C208 Shifting The Blame

The once lively Wood residence had fallen into complete silence. No one spoke. No one mentioned going to work. The cheerful atmosphere that had filled the dining room only an hour earlier had completely disappeared after Ben's outburst. Everyone retreated to their own rooms... Trying to make sense of words that continued echoing inside their minds.

Inside Samantha's room... Little Monica sat on the soft carpet, happily stacking colorful wooden blocks together. "Giggle..." The innocent laughter of a child echoed through the room. Samantha quietly sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at her daughter. Her eyes were swollen from crying. She slowly remembered Ben's final words before storming out. "A son would carry the Wood family..." "A daughter is insignificant." Her heart tightened.

She looked at Monica again. The little girl smiled brightly before crawling toward her mother with both hands stretched out. "Daa daaa..." Samantha's tears immediately rolled down her cheeks. She bent down, lifted Monica into her arms and hugged her tightly. "So what if you're a daughter..." She kissed Monica's forehead. "To Mommy..." "You are more precious than anyone else." Monica simply giggled, grabbing Samantha's hair with both tiny hands.

That innocent smile made Samantha cry even harder. "I promise you..." "No matter what happens..." "I'll always stay beside you." "I'll never leave you alone." "Even if one day I remarry..." "You will always be my daughter." "I'll never abandon you like my family did to me." She tightened the embrace. For Monica... She would become stronger. She had to. Yet... The more she thought about Ben... The more confused she became.

She slowly leaned back against the headboard while Monica quietly played in her lap. Something didn't make sense. She closed her eyes. "If..." "If Ben really heard me every single night..." "Why didn't he ever react?" Her brows slowly knitted together. She clearly remembered those countless lonely nights. She would lie awake. Sometimes... She cried silently. Sometimes... She whispered Mike's name without realizing it. Sometimes... She dreamed about the past... Only to wake up in tears.

Yet beside her... Ben always seemed asleep. She had believed he knew nothing. But today... He had repeated everything. Every word. Every tear. Every painful night. That could only mean one thing. He had been awake. All along. Samantha slowly whispered to herself, "You heard everything..." "...yet you never said a single word." She felt another sharp pain inside her heart. "If it hurt you so much..." "Why didn't you wake me?" "Why didn't you shout?" "Why didn't you tell me to stop?"

She buried her face into Monica's tiny shoulder. "No one..." "No one could endure hearing the person they love cry over another man every single night..." Her breathing gradually became uneven. "So why..." "Why did you pretend to be asleep?" Silence answered her. Another memory surfaced. Natalie. Her expression slowly became complicated. "He introduced Natalie soon after coming back from prison..." "So..." "You can't possibly have confessed to her while in prison." "This means you already decided to move on..." "Long before today."

She let out a bitter smile. "Then why..." "Why are you still angry?" "If you've already chosen someone else..." "Why are you still holding onto me?" Her thoughts became increasingly tangled. Perhaps... It wasn't Ben who refused to let go. Perhaps... It was simply the unresolved past standing between them. She looked down at Monica once more. "No..." She whispered softly. "I still don't love him."

Even after hearing his pain... Even after seeing him so sad... Even after learning he had silently endured everything... Her heart still did not beat for him. There was only pity. Sympathy. Regret. But not love. She closed her eyes. "I tried..." "I truly tried..." "But I can't force feelings that aren't there." Monica reached up and gently touched the tear on her mother's cheek.

Samantha smiled sadly before kissing her tiny fingers. "You'll never have to experience this." "I'll protect you from making the same mistakes I did." Outside... The hallway remained silent. Every servant carefully walked on tiptoe. Even they could feel that something inside the Wood family had broken. Not anger. Not hatred. Something much deeper. Trust.

Meanwhile... Inside Sarah's bedroom... Sarah sat quietly beside the window. Her phone rested in her hands. She stared at Chris' contact for several seconds before finally typing a message. " Honey... I won't be coming to work today." She pressed send. Almost immediately... Her phone vibrated. Chris was calling. Sarah stared at the screen. Normally... She would answer before the second ring. Today... She couldn't.

Not because she didn't want to hear his voice. But because she knew... The moment she heard him... She would burst into tears. She gently declined the call. Then... Without hesitation... She switched off her phone completely. The room fell silent once again. Sarah hugged her knees against her chest. Her thoughts slowly drifted backward... Back to France. Back to that unforgettable night.

The image of Chris collapsing onto the hotel floor flashed before her eyes. Her breathing grew heavier. "Chris..." She whispered softly. "You almost died..." She still remembered dragging his unconscious body into her hotel room. She still remembered panicking because she couldn't wake him. She still remembered socking him in the ice... Praying he would open his eyes. Her tears quietly fell. "So much..." "So much happened because of one person's actions..."

She slowly lowered her head. "My brother..." "Is very cunning..?" "He turned everything to us." "He made it look like it was us who did all these wrong things." "Now everything has backfired.." "He is blaming us." Sarah remained seated by the window for a long time. The morning sun had already risen high into the sky, but its warmth could not chase away the heaviness in her heart. She rested her forehead against the cool glass and closed her eyes.

Images from the past replayed one after another. Mike. Chris. Alicia. At the France Celebration Party. Her father. Then... Ben. She slowly whispered to herself, "Brother..." "When did everything begin to go wrong?" "How did you become so evil without us knowing?"