Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 174

Chapter 174: The learning continues for everyone
Meanwhile, Hugo stayed in his room as soon as they reached home. Since they left the station, his mind had been stuck on the family he encountered. He was in disbelief that such injustice could happen and even with the authorities involved, there was nothing that was done.

This was his first experience of another face of reality.

It was… infuriating — disturbing.

Knock knock

Hugo blinked and turned to the door, catching Atlas peek at the gap.

“You okay?” Atlas asked without even taking a step inside.

“Do I not look okay?”

“Yes.”

Hugo chuckled and moved, adjusting his position on the bed. Atlas took this as an invitation to get inside the room, not daring to sit on his brother’s bed with his outdoor clothes.

Yet…

“Why do you always lay down on your bed with your outdoor clothes?” Atlas couldn’t help but ask. “That’s disgusting.”

“Did you come here to comfort me? Or criticize me?”

“Comfort you, but this habit is disturbing.”

Hugo let out a deep sigh while Atlas decided to drop the subject.

“What happened while you were gone with Penny?” Like always, Atlas didn’t beat around the bush. “I know something happened and you guys just don’t want to tell us.”

“First Brother, is there something that goes past your eyes?”

“Yes. I’m not superhuman to detect everything in one glance. I don’t do fortunes like Penny, so people still need to tell me things for me to know. But because you’re like an open book among us, it’s easy to know when you’re hiding something.”

Hugo studied his brother and sighed for the second time. Atlas would say things with such a straight face.

“Penny and I encountered something that’s very infuriating,” Hugo summarized the situation from start to finish. Not that he made the situation sound light, but he just told what was important. “It’s annoying, and it’s disturbing. One of the troublemakers in the station even said that this country is the best place to live if you’re a criminal. What he said made me angry, but at the same time, it says a lot of things.”

Atlas rocked his head. “I see.” his reaction didn’t share his second brother’s sentiments.

Hugo frowned. “Aren’t you angry at what I just said?”

“Why would I get angry?” Atlas tilted his head to the side. “It’s not my family, and it’s not my business. The battered wife chose to protect her abuser, blatantly abandoning her daughter in the process. I sympathize with them, but at the same time, I’m just seventeen. Even if it bothered me, there was nothing I could do.”

“Right.”

What Atlas said was his honest thoughts about the story, but he also understood that he and Hugo were different in many things.

“Hugo,” he called, making his second brother lift his eyes back to him. “It’s not your fault.”

“I never said it’s my fault.”

“But the way you sulk in here tells me you blame yourself for it.”

Hugo’s mouth opened, but he shut them again. Deep in his heart, he had to admit he was a little regretful, and in a way, he felt pathetic and powerless.

“I’m not saying to poke your nose where it doesn’t belong, but I’m just saying even the police couldn’t do anything.”

“I know that, but I don’t like the feeling I felt today. I felt useless and powerless.”

Atlas shrugged. “That feeling you felt today is something you’d feel many more times. You have to get used to it and use it as motivation to be in power to actually make a difference. That’s life — that’s the reality Mom and Dad hadn’t exposed us yet.”

“Now, since you’re okay, I’m going back to my room,” he added and turned around to leave.

When Atlas reached the door, Hugo’s question stopped him.

“The reality Mom and Dad hadn’t exposed us yet… how come you sound like you were exposed to it?” Hugo kept his eyes on his brother’s figure, watching Atlas slowly look back at him.

“I felt powerless not long ago,” Atlas confessed. “But that’s entirely a different story. In a way, I sort of exposed myself to the ugly reality of the weak.”

“Against the star section, huh?”

Atlas smiled subtly. “Mhm, you can say that,” he hummed before he resumed his steps.

Hugo kept his gaze on his brother until Atlas closed the door behind him. The corner of his lips curled up a bit, shaking his head mildly.

“He felt helpless recently and even exposed himself in the reality of the weak… and yet, I’ve never seen him sulk.” Hugo peeled his back from the headboard and flung his legs out of the bed. He rested his hand on either side of him, snapping his eyes at the shut door again.

“I don’t want to be weak,” he told himself. “I’ll climb my way up the ladder.”

Recently, Hugo was reconsidering enlisting in the military because of the major league teams poaching him. It wasn’t like he never got an offer before. However, he knew that if he enlisted, he had to leave home. He didn’t want to leave Penny and her small animal kingdom.

But after today, the determination in his heart fired up.

“So, I need to be higher than an officer to make a change, huh?”

*

*

*

Despite the roller coaster ride of everyone’s day, the Bennet Family still gathered in the dining room for dinner. Everyone was eating in peace, with only the sound of cutlery hitting the plates could be heard.

Charles glanced up at his wife and then at his children. Haines was also eating with them, but the sharpness in his eyes remained.

“Ahem!” Charles cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. When all eyes were on him, a wry smile spread on his face. “Kids… I’m sorry.”

Hugo, Atlas, and Penny tilted their heads to the side. Slater, on the other hand, pressed his lips into a thin line.

“I know this is abrupt, but I’m really grateful and proud of my kids for always trying to look after their parents,” he expressed, trying his best not to cry. “I just want to tell you that if you need to tell me anything — anything, just tell me, even if it hurts.”

“Your haircut sucks,” Atlas quickly took the opportunity to tell what he had been refraining from saying.

Normally, his father would react swiftly. But this time, Charles just laughed weakly.

“Your father is just saying… if you’re keeping something from us just because you don’t want us to get hurt, please just say it,” Allison spoke up, trying her best to look strong and convincing. “We appreciate that you might want to protect us, but that’s our job as your parents.”

Their children’s brows rose, staring at their mother in surprise.

“We’ll do better,” she expressed under her breath. “I’ll do better. If it’s really that hard to say, then you can always come to your Uncle Haines.”

Charles nodded while Haines rocked his head in satisfaction.

Hugo and Atlas looked at each other and assumed this was the result of their encounter with Grace’s family. As for Penny, her eyes slowly moved to Slater.

Slater smiled at her and nodded mildly. Seeing the look on his face, Penny smiled back. This was the first time she had seen Slater smile as if he was liberated.

‘At least, that’s a minus of my worries. Now, I’m a little tiny bit proud of him. Just a little bit.’