Chapter 104: A Misunderstanding That Will Never Be Resolved
When Sophia arrived, Linda was crying hysterically.
Loud, furious arguing erupted from upstairs. Henry and Father Reynolds were locked in a heated confrontation, each shouting louder than the other.
“Sophia, please go upstairs and talk to Henry, he can’t treat his father like this!” Linda cried, -running towards Sophia.
Linda was always cheerful and optimistic. Seeing her in this state showed just how badly Henry had behaved.
Sophia steadied Linda and helped her to the sofa.
“What happened?”
“It started with a work argument, but it escalated. They started dredging up the past,” Lindal sobbed, clutching her chest. “He said… he said if he could choose, he wouldn’t have been born into the Reynolds family, wouldn’t want to be our son.”
“How could he say that? Does he know he’s stabbing us in the heart?”
Sophia frowned. She’d spent six months with Father and Mother Reynolds and genuinely felt they were wonderful parents.
Henry stormed down the stairs, his face dark. Seeing Sophia, his anger intensified, and he headed. for the door.
“Henry! Don’t go! Listen to your mother, it wasn’t Dad and Mom’s fault. It was Zoey Smith…” She’s dead, and you still want to blame everything on her? Henry roared.
Linda was startled by his outburst.“Son, you… you’d rather believe her than your father and me?” “I don’t believe anyone!” he spat.
“You want to cut ties with us? Fine, fine, leave, leave now, and never come back!” Father Reynolds shouted from the top of the stairs.
“Don’t you dare chase my son away!” Linda yelled at Father Reynolds.
Father Reynolds slammed his fist on the banister, furious. “Am I chasing him away? He’s chasing “us” away! He doesn’t want us!”
“Apologize to him…”
“No way!”
“Son, say something nice to your father…”
“Absolutely not!”
Linda felt faint from the stress.“Are you two trying to kill me?”
Henry took a deep breath and continued towards the door.
You ungrateful son, from this day on, I, Reynolds Hai, will pretend I never had a son like you!”
“Good. I won’t have to pretend filial piety with you. It’s sickening!”
“What did you say?”
I said you’re sickening!”
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derstanding The
Sophia frowned.“Henry,
you can’t talk to your father like that! Apologize!” Henry looked at her, his eyes shifting from fury to mockery. “You want to acknowledge him as
father? Go ahead. You’re both the same!”
your
He stormed out.
“You… you… don’t ever come back!”
Father Reynolds trembled, his vision blurring.
Sophia saw he was unwell and rushed upstairs, catching him just as he was about to fall. But Father Reynolds was heavy, and she was quickly overwhelmed. They tumbled down a few steps before regaining their footing.
Linda was frozen in shock downstairs.
Sophia looked at Father Reynolds; he’d passed out.
“Mom, call 911.”
Before the ambulance arrived, Sophia gave Father Reynolds first aid. When the paramedics arrived, she went with them to the hospital.
Father Reynolds had suffered a sudden stroke, but thankfully hadn’t hit his head and the prompt. response meant he was out of immediate danger.
After settling Father Reynolds and comforting Linda, Sophia called Jay to find Henry.
“He’s at the restaurant, Jay said.
Sophia’s heart settled.
Please keep an eye on him.”
“We will, but he’s not doing well.”
“I’ll go see him later.”
In the evening, the Reynolds family arrived.
With them there, Sophia was finally free. She said goodbye to Linda before leaving.
But as she stepped out of the ward, Linda followed.
“Sophia, please keep an eye on Henry. He has a bad temper and could get into trouble. Sophia nodded. “I know, I’m going to find him.”
“Okay.” Linda hung her head. “Henry… he hates us.”
Sophia pursed her lips.“What really happened back then?”
Something made Henry hate his parents.
Linda sighed. “I thought it was over when she died, but Henry couldn’t let it go. When Henry ran away from home, he met John Smith and Zoey Smith, siblings. Zoey Smith had been assaulted. in high school, her brother took revenge, beating the kid into a vegetative state. To protect John Smith, Henry had to come home and ask for our help. We took money, but John Smith still. ended up in juvenile detention.”
Linda shook her head repeatedly.
“Zoey Smith felt it was our fault John Smith was in trouble. It’s absurd, right? We helped her, but instead of gratitude, she resented us. I disliked her from then on.”
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“After John Smith went to juvie, Henry took care of Zoey Smith, still refusing to come home. We let him be, as long as he studied. But that year, Zoey Smith kept asking us for money, making up all sorts of lies. At first, we believed her, but later, fearing we’d be harmed, we stopped giving her
money.
“Later, John Smith got out, and he took care of his sister, and Henry decided to come home. Then Zoey Smith came looking for us again, saying she was sick and needed money for surgery. Because she’d lied so many times, we didn’t believe her and sent her away. Unfortunately, this time it was true. Her brother robbed someone to get money for her surgery and was killed.” Sophia sighed; so much had happened.
“Because of John Smith, Henry seemed to snap out of it, went back to school, and listened to his father. Things were looking up, even knowing he was supporting Zoey Smith, we didn’t say anything. But Zoey Smith believed we’d killed her brother. She lied to Henry, saying her brother had come to us, begged us to save her sister, and we not only refused but humiliated John Smith, pushing him to rob someone.”
“Henry already felt guilty about John Smith’s death. Hearing Zoey Smith, he hated us. Soon, he left with Zoey Smith, refusing to contact us again. Two years after graduating, he suddenly came home. We found out Zoey Smith was dead. He seemed to have forgotten many things, including whether he remembered what happened with John Smith. He didn’t bring it up, and we didn’t
dare ask.”
Sophia hugged Linda.“So you say this misunderstanding will never be resolved because Zoey Smith’s dead.”
Linda nodded. “Yes, she’s dead, anything we say is just an excuse.”
“You did nothing wrong. John Smith, Zoey Smith, and Henry were wrong,” Sophia said They weren’t obligated to help John Smith and Zoey Smith; Henry had no right to demand their help.
Helping was a kindness, not helping was their right.
But Henry was a reasonable man; why was he so confused about this?
There must be something else.
Sophia told Linda not to worry and to rest.
“I’ll find Henry and talk to him.”
Linda held Sophia’s hand.“Sophia, thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, your father might not have made it.”
and went
“Dad’s fine now. You need to take care of yourself, too.”
to Simon’s place. After sending Linda back, Sophia left the hospital From afar, she saw a fight. As she got closer, she saw Henry holding someone down, beating them.
