Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress

Chapter 893: Betting pool

Charles watched his team march back to their bench as the first quarter of the game ended. They had a few minutes to talk, and probably time for a fight, but Charles didn't care about the latter. Just watching the first quarter drained all his energy, like a fruit being squeezed dry.

"I'm sorry," Zoren said as soon as he stopped in front of Charles. "I thought it'd count for our score as long as I made a basket, no matter which one."

He knew their basket was on the other side, but Zoren had thought to work smart, not hard. So, he just shot the ball toward the nearest basket. Who would have thought that doing so would end up helping the other team?

Dean secretly smirked, shaking his head. 'How funny. Who would've thought Mister Know-It-All doesn't know basketball?'

Jonathan, on the other hand, stayed quiet. Whether they won or not didn't matter to him. It was why he hadn't bothered trying to improve. Though he'd still run when needed.

Charles looked at the dejected Zoren and sighed. "Don't mind that," he said, rising to his feet and then gazing at everyone. "Ugh... my head is aching."

Looking at all these men surrounding him, Charles was at a loss for words. Atlas and Hugo already knew basketball, and even though Atlas looked like he was just counting his steps and closing his ring, he understood the game. Charles believed that even if Atlas hadn't played in years, he was smart enough to know the mechanics.

Atlas wasn't just a quick learner and a hard worker; he was also amazing because of his muscle memory. In other words, Charles could see that his eldest son was doing his best and making critical decisions, even though he was always guarded by the enemy.

The problem, however, lay with the other three guys.

Charles let his gaze sweep over Zoren, Dean, and Jonathan. The more he stared at them, the more hopeless he felt.

'Zoren might be enthusiastic, and he does have good form when he made that shot, but...' His thoughts trailed off. '... he doesn't understand the game.'

Charles blamed himself for being lazy and just summarizing the game mechanics without explaining them properly.

"You three are hopeless," Atlas said bluntly, earning the attention of Zoren, Dean, and Jonathan. "How come you don't understand the game mechanics? Dribble the ball, don't let it get stolen, pass it if necessary, guard the enemy, and score a point. Easy."

how come you haven't scored a point?" Dean shot back, just

by two. You, on the other hand, are always free. But instead of being on

under his breath. "I've never been

a first for

didn't even want to be here in the first place.

as he intervened in the growing tension between Atlas and Jonathan. "You two

I can play any longer," Jonathan said, maintaining a polite tone despite his growing irritation with Atlas. Actually, he was just irritated by everyone. "Since Mr. Atlas Bennet here thinks I'm no longer needed,

that, they realized they had a sixth member. Turning toward the bench, Mark raised his

asking Charles to replace Zoren for a while. But Charles kept shushing him, insisting Zoren

Charles didn't want to replace anyone—it was still too early. However, now that they'd seen the result of the

have a problem with that," said Atlas. "Let

but this time his eyes were sharp. "Sounds

mind." Hugo

don't agree," Dean said firmly, earning everyone's attention. "We all started this together, and I also want a sub. If I'm still playing, everyone else should be. It's unfair if I'm the only

being selfish now?" Jonathan scoffed. "This is for

for one," Dean smirked, taking advantage of the

cast Jonathan a look. He hadn't looked at him before and had given him no attention, even though Jonathan was technically with him. He just acted that

agreed. "You should play

as he looked back at Zoren. "Is

tilted his head, pointing a finger at Mark. "You're looking in the wrong direction,

a hand. "You boys, calm down first," he sighed. "I think it's about time to sub someone in. From what

'Miss Penny, I

to decide who will..." Just as Charles began to decide who would be taken out so Mark could replace him, they suddenly heard the