Whispers Turn to Whimpers: Could He Ever Change?

Seeing Darlene on the verge of tears, Caroline couldn't help but be taken aback. "What's going on? Take your time, tell me."

"Caroline, well, you know, I accidentally stepped on your foot the other day, didn’t I?"

Darlene, stuttering, recounted the troubles of the Bryant family's business.

"Mr. Gilbert is taking this out on your family because of me! Could you talk to him and ask him to cut us some slack, please?"

What?

Caroline was surprised. Gilbert was making things difficult for the Bryant family?

Darlene thought it was because of her?

But Caroline had a feeling... it probably wasn't.

Keeping her composure, Caroline said, "You're overthinking this. Gilbert has always been able to separate personal issues from business. This is probably just a business decision and has nothing to do with you. The ones who should be looking for a reason are your father and your brothers."

"Really?"

Darlene, frowning, was skeptical.

"Really," Caroline nodded. "Don't I know him well?"

"This…" Darlene was at a loss. "It's really not about me?"

"Really."

Caroline reassured her, "You shouldn't take all this responsibility upon yourself. As for solving this, it's not something you can handle."

"Yeah, you're right."

Darlene murmured, convinced. "I understand."

After Darlene left, Caroline’s expression suddenly turned serious.

After a moment of thought, she picked up her phone and called Gilbert.

"Hey, Caroline?"

On the other end, Gilbert sounded busy, "What's up? I’ve got another meeting soon, make it quick."

"Okay." Caroline didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the point, "What's this about the Bryant family?"

"How did you find out about that?" Gilbert was surprised.

"Darlene came to me."

Caroline sighed, "She's just a young girl. Do you really have to hold a grudge against her? Gilbert, please, can we not do this?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end before Gilbert refused, "Sorry, Caroline, I can't do that."

"Why?" Caroline was taken aback and anger surged through her, she blurted out, "Is it because of Sherilyn?"

Gilbert didn’t respond.

"Huh." Caroline scoffed, "Admitting it? Just because Darlene said a few harsh words to her, you're..."

"Yes!"

Unexpectedly, Gilbert cut her off, admitting it outright.

"..."

Caroline was stunned. "You…”

"Caroline."

Gilbert sighed, his voice heavy, "Everything bad she said about Sherilyn was because of me. Shouldn't I stand up for her?"

"You, you…” Shocked, Caroline stumbled over her words, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"I’m swamped here, gotta go."

With that, he hung up. This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Caroline, holding her phone, felt a sudden headache.

Laughing in disbelief, "Ha, ha... Are you regretting it?"

Who would have thought that Gilbert would have a day of regret? Regretting not treating Sherilyn right, he actually felt remorse!

Is regret of any use?

But Caroline didn’t understand, the very essence of 'regret' stems from past mistakes. And it's precisely because it's futile that it's called regret.

…

Downstairs, Edgar opened the car door, holding the roof to help Sherilyn out.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Due to last time’s missed opportunity to visit Francis because of Sherilyn, Edgar had made a special plan for them to visit together today.

When they arrived at the hospital room, Francis had just woken up from his nap, and Caroline was helping him drink water.

Because Francis still had some difficulty swallowing, the water spilled from his mouth, wetting his shirt.

Francis frowned, his face paling.