?Chapter 1668:


    Lorna brought over two cups of coffee, handing one to each. Brenna sat down gracefully on the sofa. “Conor, what brings you here?”


    Her voice was perfectlyposed, neither kind nor cold, and that calm indifference made Conor’s nerves tighten even more. The words stuck in his throat. Brenna was beautiful and sessful—she had earned everything she had. What right did he have to ask her for money?


    The very thought struck him as audacious—almost unthinkable. He just couldn’t do it.


    “Brenna,” he said atst, his voice low, “I came to apologize.”


    Brenna couldn’t wrap her head around it. The Bentleys were infamous for their gall, always showing up with their hands out, asking for cash or favors without shame. She’d been bracing herself for their next visit, expecting the usual.


    But a Bentley with a guilty conscience? That was a plot twist she hadn’t seening.


    So, she raised an eyebrow and repeated, “Apologize?”


    Conor’s face burned with shame. Her skeptical look said it all—she didn’t buy his sincerity for a second. It was a harsh reminder of just how shameless the Bentleys were in the Harpers’ eyes. That only hardened his resolve to apologize.


    “Yeah, I’m here to say sorry,” he said firmly. “I’m apologizing to your mother for my dad’s wrongs, and to your whole family for the mess my family has caused.”


    Brenna wasn’t buying it. “What’s done is done. An apology doesn’t change a thing.”


    The Harpers didn’t need the Bentleys’ regrets. Her mom would never forgive her uncle, not in a million years. And no sob story from her uncle’s kids would soften her stance.


    Conor said, “No, it matters. Not every Bentley is shameless…” He wanted to say that he was a good person. But then, he recalled that he had been borrowing money from people recently, never paying it back.


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    It wasn’t that he didn’t want to pay—he genuinely had no money. But deep down, he knew he’d been sucked into the same swamp as his brother and father. Just as shameless. What right did he have to say that he was better than them?


    Guilt gnawed at him. After a beat, he said, “At least the kids are still decent. Look, my dad is a real piece of work. My mom always says he’s selfish, only looking out for himself. He makes the whole family orbit around him, like he’s the center of the universe. We’re too spineless to push back. We always do as he says. I know it’s not right.”


    He couldn’t meet Brenna’s eyes, staring instead into his coffee cup, mumbling.


    Brenna remembered overhearing Conor scold Jalen that day. Sure, he had a flicker of decency, but it was barely a spark. He wasn’t like Jalen, but the gap wasn’t wide. He’d known Jalen had deceived her, but he hadn’t said anything. In the end, he was not so different from Jalen.


    Quietly, she asked, “If you know it’s wrong, why not change the situation? Why not stand up to your dad?”


    Conor bit his lip. “I tried. But it was useless. I…”


    He knew he was in the wrong. He could’ve fought harder, but he always let his dad and brother sway him.


    Brenna wasn’t impressed. His words felt hollow to her. Conor, usually sharp-tongued in the courtroom, felt like his words were tripping over themselves.


    “I messed up, Brenna. I know no apology will make you forgive me. Grandma’s been gone for years—words can’t bring her back. Grandpa took the fall for my dad’s sins and died in a cell. My dad has spent his whole life dodging the consequences, but no punishment can erase what he did.”


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