain all of his emotions.
But when Catherine suddenly clutched onto his shirt and whispered, "I feel drowsy," Rome's eyes got wet, and he mumbled, "I shouldn't have let you walk into that room alone."
The conference room was silent for a while since everyone was shocked about how Rome had talked to Mr. Barlow, but no one was more surprised than him.
"Why did I feel like a lower being just now when he spoke?" Mr. Barlow mumbled beneath his breath.
Then he glanced at Richard and thought, 'Could it be Catherine wasn't acting?'
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