Chapter 3367
“Mom,” Marco said with an awkward smile. “How could my dad scold you? He made a mistake, but you’re always in his heart.”
“My dad lives with me. Every day, he talks about you the most. He says, ‘Who will be there to comfort you when you’re feeling down?’ He also reads romance novels on his mobile phone, learning how the male protagonist pursues the female lead, and he says he wants your forgiveness.”
Holden had effectively castrated himself. No matter how many young and beautiful women were out there, he could not touch them. Clarissa had extinguished his desire for intimacy.
He refused to agree to a divorce. Even though he harbored resentment for Clarissa, he was unwilling to separate because he knew that doing so would leave him without any family assets and likely empty-handed.
In Jensburg, he would never be able to outmaneuver Clarissa.
Unless he outlived Clarissa, he could only hope to act like the patriarch of the Farrell family after her passing.
The condition was that the new head of the family would respect him and acknowledge him as a father figure, allowing him to assume the role of an elder.
If Kathryn were the new head, she certainly wouldn’t allow her father to act arrogantly.
Holden had to keep a low profile.
He felt he was living a life full of frustrations.
It was indeed not easy being the son-in-law of the Farrell family.
Looking back, he must have been out of his mind to choose Clarissa as his wife. The only advantage he gained was that the Janzen family enjoyed a decent standard of living thanks to Clarissa’s subtle assistance.
Holden did not divorce for the sake of the Janzen family.
Once he divorced Clarissa, not only would he lose any property, but everything his siblings currently possessed would also be gradually taken back by her.
This was also why he would rather suffer than go through with a divorce.
Clarissa sneered,
“Your dad dislikes reading more than anything else. He falls asleep whenever he tries. How can he focus on a novel while holding his mobile phone? I’d believe it if you told me he was watching videos or looking at attractive women.”
Marco replied, “Mom, please don’t think so poorly of Dad. He treats you well; there’s no doubt about that.”
Clarissa responded coldly, “Marco, don’t interfere in the issues between your dad and me. Why is your dad nice to me? Is it genuine? I know him better than you do. In the past, I pretended not to notice things for your sake.”
Marco pursed his lips and suddenly asked, “Mom, have you never loved Dad? Is there someone else in your heart? Dad said the person you truly love isn’t him. You’ve been married to Dad for decades and have three or four children, yet you still look down on him. Dad made mistakes and was betrayed, but you refuse to let it go, and now our family is falling apart.”
Kathryn stared at Marco, wide-eyed. She thought to herself how brave he was, but she couldn’t show her approval outwardly.
In that moment, Marco boldly took a stand for Holden against Clarissa.
As Kathryn’s gaze bore into him, Marco realized the weight of his words. His expression changed, and he quickly tried to clarify his statement to Clarissa on the phone, “Mom, I-I didn’t mean anything by that; I just…”
“Enough!”
Clarissa interrupted Marco’s explanation.
“You don’t need to explain, nor do you need to defend your dad. I’ve been married to him for decades; I know better than you what he’s like and how he feels about me. Everyone has had someone they admired in their youth. My past admiration has nothing to do with your dad or you. Dad has no right to comment on me, and neither do you. You are my…”
“Children, not my elders. You have no right to hold me accountable.”