The Duke's Masked Wife 2: The Prince's Outcast Bride - Chapter 458

Chapter 458: First step (2)
Harper was stunned to hear Kate so openly call her father a fool.

“Is he not a fool? I heard that those brothers seem to have quite a bit of money. It pains me to say that my father would have jumped at the chance to be near them and ignore the danger. We have to take responsibility for what we do. If we don’t, it eats you up year after year,” said Kate.

“It took years for me to accept what I did wrong, and I promise you, it drives you mad. Your father is looking for someone to blame, and it is wrong. Even though you might have brought the brothers to your family, what do you think they wanted from you?” Kate asked.

“Cassius said he wanted to marry me-”

“You were going to be their next victim one way or the other. They don’t hide their ways from their wives. Simon could have gone on without marrying, but he married me because it was fun for him. On the very first night, he exposed his true self to me,” Kate shared.

Kate looked away from Harper. “Trust me. They were going to use you to help cover their tracks and certainly mistreat you when alone to keep you in place. Your father should be happy that you also got away.”

“I don’t think he will ever think of me. I don’t know what they did to him, but it must have been awful. I’m always going to live with the guilt that I ignored what everyone said about Cassius. I was so focused on finding a good husband,” Harper said, angry with herself.

“This town’s idea of a good husband isn’t perfect. A good husband to everyone here is a man with status. Anyone without status or wealth is frowned upon. A good husband is a man who loves you. It’s up to you to ignore what the town wants and follow your heart,” Kate advised Harper.

“I won’t have a choice but to marry a man who makes the first offer for me. My father isn’t in any shape to work, and we need money. I am going to end up like my peers said I would. It isn’t fair,” Harper sobbed.

Harper did everything she could to find a good man, yet she was still without one.

“Life isn’t fair. If you want to help your family, then so be it. I won’t stop you since you have to worry about feeding your family. Just don’t accept the hand of some odd fool who wants a young wife. I cannot bear the sight of it,” said Kate.

Harper wiped her eyes. “I don’t want to marry anyone far older than me, either. You were so kind to me when I was awful to your nieces.”

This got Kate’s attention.

“Well, I was awful to their mother. If you had come to me sooner, I would have told you to leave that fight alone. It is not one that you can win as long as their father is alive. My,” Kate stopped, thinking it over. “My sister got lucky later in life.”

“The ladies I was close to didn’t like Penelope, so I thought of joining them. Now those ladies won’t speak to me. I should have known they wouldn’t want to be my friend for long. They only tolerated me because of the one lady I thought was my friend,” said Harper.

“I blame you for that. Ladies don’t hide their ways. You should have considered what they would have done to you in time and found better friends. I don’t speak to the ladies I grew up with, and I am not upset by it,” Kate said, seeing no need for friends.

“Wasn’t that because you stayed inside all your life to hide your state?” Harper asked.

Kate frowned. “I am trying to be nice, but if you keep this up, I will have no choice but to be rude again. I assure you that, however badly your friends treated you, I am far worse. Do you want to cry before the ladies present?”

Kate couldn’t walk, but it didn’t mean she didn’t have many ways to insult Harper. Harper had told Kate all she needed to know to make her cry.

“Sorry,” Harper apologised, regretting what she said.

“What you said is the truth, but be mindful of how it would hurt others,” said Kate.

“I will. Do I truly not remind you of your younger self?” Harper asked, wanting to keep speaking to Kate.

“No. I was the one who controlled the other ladies while you were hanging on by a thread. Also, my father was a baron. Still, you are more fortunate than I was to still have your parents alive. You can have friends here,” Kate said, motioning to the other ladies.

Harper avoided eye contact with the other ladies. “I might have laughed at one of them when I was friends with the other ladies.”

“Then apologise. Surely, those two words are not foreign to you. I cannot have you come here now and make others uncomfortable because you cannot apologise. You can have something good here if you are willing to be better,” Kate offered.

“Don’t be like me and wait too late to be good. It cost me someone precious, and if I could go back in time, I would be nicer earlier and realise what a good life I had. It’s best if you are kind at this time in your life. You’ll need friends to comfort you after what you’ll experience with your father.”

Kate waited patiently for Harper to make the right choice, but when it seemed that Harper wasn’t going to stand up, she lost patience.

“I am going to count to five, and if you haven’t apologised by then- Well done,” Kate applauded Harper after she finally stood up.

Kate watched from her chair as Harper cautiously walked over to the other ladies and tried to make light conversation. Harper wouldn’t see it now, but she was better off with the ladies present.