"You’re much better than my father, I’ll give you that."
Sean then walked past Charles and was prepared to leave.
Jim, who was quite far away, furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Sean.
His heart began to race at that moment. He had not told Charles and Rosalyn about Lucy having survived the incident, despite everyone thinking she was dead. He was afraid that Sean would talk about Lucy and their familial status after telling Charles that Charles was better than his father.
Sean, unexpectedly, said nothing else after that, but Charles grabbed Sean and squinted. "Your father isn't too bad, kiddo. Don’t belittle yourself; you're too humble," spoke Charles, his voice gentle and sincere. "Something was special about you and your father that Lucy gave up on me and Jim."
The hallway fell silent the moment these words were uttered. Both Jim and Sean looked at Charles with shock.
"Dad..." Jim gazed at Charles. "You..."
Charles smiled. "Your mother and I found out about it. We know that all of you went to the Quinn Mansion and summed up the way you lost control of your emotions and went racing on Ring Road. Do you truly think we won't go to the Quinn Mansion to ask what happened?"
Charles sighed deeply. "I didn't know Samuel hadn't changed one bit after so many years; still the good old person, trying to do the best for everyone. He thought he was doing it in my best interest by hiding it for so many years and was afraid that it'd affect my relationship with Rosalyn. On the contrary..."
He heaved another sigh. "If he had told me earlier, perhaps the gap between Rosalyn and me could be closed much earlier."
After that, he took another serious look at Jim. "You don't have to hide it from me. I know everything."
Charles turned around to look at Sean, who was standing beside him. He raised his hand and gave a light pat on Sean's shoulder. "You don't have to be self-abased. Your mother was a wonderful and opinionated woman. All these years, I've had nightmares and unstable emotions because I truly thought that she was dead.
"I loved her, but I failed to protect her, which, in turn, made her suffer the pain that she shouldn't have. I was sad ?f(
He exhaled heavily with a smile on his face. "I can now peel off that thorn after knowing that she had lived for many years and had a happy family in her remaining days."
Charles took another look at Sean, his eyes shining with gratefulness and warmth. "No matter if you accept it or not, I want to say thank you to you and your father. Thank you for giving her a new life and surrounding her with joy during her days."
Sean gaped at Charles, taken by complete surprise by what he had said.
He...had thought that Charles’ reaction would be the same as Jim's—blaming his mother for giving up on them. Never did he expect that this would be the man's reaction instead, even after knowing that Lucy Hamilton had abandoned him.
Sean moistened his chapped lips with his tongue. "But..."
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