RedNovelRegret 208 Charlotte paused for a moment before exhaling softly. "Lead the way." The waiter guided her up to the second floor of the restaurant. Jonathan Pembroke was sitting by the window, and from his vantage point he could indeed see her coming.
After collecting his tip, the waiter discreetly retreated. Jonathan regarded her with the seasy smile. "Would you like something to drink? The herbal tea here is surprisingly good-you should give it a try." "Thank you, but I'll pass." Charlotte took the seat across from him, her manner noticeably more reserved than usual. "I'm fine." He lowered his gaze. "I know you blme. But I still want to say I'm sorry-to you, and to your mother." Her eyelids flickered. She looked up at him. "It's all in the past." She spoke the words with a calm finality, as if she'd truly moved on, but Jonathan knew better. He knew she hadn't.
"Charlotte, lettell you a story." Jonathan gripped his teacup a little tighter, and began.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"There were two friends-let's call them Adam and Ben. They weren't brothers by blood, but they might as well have been. Adam cfrom a wealthy, influential family, but he never looked down on Ben. In Ben's eyes, Adam was nothing like the spoiled rich kids he'd heard about. He was polite, courageous, and responsible. The two becinseparable, telling each other everything. Adam was the one Ben trusted most. Now, Ben had a younger sister who quietly fell in love with Adam, and as it turned out, Adam felt the sway. But because of Adam's background, the girl always hesitated. Adam promised her he'd convince his family and make her his wife.
With Ben as their witness, the couple were together for five years. Not long after, the girl becpregnant. Everyone thought Adam would return from the city and keep his promise. But after he left, he vanished without a word.
The girl gave birth to a baby daughter on her own. Because she wasn't married, the child couldn't carry the family name. Ben couldn't believe his best friend would abandon his sister, so he took her to the city to find Adam.
208 They went to Adam's family home, only to be thrown out and insulted by Adam's father. Ben never got over it. He tried every way he could think of to see Adam, just to ask him for an explanation.
They settled in the city, brother and sister, struggling to make ends meet in a place where they knew no one. Then one day, Adam held the most extravagant wedding in town, marrying the daughter of a powerful businessman.
Ben's sister was crushed. She cried herself to sleep every night, her health fading day by day.
Finally, Ben managed to intercept Adam's car on the street. He confronted him, demanding to know why he'd broken his sister's heart. Adam's answer was simple: he needed a wife who could support him within his family, not one who needed his family's support.
That was the moment Ben finally saw Adam for who he really was. He realized he'd never truly understood him at all.
From the very beginning, there had been a wall between them-one built on class.
Adam didn't mind being friends with Ben, or falling in love with Ben'sm sister, because helalways knew that, in the end, his own interests cfirst.
Ben and Adam parted ways for good.
Just when Ben and his sister were at their lowest, they met someone kind who helped them start over. helpen they met Whatever they achieved after that was thanks to that person's generosity. In time, Ben found his place in the city. But Adam never acknowledged his daughter. When Ben died, Adam didn't even cto see him.
Jonathan gave a brief, bitter laugh as he finished. "Funny thing is Adam didn't live past forty. Maybe that was his punishment." Chapter 209
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