< 148 Grim Reaper 148 Grim Reaper. Idris’s eyes widened in disbelief as he watched Cartrin issue the command. For a moment, he was too stunned to respond, his mind grappling with the implications of her actions. When she hung up the phone, his voice finally broke through the tense silence. “Catrin, what have you done?” he demanded in a tone that sounded a mix of anger and despair. He took a step closer to her, his hands trembling slightly. “You think freezing her accounts is going to make her come back? You are not fixing anything; you are making it worse.” Catrin turned to him, but her gaze remained cold. Raising her chin defiantly, she said, “I know what I am doing. I am her mother, Idris. If she won’t listen to reason, then I will make her realize the consequences of her choices. She will come to her senses once she understands she can’t survive without us.” Idris let out a bitter laugh, the sound devoid of any humor. “Do you hear yourself, Catrin? You are treating her like a pawn in some game. This is not love this is 12:10 1/ 148 Grim Reaper, control. You are pushing her further away, not pulling her back.” “She needs to learn, Idris!” Catrin snapped, her voice rising in frustration. “Arwen has always been impulsive, but this time, she has gone too far. She married someone we don’t know, someone who isn’t right for her. If we don’t step in now, her entire life will be ruined.” “Her life?” Idris countered, his voice breaking with emotion. “The only thing I see getting ruined her is her trust in us. You are so blinded by your pride and expectations that you can’t even see the damage you are causing her. She is no longer a kid, she has grown up and knows what is right and wrong for her. She doesn’t need us to dictate her life, Catrin -she needs us to support her.” Catrin’s grip faltered, her grip tightening on the phone. For a brief moment, a doubt flickered in her eyes, but she quickly pushed it aside. I am doing what is right,” she muttered, more to herself than to Idris. “No,” Idris said firmly his voice steady. “You are doing the things wrong. Treating her like this, you are doing her wrong.” He turned away, his shoulders slumping 12:18 216 < 148 Grim Reaper. under the weight of the grief. “Though it’s already too late to make amends, let’s not ruin it further. Call and take back your orders now,” he commanded. “No, Idris. I am not taking back my orders.” “Catrin, I asked you to take back the orders now.” Idris turned to face Catrin, his temper boiling already. When Catrin saw him like that, her brows furrowed and she asked in disbelief, “Are you commanding me, Idris?” “What if I say yes?” Catrin’s eyes narrowed, her voice cutting like ice “Then I would say that you should think again. You shouldn’t be doubting my decision. Not after what you have witnessed it all over the years,” she said before taking a small pause to continue again. “Idris, you must not have forgotten where we were twenty years ago. The Quinns were a family name teetering on the edge of ruin -a name whispered in pity at galas and parties. We were bankrupt, both financially and socially. You should have forgotten it right? Do you remember how we gained back all we were about to lose?” Idris froze, his anger momentarily dulled by her words. 148 Grim Reaper. He did remember it all. He was never able to forget it at all. He was almost paralyzed by the weight of his failure. It was Catrin who had taken the charge and saved it all. Catrin noted the expression on his face and no longer waited for him to respond. “We gained it all because I made my decision firmly. It was because I chose everything right I made everything right, Idris,” she continued, her voice rising with every word. “It was my decisions, my strategies, and my sacrifices that rebuilt our reputation. Otherwise, when you married me, you and your family were nothing but a hollow shell. I accepted you and the challenging life you brought me into; I didn’t just sit there and wait for miracles. I clawed our daily back to the peak with my own hands. I secur