CHAPTER 180: CHAPTER 180- GIVE HIM A CHANCE

The ride was quiet. Charles sat silently, his face calm but his mind anything but. When August mentioned him, neither Charles nor August spoke another word until they parted ways.

"Charles..." Janice glanced at his stern profile, hesitating to speak but unsure what to say.

"It’s alright. I don’t hate him anymore," Charles finally said, noticing the worry in her eyes. He reached out, clasping her cold hand gently, offering a comforting smile. The name Derrick no longer stirred the bitterness it once did. Perhaps when he lost everything, the resentment dissolved as well.

To Charles, Derrick was still someone who had once done him a favor. Compared to August, he had no grounds for hatred. After all, they’d been father and son for twenty-eight years. But what Derrick had brought to August was only pain—pain and betrayal.

"Do you want to see him again?" Janice asked cautiously, a flicker of fear shadowing her voice. She remembered how Derrick had threatened her, scared her, and tried to keep her away from Charles. But when she had seen tears of remorse fall from his eyes, her kind heart had softened.

He had carefully plotted revenge for over two decades, only to trap himself in his own design.

Now, he must be trying everything to make amends to Charles and August—what he owed them. In the end, he had become the most tragic figure of all.

"We’ll see," Charles replied lightly, his gaze fixed forward, unwilling to dwell on the subject.

That night, Charles received a call. When he came out of the study, Janice had just finished bathing Trista.

"Are you going out?" she asked, reading the hesitation on his face.

"Yeah. You get some rest. I’m going to see Philip." Charles dressed sharply in his suit, then leaned over to kiss Janice tenderly on the cheek.

"Oh, then hurry up and go!" Janice smiled knowingly. She understood the bond between Charles and Philip. This return meant something different for Charles.

"No matter how late I stay out, I’ll come back. Don’t wait up." His calm assurance brought Janice back to the past — no matter where he went or how late, he would always return home, to her.

"Trista, say goodbye to Daddy!" Janice held Trista’s tiny hand and waved to Charles. He smiled softly, planting a kiss on Trista’s cheek before reluctantly leaving.

For Charles, the place with Janice and Trista was the harbor he most longed to anchor his heart.

Charles arrived at Hell’s Bar, where Philip was already waiting, seated in the corner. His striking figure and sapphire eyes outshone the glittering crowd.

Freed from his wheelchair, Philip moved with confidence, a shining presence wherever he went.

"You’re here!" Philip stood, nearly as tall as Charles, his features handsome and refined. Charles’s face was distinctly Eastern—strong and sharp—while Philip inherited half of his mother’s French blood, a clean, crisp charm with a hint of similarity to August.

They’d chosen the bar for their meeting because Philip knew Charles would never return home or want to see him.

"When did you get back?" Charles loosened his tie as a waiter poured him a glass of his favorite vodka. Though Charles was part owner of Hell’s Bar, this was Philip’s first visit.

"Just today." Philip took a sip of brandy, changed by his two years in France. He waited for the right moment to restore the brotherhood that had drifted apart.

"Will you leave again?" Charles asked, respect clear in his tone. The relationship between them hadn’t changed despite Derrick.

"I’ve taken over grandpa’s business, for now." Philip understood Charles’s meaning. Both he and Derrick believed Black Rock Co. rightfully belonged to Charles. He was born to lead—the wisest choice.

"In two days, it’s Trista’s birthday. Dad came back just for her. Charles... can you give him a chance?" Philip hesitated. In these years, Derrick had repented daily, living with the pain of a tragedy he orchestrated—one that revealed two secrets but cost him two sons.

Though Derrick was overseas, his concern for Charles and August never faded. When he learned that a year ago he had a granddaughter, and that Charles had sunk into despair after Janice left, Derrick had wanted to come back—but he never found the courage.

"Philip! I will never take away his right to be a grandfather. He shouldn’t carry any guilt. Trista... is still his granddaughter," Charles said steadily, locking eyes with Philip’s sapphire gaze.

He had once thought he would never see Derrick again. The conflicted emotions inside him were hard to untangle—growing up, Derrick had been strict with him, and Charles had always respected him deeply.

Now, with Trista in Derrick’s heart, his remorse only grew heavier. If Derrick hadn’t been so ruthless back then, if Charles and Janice’s first child had survived, maybe things would have been different.

"I know. I just want you all to let go. These two years have been really tough for him..." Philip began, but Charles cut him off.

"Philip, don’t say any more. Charles and August are Derrick’s sons—that’s a fact. We don’t hate him anymore."

Because he had love—Janice and Trista—Charles could abandon all hatred. In fact, two years ago, when he saw Derrick off at the airport, he had already forgiven his father.

And for August, besides them, no other family remained.

They didn’t mention Derrick again after that, instead listening as Philip spoke about Derrick’s transformation in France. They could see a trace of maturity in him now.

Charles placed great importance on Trista’s first birthday banquet. Overflowing with the joy of having Janice back, he held a grand celebration at the Eisen Hotel, inviting all of City A’s elite and nobility, as if to announce Trista’s existence to the world.

Compared to their wedding, Janice felt this was also Charles’s way of making up for what they owed Trista. They had both neglected her in the past, and now, seizing this chance, Charles threw a lavish, extravagant party—uncharacteristically open and bold.

And on that very day, Trista’s birthday banquet, Charles had an important announcement to make...