Chapter 1226
At that moment, the brothers sat on the couch while they waited for news from within the room.
George seldom smoked. The only time he had the urge to smoke was when Raina wanted to break up
with him. After that, he did not touch cigarettes anymore.
Yet, at that very moment, a lit cigarette hung between his long fingers. It lit up, then was extinguished,
but was lit up again, before it was extinguished again. The process repeated itself, casting him in a red
glow.
He sucked in a breath and exhaled smoke before he looked at Harold.
Harold looked as if he had suffered a huge shock at that moment and was dejected. He was no longer
as wild and lively as before.
George’s heart clenched in pain.
He was the one who hoped that his siblings could be free and live as they wanted. He wanted them to
not be shackled down by the responsibilities of the family.
But he seemed to have driven his brother into this state of depression.
If he had not acted as a parent and treated them so harshly, would they not have done their best to
hide the truth from him because they were worried about him blaming them?
George rubbed his fingers together and started doubting himself for the first time in his life.
He could not help but think. ‘If Raina isn’t out on a business trip right now but is standing here and
keeping me company, that would be great.’
When most of the cigarette was reduced to ash, he finally said something, “How did Grapie end up with
Everett?”
His voice dragged Harold’s thoughts back to the present. He looked up, and he seemed lost for a
moment. He also appeared incredibly weak, making him look absolutely nothing like the noble young
master he usually was.
“T-They…” Harold finally snapped out of his daze and said slowly, “I’m not entirely sure. In the
beginning, Grapie wanted to join the entertainment industry to be an actress, so I helped her…”
“When she went to join Mel’s concert in Ufyra, we thought something was a little off. In fact, both you
and Al told me to protect her and take care of both her and Mel
“But I didn’t do it… We reached a huge breakthrough for our project in the lab, so I went back to the
lab.
“Later on, Everett manipulated my AI simulation. android. I went back to Mel and took part in the lie to
trick you.
“It’s also at that point that I learned that Grapie got together with Everett. That’s why I snuck back into
the country in hopes to challenge Everett and see what sort of person he was that made my sister love
him so deeply.
“I wasn’t expecting internal strife to break out so suddenly within the Craig family, much less Grapie
being dragged into it.
“It’s my fault, George. You’re right to punish me. I was remiss in my duties, and that’s why this
happened.”
This was the first time Harold apologized so seriously.
In the past, he always ran away from apologizing whenever possible. If he could not, he would
obediently accept his punishment. After all, he would carry on his merry way.
This time, he seemed to have suddenly grown up and was finally taking up the responsibility of
becoming a man and an older brother.
George remained silent for a long time. When the cigarette between his fingers was about to burn him,
he finally returned to reality. He snuffed out the cigarette in the ashtray.
Then, he whispered, “Why didn’t you tell me about. these?”
Harold ducked his head down and did not dare say anything.
Then, he said, “Have I been a failure of a brother over these years?”
He had been a genius among geniuses since young, was mature earlier than other children, and
practically did not have a normal person’s childhood.
While other children were still babbling and learning how to speak, he was already reading through
poems and other forms of literature. While other children leaned in their parents’ arms and asked for
warmth, he was already managing parts of the company and was doing his best to help his siblings
grow up.
He had never made any mistakes and had never stepped out of line. He was reserved and never did
anything that crossed any boundaries that he should not cross.
He also never once regretted his actions or reflected on what he did.
Until this moment.
Harold looked up and stared at his brother in disbelief. In fact, he was wondering whether he was
hearing things.
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