Love Chase

68 - No One's Fault (1)

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Hearing the words of resentment from one of his grandchildren, Elder Sullen staggered back suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Seeing this Maverick and Joaquinn who were closer instantly caught him in worry.

"Grandpa!-Grandfather!" Maverick, Joaquinn, and Daniel said in unison. Mo Chendong and Laura were worried as well as they waited for Maverick and Jonathan to bring the Elder to the couch to rest.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Sullen fell into a deep thought as Ashton's words remained in his head. He was well aware that he made a mistake, a part of him also regretted it wondering what would have happened if he was a little more attentive with his sons. He always thought that he did everything for his children after his wife had died. His deceased mother used to tell him that he should find a new wife to take care of his young children but he refused because he promised his late wife that he would love only her in his lifetime even if she had already died. Even until now, Elder Sullen thought his decision was right and that he was enough to raise two children properly but maybe he was wrong.

All these years, he thought that because his eldest son had always been mature and understood their situation despite his young age, he thought that everything was fine even if his time was divided between them and the company. Even when he found out that his sons had not been on good terms, Elder Sullen thought that their relationship would get better soon. He thought that it was just a simple misunderstanding between siblings and that it was normal but seeing that it had been more than 5 years, Elder Sullen knew there's something else between them that he wasn't fully aware of. He wanted to find out what was happening but at the same time, his health did not permit it. Time flew by and before he knew it so many years had passed since he decided to step down from his position to silently reciprocate without knowing that his beloved grandchildren are all suffering all this time.

While believing that he had given Daniel the justice for the mistreatment his Sullen family had done to him, his other grandsons were all in pain. He saved one while forgot the other three.

"I'm sorry..." Elder Sullen whispered towards Maverick and Joaquinn. "I didn't mean to favor Daniel among all of you... Daniel was alone when I brought him to the family but I love you all equally. I never want anything to hurt you..." Elder Sullen said, his eyes glistened with tears. This was all his mistake, he should have tried even harder but instead he gave up making his health an excuse.

"Grandpa, this wasn't your fault... please don't mind Ash's words. We know that you did everything for the family and we also know that you would never let this happen to us if you knew but simply didn't know... We kept you from knowing anything," Maverick soothed the Elder, brushing his shoulder. To be honest, he also thought that maybe if the Elder was a little more attentive, maybe what had happened to him would be prevented before it had gotten this serious. There was a point where he was upset and shut himself off but later on, as he grew up and understood a lot of things, he knew this wasn't anyone's fault—at least not entirely anyone's fault.

One thing always leads to the other so the situation couldn't be blamed on one person alone. Maverick was at fault. The people who took advantage of him were also at fault. Of course, Gared Sullen had a lot of contributions because he had a choice but chose to pursue the wrong path. Elder Sullen also may have had a contribution to this as he kept his eyes blind despite knowing there was something wrong in his family and lastly, their deceased mother who forced Maverick to keep his gender.

"Not knowing is not an excuse, Dear... I should've been more attentive and tried to know what was happening. Instead, I left you all alone and used my health as an excuse," Elder Sullen sighed dejectedly but at the same time his breathing became normal as he sat down. One more reason why he never tried to know what was the truth was because he was afraid of it. He was afraid that once he knew the truth, the perfect image he thought his family had would shatter. He wasn't ready to accept that and he might not be ready... ever.