Chapter b488 /b

    bXena /bsighed and said gently, “Alright then. Just talk to your father calmly. He really cares about you. If you speak bto /bhim nicely, he’lle around.”

    “Okayb./b” Charlotte exhaled, then headed for the house. “Thanks, Aunt Xena.”

    Inside the house, the tension hit her immediately.

    Just like Xena had warned, Desmond was sitting stiffly on the living room sofa, his face dark with anger.

    As soon as Charlotte walked in, she greeted him. “Dad.”

    Desmond turned to look at her, his expression stern. “You still think of me as your father?”

    Charlotte didn’t react much. “Of course I do. Why

    She walked over and sat on the single–seater armchair across from him.

    Desmond’s voice was low and cold. “When did you get back together with Sean? Why didn’t you tell me?”

    Charlotte calmly picked up a cup of tea and took a sip. “I’m telling you now,

    aren’t I?”

    Desmond let out a bitterugh. “So if I hadn’t asked, would you have told me?”

    Charlotte smiled faintly. “If you didn’t ask, what was I supposed to bsay/b?”

    “Don’t y word games with me.” Desmond shot her a re, clearly losing patience. “I’m your father, and yet I had to hear from someone else that you’re dating him again. Do you have any idea how humiliating that is?”

    Charlotte was unfazed. “That’s pretty normal, isn’t it? There are a lot of people outside. If they saw somethingb, /bit’s not like bI /bcould stop them from talking, right?”

    Desmond let out a cold snort, his face getting darker. “Are you trying to provoke me on purpose?”

    Charlotte grinned with mock innocence. “Why would I do that? I’d never try to make you angry. I just didn’t know how to bring it up.”

    “Break up with him,” Desmond snapped.

    Charlotte’s smile vanished. Her voice turned cold. “No.”

    That single word made Desmond shoot to his feet. His voice rose, sharp with fury. “Have you forgotten how much har?n the Jasper family caused us? You almost lost your life! And now you’re thinking about love?”

    Charlotte kept her gaze steady. “It wasn’t the Jaspers as a whole. It was Sean’s half–brother and their adopted daughter- They’ve already been held ountable. There’s no longer any threat. Why shouldn’t we move on? Whatever those two did has nothing to do with Sean.”

    “If you won’t me Sean, fine, but you can at least hold the family responsible. I’ll never agree to any kind bof /bconnection with the Jaspers.”

    “If it weren’t for Sean stepping in at our engagement party and shielding me from that knife, I’d be dead.”

    Desmond mmed a hand on the table. “And if it weren’t for him, would you have been stabbed in the first ce?”

    “That wasn’t his fault,” Charlotte shot back. “He can’t control what other people think or do. Vivian was obsessed with him, and when she couldn’t have him, she took it out on me. That’s not on Sean.”

    “I don’t want to hear your excuses,” Desmond said through gritted teeth. “I don’t care what your reasons are. You’re not allowed to be with him. Anyone else is fine. Just not him.”

    Charlotte let out a bitter chuckle. “If it’s not him, then I don’t want anyone.”

    b1/3 /b

    bDesmond’s /banger boiled over. b“/bYou think he’s the only good manth the world? You can’t live without him? Why bare /bbyou /bbso /bdead bset /bon clinging to one tree?”

    “When you already have someone you love,” Charlotte said quietly “there’s no foom left for anyone else.”

    “You can get over him,” Desmond barked. “With enough time, you’ll forget. There’s no one in this world you can’t move on

    from.”

    The words had barely left his mouth when Charlotte fell silent.

    She looked at him, her eyes filled with quiet sorrow.

    Desmond froze. He realized what he had just said, and his expression shifted.

    The living room fell into a heavy silence.

    After a long moment, Charlotte finally spoke, her voice soft but piercing.

    “Just like how you forgot Mom, right?”