The discussion with the Bennet men and Zoren didn't last long, as Atlas, Hugo, and Zoren had to leave. Meanwhile, Charles and Haines remained seated in the study room.
Neither Charles nor Haines dared to break the silence. Charles, in particular, just stared at the beaten face of his daughter without a word.
Charles knew that the incident was terrible. Haines' leg was proof that it had been terrible. However, he never expected it to be this bad. He felt sorry for Haines, but the latter was old and had always been mentally strong enough to carry on.
His daughter might've always been the resilient type, but as a parent, how could one expect Charles's heart to stay in one piece after seeing this?
Haines studied Charles's side profile and sighed.
"I'm sorry for not telling you earlier," he expressed. "I know Penny asked me to keep it from you and Allison, but in truth, I also wanted to keep it from you."
