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

Chapter 1663: Full of joy

The discussion with the Bennet men and Zoren didn't last long, as Atlas, Hugo, and Zoren had to leave. Meanwhile, Charles and Haines remained seated in the study room.

Neither Charles nor Haines dared to break the silence. Charles, in particular, just stared at the beaten face of his daughter without a word.

Charles knew that the incident was terrible. Haines' leg was proof that it had been terrible. However, he never expected it to be this bad. He felt sorry for Haines, but the latter was old and had always been mentally strong enough to carry on.

His daughter might've always been the resilient type, but as a parent, how could one expect Charles's heart to stay in one piece after seeing this?

Haines studied Charles's side profile and sighed.

"I'm sorry for not telling you earlier," he expressed. "I know Penny asked me to keep it from you and Allison, but in truth, I also wanted to keep it from you."

There were many reasons why Haines didn't think he should detail the incident to Charles. One of them was that Charles had been through a lot in the past, to the point where he almost completely lost his mind. Even when Charles never showed signs of relapsing, Haines had always been mindful of his state of mind.

Of course, Charles was mentally stronger now, especially after becoming a husband and a father of five wonderful children. Even so, Haines didn't want to take chances.

"I'm sorry, Charles," he repeated sincerely. "I didn't want you to find out this way."

Charles smiled bitterly as he peeled his gaze from the photo to look at Haines. "If there's someone to apologize, it should be me."

He let out a weary laugh, hanging his head low.

he looked back at everything and forced himself to see what he would usually ignore. "Stephen was right. I was... selfish and ungrateful. And that I always had it

that, there was some

said otherwise, it was true. When Chairman Bennet told him to take over

what he truly wanted or if it was his way of spiting his father. After all, Chairman Bennet was deeply against the idea. But alas, Charles didn't listen

Then, that incident happened.

Bennet didn't do it kindly. But one could understand that, despite the chairman's harshness, he protected his

managed to get a hold of himself. However, one also had to realize that if that had been someone else, there would've been no way for them to return to the family. Let alone have a significant position in the family business. Yet, Charles was handed that

and said, "It's because Charles was born a leader. He had

because Charles was given far more opportunities and chances than anyone in the family. He could screw up and not

heart clenching as his breathing slowed. "And even if I claim that you were more like a brother to me, and that

me...

centered on me."

bitter laugh escaped. "I claim that I know you more than anyone else,

didn't even know you've been

stopped, sniffing hard as he held back his tears. "And yet, I didn't Care enough to know just how much trauma she had been through just because I thought, since she's fine now, it wasn't that

were like daggers slicing through his heart, a hand striking him right

scoffed. "But no. All this time, everyone's been walking cautiously around me just to make sure I don't fall or trip

fall onto the carpet. He kept his

but still tried to convey his heart. "I am... very sorry for not knowing. Even if you tell me I wouldn't have known, I should've

part of him wanted to say something nice and tell Charles that wasn't the truth- but they both knew saying that would be

little selfish in

of redeemable qualities he had, and he would protect his family no matter what. He would protect Haines and would even take a bullet for him. However, that trait of his had grown along with all his other good qualities.