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.

jaw tightened as 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

that, there was some truth

had. Even if he said otherwise, it was

point, Charles wasn't even sure if that was 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,

Then, that incident happened.

do it kindly. But one could understand that, despite the chairman's harshness, he protected his son from any scrutiny and did his very best to get

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 position on a silver platter even when

said, "It's because Charles was born a

have been true in some sense, that was because Charles was given far more opportunities and chances than anyone in the

his heart clenching as his breathing slowed. "And even if

to me... my actions and thinking

centered on me."

escaped. "I claim that I know you more than

you've been suffering all

say that Penny is my princess and that I care for her with all my heart, and yet he 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

his heart, a hand striking him right

cautiously around me just to make sure

raised his brows, watching his tears fall onto the carpet. He kept his

he choked, 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 because you've always

wanted to say something nice and tell Charles that

little selfish in

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.