Chapter 538: A Stressful Night

At the cocktail table, Jeffrey and William watched Margaret.

"I don't get why she constantly tries to get back with Damien…" Jeffrey continued to chatter non-stop about Margaret.

While Jeffrey was busy with his comments, William turned to Katherine and caught her staring daggers at Margaret. He saw her back away and left the hall through the side door. The gears in his head churned, and he began to feel nervous as if something was going to happen—what with the way she looked just now. She looked as though she was afraid. Contemplating whether he should go after her, he hissed and followed her out of the room wordlessly.

Jeffrey chuckled. "She probably saw the recent gossip about Damien and Katherine. Maybe she's here to see for herself. What do you think?" He turned to his right—only to find the spot where William was supposed to be—empty. He turned around and realized that Katherine was nowhere to be found, too, causing his brows to knit together in confusion.

Had he been talking to himself all along? "Hey… Where did everybody go?" he wondered. Jeffrey let out a heavy sigh, grumbling as he grabbed a stick of cocktail food and ate by himself quietly.

…

Meanwhile, Damien got on stage without knowing what was going on. He faced the crowd, and the first thing he looked for was Katherine. Upon laying his eyes on the cocktail table where Jeffrey was, he frowned when he didn't see her. His friend must have understood who he was looking for because Jeffrey shrugged at him.

Casually scanning the room for Katherine, his heart raced at the thought of her possibly getting into trouble again. He desperately hoped that wasn't the case.

The audience waited for him to speak, and they started to wonder what was the hold-up. Markus whispered to his boss to catch his attention and urged him to start.

Left with no choice, Damien began his speech to open the live auction, welcoming the guests and wishing them good luck for the bidding and the raffle while keeping a neutral expression. He didn't say much as he wanted to keep it short—the longer it went on, the more anxious he felt that he couldn't see Katherine anywhere in the room.

Just as he ended his speech, his phone buzzed in his inner suit pocket. He answered the call when he saw that it was his cousin, William.

Because the live auction had already started, the function hall was loud and noisy, making it difficult for him to understand what his cousin said on the other line.

Damien hurriedly walked out of the room to get better call reception, and as he stepped out of the hall, he bumped into William, who told him that he had witnessed Katherine drag Margaret out of the function hall—and now he couldn't find them.

…

Inside the dressing room

Katherine's sharp gaze was focused on Margaret and the pocket knife in her hand that confirmed her suspicion. Earlier when she caught sight of the woman approaching Damien, she thought she saw the other holding a metallic object inconspicuously that flared under the bright chandeliers in the function hall.

Her instincts kicked in, and so she got to Margaret as fast as she could. It was only when Katherine got a closer look at Margaret and saw the intent in her eyes that she knew she wasn't there for a friendly visit.

Without thinking much, Katherine was inclined to get Margaret out of there first, and so that's what she did. Now, she was in a 3 x 6.5 meter locked dressing room with a violent woman pointing a knife at her.

All of her senses were heightened, and she swiftly darted her eyes here and there, trying to come up with a plan to subdue Margaret. She was no longer as nervous as soon as she had locked the door behind her, believing that it was better this way. Katherine was not scared facing Margaret like this because she was confident that she could handle her.

However, fighting a psychopath like Margaret Hara was dangerous. Because when they became violent, they were impulsive and reckless.

"You really came here to hurt Damien?" Katherine asked as she carefully stalked towards the other.

Margaret stepped back, holding the knife tightly in her grasp as she spat, "I never want to hurt Damien! He's the father of my child! I love him!"

"Are you sure about that? You and I both know he wasn't the father…" Katherine detested her words—even though she knew that the other was sick, it didn't stop her from feeling irked when she heard it. This woman was indeed delusional.

"Who are you to say that?! You don't know anything!" Margaret waved the knife wildly in front of her, causing Katherine to step back.

"You lost your baby years ago. I know it's hard and painful… but you need to remember what happened—"

"Shut up! You ruined everything! Damien and I should be together—that's what's supposed to happen! You… You did this to us! You ruined everything!" Margaret's tears started streaming down her face, her eyes full of rage and pain as she yelled.

Katherine felt bad for her. Margaret was so sick that she wasn't making any sense.

Taking a careful step to the side, Katherine planned to corner the other. "If you really loved him, why were you going to hurt him?"

"I have no choice… If… If he can't be with me, then no one else can have him!"

Just then, knocks sounded from the door. They initially ignored it, but their heads turned to the sound when they heard Damien's voice from the other side.

For a split second, Margaret stopped crying and anticipated for the door to open, but then she saw Katherine turning her head as well. This caused a drastic change in her mood—she became agitated and manic that she dashed towards Katherine, screaming as she raised the knife to stab the other. "AAAAAAAAHHH!!"

Katherine snapped her head towards Margaret, steering to the side just before the latter could strike her with the blade.

Margaret didn't stop there. She continued to slash and trash while Katherine avoided the attacks. Margaret didn't have body coordination—she was unpredictable as she was driven to strike without thinking while having abnormally elevated emotions. She had become hysterical.

Katherine was tempted to take out the God of Death knives from the straps on her left leg, but she stopped herself from using them—afraid that she might hurt Margaret if she did. As much as she hated the woman, the latter was sick, and she needed help, which was why she chose to fight with her bare hands. It was a bit of a challenge because while she avoided getting sliced by the knife, she also had to be careful not to hurt her.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Damien found the horrifying scene before him—Margaret violently flinging the knife at Katherine.

"Damien!" Margaret cried out as soon as she saw him, a broad smile ghosting her lips as she stepped back and turned away from Katherine, then she scurried towards the door where Damien stood.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Damien fumed, his eyes went wide with total bewilderment. He didn't know what happened—all he knew was that this maniac was attacking Katherine.

"I… I came to see you…" Margaret lowered the knife and strode towards him. She was now in between Katherine and Damien. "Our baby misses you," she added.

The crease on his brows deepened, repulsed by what he just heard. "What the fûck are you talking about?! Have you lost your mind?"

"She's mentally sick, Damien. She had been for years… She was confined in a facility in Japan," Katherine informed him as she stalked forward.

However, Margaret whipped the knife around again. The rage in her eyes was back when she flung the blade towards Katherine. "Why is everybody saying that!!! I am not crazy!!!"

"Margaret! Put the knife down!" Damien commanded.

His voice was strong and loud that it startled Margaret, making her gasp and shiver as she cried, "No! You have to come with me. Our baby is waiting for you!"

Katherine crept up behind Margaret. She met Damien's stare, and she subtly nodded at him. With just simple communication, they already knew what they had to do. Thus, he decided to go along with Margaret.

"Okay… I'll go with you," he said.

"Really?"

He nodded. "But first, you have to put the knife down. That's the only way I would go with you."

Margaret glanced at the knife in her hand. She loosened her grip but didn't drop the knife yet.

Katherine charged forward while Margaret was distracted. And with expert hands, she twisted the other's wrist, causing the knife to fall.

Kicking the knife away, Katherine simultaneously grabbed hold of Margaret, looping her right arm around the other's neck and locking it in a chokehold position. Katherine applied pressure until Margaret lost consciousness, only letting go when the latter's body went limp. She carefully laid her down on the floor and breathed a sigh of relief.

"She'll be fine," she said.

Damien immediately pulled Katherine into his embrace—relieved that she was safe. Then he asked William and Markus to call an ambulance and contact Mr. Hara to inform him about the situation.

What an exhausting night.