Chapter 481 Why is Everyone Cursing Him
"Are you Brian?" Laura asked, her smile soft but curious.
Brian hesitated, eyes darting between them. "Yeah, that's me. And you are?"
They seemed familiar, but he couldn't place them.
"We're Charles's folks," Hayden chimed in, his tone a mix of gentle and serious. "We came here to find you."
Brian thought, 'Why are Charles's parents looking for me?'
"How about grabbing a bite with us?" Hayden offered, flashing a charming smile that put people at ease. "We need to chat."
"Sure thing," Brian replied, trying to be polite. "After you."
He trailed behind them to a restaurant.
In a private room, Brian finally asked, "So, what's this about?"
"We wanna know what's up with Charles," Laura said, her tone turning serious.
Brian hesitated. He could spill the beans to mess with Charles, but that'd just stress him out more.
"Is something wrong with him?" Brian asked, keeping his cool.
"You and Charles ain't exactly tight, but you've been hanging at his place a lot lately," Hayden, the ex-president of Lancelot Group, noted with a sharp eye. "If it wasn't for some health issue, you wouldn't be doing this."
"You're mistaken," Brian said smoothly. "We weren't close before, but after meeting in Gedser, we clicked. I've been visiting 'cause I needed his help with something."
Hayden and Laura just stared at him, the pressure mounting.
Anyone else, Brian could handle, but these were Charles's parents.
"You don't believe me?" Brian asked, testing the waters.
"No," Hayden said, dead serious.
Brian pressed his lips together, trying to stay calm but feeling the heat. "But that's the truth."
"As his parents, we can tell something's off with Charles," Hayden said, fishing for more info. "If I'm right, he hasn't been sleeping or eating well for months."
Brian felt a pang of mixed emotions.
"We hope you can tell us about Charles's condition," Laura added.
"It's not that I don't want to," Brian said after a long pause, dropping his guard a bit. "It's that he doesn't want me to."
Brian had never felt parental love, so he didn't wanna hide anything now.
Charles had already hurt Daphne, who liked him; he couldn't hurt his caring parents too.
"You don't have to spill everything, just his physical condition," Laura said, worry etched on her face. "We won't let him know it was you."
Brian was torn.
Hayden and Laura waited, giving him space.
After a couple of minutes, Brian took a deep breath and said, "He's in bad shape. He's got stomach issues from not eating right and barely sleeps, like two to four hours a night."
Hearing this, Laura's brows knitted tight, worry all over her face.
"I want him to get some therapy and open up," Brian decided to spill it all. "But he flat-out refused."
"Is this about Daphne?" Hayden asked, his face barely changing.
Brian nodded.
Hayden and Laura exchanged a look.
Ever since Daphne cut ties with him, they knew Charles would need time to bounce back. But they didn't think he'd let himself go this bad.
"Thanks for telling us," Hayden said, not pushing for more.
"Actually, I got a way to fix him up quick," Brian said, genuinely worried about Charles. "But if I tell him, he'll definitely say no."
Hayden asked, "What is it?"
"Erase all his memories of Daphne," Brian blurted out. "Without those memories, he'd be back to normal and stop this downward spiral."
"No," Laura shot back instantly.
Brian asked, "Why not?"
"Those memories are part of his life; you can't just erase them," Laura said. "Plus, if he falls for someone else and those memories come back, it wouldn't be fair to the new girl."
Even though they were apart, Charles's memories with Daphne were his most cherished moments. No one had the right to take them away.
Brian opened his mouth but didn't say anything.
After lunch, Hayden and Laura headed to Charles's place. When they got there, Charles greeted them like usual.
"What brings you here?" He made them each a cup of coffee.
"We saw your last medical report," Hayden said seriously, not mentioning Brian. "It says you have stomach problems and sleep deprivation. What's going on?"
Charles thought, 'Medical report? Didn't Mark give them a fake one?'
"Do you think we wouldn't know just because Mark gave us a fake report?" Hayden continued. "Did you forget your aunt knows those doctors?"
"I didn't want you to worry," Charles quickly lied. "I know my body; it's not as bad as the report says."
"It's indeed not serious," Hayden said sarcastically. "Just that the next time we see it, you'll have stomach cancer."
Charles thought, 'Why are they jinxing me?'
"Charles, move back to the Lancelot Mansion," Laura said, still worried about him. "I'm really concerned about you like this."
"I've been busy lately, and my schedule's all over the place," Charles wasn't planning to move back. "It'll be better next month."
Here, he could trick himself into thinking this was where Daphne had lived, helping him sleep. Moving back to the mansion, he feared he'd never sleep.
"Don't use work as an excuse; I know how busy the Lancelot Group is," Hayden called out his lie. "You know exactly why you're like this."
Charles stayed silent.
"If you keep this up, I'll have someone erase all your memories of Daphne," Hayden said, laying it on thick. "Think it over carefully."
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