Chapter 927 Charles and Austin Confront Each Other
Austin's punches were coming in hot and heavy. His head was clear as day now, the booze long gone.
Charles wasn't about to back down and went in for the grapple.
Both dudes were going all out, like they were trying to end each other, trading blow after blow.
Even though Charles was fresh off an injury, he was quick on his feet, only taking a couple of hits when he slipped up. Most of the time, he had Austin on the ropes, pinning him down and wailing on him.
At first, Austin was still in the fight.
But eventually, he was too beat to even hit back, just taking Charles' punches one after another.
Feeling pissed and wronged, he grabbed Charles by the collar, flipped him over, and pinned him down. Tears started streaming down, splashing onto Charles' face.
He shook Charles like a ragdoll, yelling, "Why the hell are you hitting me? What gives you the right? You stole my fiancée, so I'm the one who's screwed here. What right do you have to bust into my place and beat me up?"
He was losing it, shaking Charles and shouting till his voice was raw.
Charles' eyes were blazing with anger.
Only God knew how much he wanted to punch Austin the second he saw him. He held back until they were inside.
He grabbed Austin's collar right back, flipped him over, and pinned him down.
Charles shot back, "What right? 'Cause you tried to have me killed! Wasn't it you who sent Jack? And Trevor, who tried to pull my ventilator in the hospital? And Michael, the fall guy you offed to keep quiet? Carter was a stand-up guy, but he raised a ruthless son like you."
As he rattled off the accusations, Austin's first instinct was to deny it. "Stop talking crap. You act all flashy and have tons of enemies. What does it have to do with me if they want you dead? Why don't you think about how many people you've pissed off? Plenty of folks want you gone. Don't pin it on me."
Charles took two punches, both landing on his left cheek, which was now swollen and bleeding from the corner of his mouth. Even the slightest movement made him wince in pain.
Austin was in even worse shape.
Both sides of his face were so swollen that he was almost unrecognizable, and his mouth was split open. When he spoke excitedly, blood mixed with saliva sprayed out.
He looked both ferocious and pitiful.
Charles said angrily, "You're still denying it. If it weren't for the fact that Carter and my dad were friends, I wouldn't have bothered coming here. I would've just killed you. If you have the guts to do it, why don't you have the guts to admit it? A coward who dares to act but not take responsibility!"
At the word "coward," Austin instantly broke down.
He completely lost his mind, consumed by anger, jealousy, and grievance. "Yeah! I did it! So what? Call the cops and arrest me! Kill me! I just want to kill you! Why can't I hire someone to kill you?"
Charles' forehead veins bulged with anger, his molars clenched tightly. "You..."
Austin didn't give him a chance to speak, shouting, "Do you know how much I like Hannah? I'd give up my life for her. But you? Your dad and my dad were friends. Even though we didn't grow up together, we had a connection. Yet you stole my fiancée. We were about to get married! You didn't consider my feelings at all and took away the woman I love! Do you know how much my heart hurts? Even if you were a vegetable, Hannah would still choose you without hesitation, not even looking at me. Why? I treated her so well and loved her so much. What do I lack compared to you? Our years of relationship couldn't compare to the month you spent together! Tell me, can I kill you? What's wrong with me wanting to kill you? You did it first. Blame yourself. There are so many women in the world, why did you have to steal my fiancée?"
Austin was bawling his eyes out, shouting like a madman.
Tears were streaming down his face.
Charles had been fuming the whole way over, even thinking about killing Austin, but hearing him cry like that took the edge off his anger.
Charles said, "Yeah, I messed up. I hurt you! But that doesn't give you a free pass to murder."
Austin shot back, "It's not an excuse! If you hadn't taken Hannah, none of this would’ve gone down. Taking Hannah from me is like killing me. Hiring someone to off you was giving you an easy way out. But you! You took a knife and cut me slowly, making me die bit by bit. Charles, you're more cruel than I am. You have no right to question me. Everyone else can blame me, but not you!"
Austin was crying so hard his whole body was shaking.
Charles had never seen a guy cry like this before.
Austin's words hit Charles right in the guilt.
Charles then realized that taking Hannah had wrecked Austin. His grip on Austin's collar loosened without him even noticing.
During this time, he had been lost in his love with Hannah, feeling like the luckiest guy in the world, completely ignoring the pain they had caused Austin.
Putting himself in Austin's shoes, if Austin had taken Hannah from him, he would have been just as wrecked.
He wouldn't have gone for murder, but he would definitely have held a grudge.
Everyone handles stuff differently, though.
Taking advantage of Charles' loosened grip, Austin flipped him over and clocked him in the left cheek again.
Charles didn't dodge, taking the punch straight on.
Both guys sat on the ground, Austin pressing Charles' back against the sofa, clutching his collar and shouting, "Do you know how I've been living these days? I've been in so much pain. I tried to drown myself in booze, to forget the hurt you caused me. But even when I was drunk and lying on the ground, my mind was still filled with the two of you. I cried here, drowning my sorrows in alcohol, while you two were over there being all lovey-dovey. Charles, tell me, what should I do? I know I'm useless, a failure, becoming like this for Hannah! But I just love her, I can't control myself! If I had another chance, I would do it all over again. Charles, I hate you! No matter how many chances I get, I would make the same choice."
Austin's hand clutching Charles' collar turned white at the knuckles from the force, his body shaking violently from anger and crying.
Charles suddenly didn't blame Austin anymore. He pried Austin's fingers off his collar one by one, stood up from the ground, and slowly straightened his clothes, which were all messed up from the fight.
Charles said coldly, "We're done here! I took Hannah from you, and you have every right to hate me! You can hate me, and I won't blame you, but I will never forgive you! This time, I'll let the whole hiring someone to kill me thing slide. I'll pretend it never happened! I'll even keep it a secret for you. But there better not be a next time! If you try anything again, don't blame me for forgetting the friendship between the Langley family and the Moore family!"
With that, he turned to leave.
Austin didn't want Charles to just walk away. He got up to grab Charles, but as soon as he stood up, he tripped over a bottle on the floor.
Watching Charles walk away, he shouted indignantly, "I don't need your forgiveness. I did nothing wrong. Why should I need your forgiveness? Charles, don't go. We're not done yet." His shouting turned into pleading. "I really like Hannah, Charles. Please, give her back to me!"
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