Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 1096

Chapter 1096: Getting better means… worse
Hugo had always said he had seen a lot. He had witnessed how the once-enthusiastic group of people carried the look of death and helplessness, how the once-brave individuals who would sing the song of war ended up filled with silence, and how those who would wake to fight another day found themselves unable to sleep, haunted by the results of the battlefield even in their dreams.

He had seen much more—more dreadful, more traumatic, and more tragic changes than one could imagine.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the bathroom door open. Zoren stepped out, stopping when he saw Hugo leaning near the door.

“I didn’t know you were waiting,” Zoren said quietly. “It’s free now.”

Having said that, Zoren moved to the side to give way to his second brother-in-law. But just as he turned his back on Hugo, about to walk back to where Atlas and Penny were, he stopped at Hugo’s remark.

“When people told me that I’m all brawn with a muscle head, that’s probably true,” Hugo said, watching as Zoren slowly looked back at him. “I know it’s the truth because I preferred it to be like that… to protect myself from my own mind.”

Deep lines appeared between Zoren’s brows. “Second Brother, what is it?”

“Sometimes, not thinking is just better than using it, is what I’m saying,” Hugo continued, peeling his gaze from Zoren to look past him, where he could see the other side of the plane. “Back on the base, I had to watch some of my men either lose their lives or lose their spirits. A man losing his spirit is just as horrible as death. The ones who were once enthusiastic and commendable soldiers lost their will to fight or got haunted by the battlefield.”

Slowly, Hugo shifted his attention back to Zoren, holding his gaze. “I’ve seen it many times, so I know one when I see one,” he said under his breath, keeping the conversation discreet. “That dream you just had… something is haunting you, isn’t it?”

“…” Zoren kept his mouth drawn into a thin line, his eyes not leaving Hugo’s.

“I had a soldier,” Hugo added, casting his eyes down as he thought about it. “Someone I was very close with. He was deployed on a very dangerous mission I led. Before we left, I still remember the arrogance he carried and the confidence in his words. But after that mission, I couldn’t recognize him anymore.”

“Do you know what he told me when I checked on him in his barracks?” He slowly lifted his gaze back to Zoren. “He would’ve rather died in that mission than live like that for the rest of his life. He had PTSD. I had to watch him struggle, lose his ability to function, his fear of sleep because all he could see were… not just nightmares, but flashbacks of that mission.”

His eyes glinted seriously as he added, “And you reminded me of him earlier. Zoren, there’s something you’re not telling anyone. I promised my father I’d help you regain your strength, and I made an oath to my sister that I’d do everything to protect her — to protect you. You know what that means.”

Zoren remained quiet before a defeated sigh escaped him. After a moment, his mouth curved up into a wry smile.

“Sometimes, you really surprise me, Second Brother,” Zoren said. “Perhaps it was because of your usual lack of concern that made me complacent. But at the end of the day, you are a soldier, and you will always be one.”

He then nodded, leaning against the entrance, looking up slightly as he gathered his thoughts. “I don’t think it’s just like that friend of yours, but… I do have some doubts about things.”

“Doubts?”

“I feel like I shouldn’t get better,” Zoren clarified in simple terms, watching Hugo’s brows wrinkle. “Somehow, a part of me tells me that getting better means… worse.”

Zoren drew a deep breath and leaned fully against the entrance, turning his head toward where everyone else was. He shoved his hands in his pockets, sighing once more.

“I want to get better. I want to live longer for Penny, and I know staying in shape is the only way to make it less worrying for her. Being able to protect myself is a step toward protecting her and everyone I want to protect,” he continued under his breath. “But another part of me is telling me I might be asking for too much.”

His mouth hooked up as he cast his attention back to Hugo. “It’s alarming because I’ve lived this life following my intuition. And I’ve survived this far because of it. It protected me, and I know for sure, it’s trying to protect me now as well.”

“I can’t fully remember the dream I had. Somehow, the more I try to recall it, the vaguer it becomes in my mind. However, I do remember some snippets of it and, above all, the feeling it left in my heart and deep in my gut,” he added under his breath. “And that feeling… made me wonder if what my brain did to my body is just as simple as it appeared: Was it really just screwing with my body because it’s what I believed deep in my mind? Or… if it was actually protecting me from something more dreadful than all those illnesses?”

“I don’t know, Second Brother,” he shook his head mildly. “And somehow, I do not want to know either.”

Silence followed Zoren’s confession as both of them held each other’s eyes. Slowly, Zoren turned his head in the direction of his wife, while Hugo lifted his eyes in the same direction. Even if Hugo wanted to say something, he didn’t know what to say at the moment.

After all, this sounded like a battle Zoren had to and could only overcome alone.

—

Hours later…

“Eh?!” Penny gasped in horror, pointing a finger at the person waiting for them at the airport. “Thi—third Brother?! What are you doing here?!”