When Two Winters Met (Henrietta and Yosef) novel Chapter 197

"Last night..." Jolie's voice broke as tears streamed down her face. "He kept saying he didn't want to live anymore, that he was going to kill himself!"

Henrietta was genuinely surprised. That seemed out of character for Matteo. He had always been so cheerful; he didn't seem like the type to threaten suicide.

Hmph. So it was a big blow, was it? Was he faking it, or was it real?

It didn't matter. In a few months, the blow would be much, much heavier.

With a cold, indifferent expression, Henrietta said, "That has nothing to do with me. If he wants to die, let him. You don't need to come here to inform me."

Jolie's tears stopped abruptly, replaced by a surge of anger. "How can you be like this? You were together for years, you were about to get engaged! Do you really not care if my brother lives or dies? Even if he's an ex-boyfriend, even if you're not getting back together, how can you be so unconcerned about his life? You're so cold! You used to love him so much!"

Jolie stared at Henrietta, her voice rising. She remembered how gentle Henrietta used to be when she was with Matteo. Though she always had a cool demeanor, she would agree to everything with a simple "okay." The way she looked at Matteo, her eyes would shine with a soft, warm light.

But now, all she saw was cold indifference and heartlessness.

Henrietta remained silent, not even bothering to reply.

Seeing her silence, Jolie pressed on, her tone shifting to pleading. "Ms. Sargent, I'm begging you, please go see my brother. He can't even get out of bed! For you to suddenly... secretly... get married without telling anyone, it was a devastating blow to him! Can you please come with me and see him now?"

To Jolie's desperate plea, Henrietta had only one word: "No."

Jolie's face crumpled. Tears welled up again as she stared at her. "It's because you latched onto that powerful man, isn't it? That's why you dumped my brother on your engagement day!"

Henrietta glanced at her. "You can think whatever you want. You people will say whatever you want to say anyway."

Her dismissive attitude finally made Jolie snap. "You're horrible! Playing with people's feelings like this! I looked into it. That man, Yosef, was originally supposed to marry the heiress of the Leland family. He never even looked at you. That's why you started dating my brother. But then his engagement to the Lelands fell through, and for money and power, you went after him again and dumped my brother. And now you don't even care if he lives or dies! Henrietta, how can you be so vicious?"

"Vicious?" Henrietta scoffed. "If I had agreed to the arranged marriage with the Nash family from the start, your brother would have never been in the picture. Or did you not know that my family has always been close with the Nashes?"

Jolie was momentarily speechless. "So you did genuinely love my brother? Are you saying you gave up an arranged marriage for him?"

Henrietta didn't answer.

"If you really loved him," Jolie continued, "then why did you dump him over a single sentence? Why are you ignoring all his pleas now? Did you ever really love him? Or are you just afraid of people saying you were playing him, so you won't admit you never cared?"

Henrietta considered it. "Probably not necessary. Mr. Nash's people likely handled it."

"It's all because Jethro was so protective last night, offering to apologize on Artina's behalf," Winona grumbled. "Otherwise, she never would have gotten away! Did the others still have to drink?"

"They did," Henrietta confirmed. "Jethro called Yosef to try and get them out of it, but he lost his temper and upheld the original punishment."

"Hah!" Winona laughed. "Serves them right for being so arrogant. But it's a shame Artina escaped. I still can't believe her secret benefactor turned out to be Jethro. Hey, have you... told your husband about Artina yet?"

Henrietta shook her head. "Not yet."

Winona's eyes widened. "You're not going to?"

"Of course I am," Henrietta said, her expression turning serious. "But I haven't figured out how to bring it up yet." She took a breath. "I'll definitely tell him tonight."

"Good," Winona nodded.