Chapter 499

As a love child and as a son without a father, Matthew was destined to be viewed by his peers as a subject of judgment no matter where he grew up. Jean's naivety and her being deceived were pitiable and desperate, but as the product of an affair, Matthew had it worse. He was the most innocent party in all of this. Yet when she asked him about it, he merely smiled, his eyes devoid of bitterness. Instead, he comforted her with an openness that surprised her. "Nat, don't feel sorry for me. I've always understood why I don't have a father, and I stopped caring about what others thought early on. Besides, I'm not the only child from single-parent families." Natalie didn't know how to respond. She understood that Matthew said this not to elicit her sympathy but to reassure her. He didn't want her to pity him. Determined, she vowed to tell Margaret that Jean hadn't deliberately destroyed her marriage. In this situation, both Jean and Margaret were victims. While Natalie was lost in