CHAPTER 173: CHAPTER 173- I’M SORRY

"Boss, this is Amos’s new assistant, Janice..." Amos looked a little shocked the moment he saw her. Two years ago, when Janet first joined Black Rock Co., she worked under him before Charles transferred her to his own side.

But a year ago, she suddenly disappeared. Amos knew the relationship between her and Charles, so he never expected her to reappear under a different identity.

Janice—that was the name she used before she was nine, back when she lived at the coastal resort!

The beautiful woman, upon hearing her name, blinked a thousand emotions through her large, shimmering eyes. She fixed her gaze on Charles, unblinking, while the handsome face that had endlessly haunted her mind now stood clearly before her. Janice silently screamed in her heart,

Charles, I’m back.

Reborn, reclaiming her true identity, she no longer carried the surname Louis. She was Cornelia’s daughter. Janice was her real name!

Suppressing the turmoil inside, Janice reached out her hand toward Charles, but he merely glanced coldly at her and then walked past without a word. Her hand, suspended awkwardly in midair, slowly retracted. His reaction was far colder than she had expected.

He once promised that if they ever parted, she should wait for him in that same spot, and he would come back. But now... it was she who had walked away first. She had been the one to let go of Charles’s hand.

"Let’s go," Amos said, a hint of personal concern in his voice as he decided to bring Janice along. Seeing Charles’s indifferent reaction, even he was a little caught off guard.

Janice bit her lip and nodded before following Amos out of the lobby. Her eyes lingered on Charles’s retreating figure toward the parking lot. She sighed helplessly inside. She knew he was furious — furious enough to have been cold toward their daughter all this time. But she had left because she wanted to come back as a healthier, reborn Janice, to give him that.

Charles kept his gaze fixed straight ahead as he got into the driver’s seat. When the two figures trailing behind approached, irritation flared inside him and he honked sharply. As Amos reached the car, Charles discreetly instructed, "Just take one car."

The thought of the woman he once loved riding alone with another man churned his heart painfully. He was well aware of the hold this woman still had over him.

"Got it." Amos understood Charles’s meaning clearly. When Janice reached his side, Amos opened the rear door and got in first. Janice hesitated, looking between the front and back seats. Locking eyes with Charles’s sharp, calculating gaze, she finally mustered the courage to open the front passenger door and sit beside him.

That seemingly insignificant move made the corners of Charles’s lips curl into a rare, pleased smile.

The car swiftly climbed the winding mountain road toward the remote coastal resort — the dream they once shared. The closer they got, the more Janice’s heart twisted in conflict. She had lived here for nine years, and every memory belonged to Janice alone.

But ten years later, Charles stood by her side, and they had missed happiness time and again. Now, could she still reclaim the happiness that was rightfully hers?

He had once promised to turn this place into a fairy-tale paradise — a wedding gift for her. Now, looking at the majestic structure before her, every blade of grass, every brick and tile, bore his love for her. Yet the man standing beside her no longer held her in his eyes...

The exquisite resort dazzled Janice’s vision, bathed in a golden glow that seemed made just for her. The flawless design and harmony of nature and architecture stirred a sudden urge to cry.

Charles cast a satisfied glance around, clearly pleased with the construction. Janice followed in his footsteps, while Amos had drifted away since entering the estate, perhaps purposely leaving space for this long-awaited reunion.

Several times Janice tried to speak, but looking at his proud, cold profile, she hesitated and withdrew.

Suddenly, a sharp scream pierced the air.

Charles spun around instinctively, and saw Janice covering her eyes with both hands, her face contorted in pain. His heart clenched, and he stepped forward anxiously.

"What’s wrong? Are your eyes hurting?"

Memories of her past blindness flooded his mind, and panic gripped him. He didn’t know what lingering effects the surgery had left behind. Seeing her in pain, all reason and hatred fled from his heart.

"Charles..." The soft scent of her body flooded his senses as she suddenly collapsed into his arms. That familiar fragrance ignited a fierce longing inside him.

"You lied to me?" Meeting her wide, innocent eyes, Charles realized how much he’d lost control.

In a blink, his expression returned to its usual icy calm — yet with her, he was always helplessly vulnerable.

"It’s not like that, Charles. My eyes still hurt if I look in one direction too long." Janice clung to his coat pitifully, her heart filled with hope knowing he still cared.

She vowed to make up for all she owed him.

"So... what should I call you now? Miss Cornelia? Or Miss Louis?" Charles forced himself not to be swayed by her softness, though her gentle gaze always weakened him.

"You’re angry, aren’t you? Charles, I’m sorry! I never wanted to leave you. But I promised I’d come back. And now I’m back — healthy..." Janice clung to his arm like a helpless child. She would never let go, no matter if he refused or drove her away.

"The surgery a year ago didn’t restore my sight. I don’t want to live blind anymore. I wanted to give you a perfect Janice — someone worthy of you. That’s why I accepted treatment without telling you. I didn’t want to burden you with more pain!" She thought of the dark days during her pregnancy when she lost her sight, and how he had grown pale and worn, even shed tears for her. He had changed so much.

"The days without you by my side were the hardest." Charles gazed deep into her misty eyes, feeling both cruelty and sorrow. She had vanished without a word, as if erasing herself from his life. Did this mean her love for him was never as deep as his for her?

"You still have Trista, Charles. I’m sorry... I’m sorry!" Janice’s voice trembled. She knew this year had been hell for him — but what about her? Had she not suffered too? If she hadn’t made the painful choice to leave, she’d still be the Janet hiding in his embrace, protected but blind forever. Knowing he never cared what she’d become made her even more determined. Because she loved him, she didn’t want to hold him back. She wanted to be the woman worthy of him.