“She is the one I love, not some frivolous plaything. Grandfather, she is the only one I’ve ever loved. Do you really have to take the life of my child?” Finn’s eyes were bloodshot, sending shivers down anyone’s spine.
But Old Burns remained indifferent: “So what if you lost a child? You’re a normal man, you can have as many as you want in the future.”
“But she is your own great-granddaughter!”
“I do not acknowledge such a great-granddaughter.” Old Burns coldly replied, “One illegitimate child from you is enough, there’s no need for another.”
A casual remark from Old Burns felt like a blow to Finn.
For so many years by Old Burns’ side, whether he was pretending or not, Finn truly did care for Old Burns. He fulfilled all duties of filial piety on the surface, but even at this point, he couldn’t shake off the label of “bastard” in Old Burns’ eyes.
Old Burns chuckled at Finn’s stiff face, “That woman, Aoife, is no different from your mother. The child she bore, do you really want that child to become another you? And besides… you say it was me who killed her, did you see me wield the knife?”
“If you talk about the killer of the child, isn’t it you? If you had the ability to protect her, the responsibility to trust her, I wouldn’t be able to harm her even if I reached out with a knife. Without that ability, what love can there be? I hear that you even turned that child into a specimen displayed in the hospital for others to see?”
Compared to cruelty, Finn was undoubtedly the worst. Even though the child wasn’t his own blood, the child was borne by the woman he professed to love. How did he calmly place the child in a formalin-filled specimen jar without a second thought?
Finn knew he had no right to question Old Burns. Old Burns was the instigator, the doctors in the hospital passed the knife, and the true executioner was Finn.
As Old Burns said, if he truly trusted Aoife, how could he let her suffer so much? His declaration of “love” now seemed ludicrous.
Love is loyalty, responsibility, respect, indulgence, favoritism, and unique, but what did he give Aoife? Endless pain and torment, nights of fear, and tears that blinded his eyes.
“No more talk of marriage with the Dankworth family, I will not marry Lily.” With that, Finn turned without hesitation.
“Are you giving up everything related to the Burns family as well?” Old Burns asked in a solemn tone.
“I am.” Finn didn’t look back, not even slowing his pace. “Whoever wants what, let them have it. I don’t owe the Burns family anything.”
As Finn left the Burns residence, rain began to fall from the sky. Finn raised his head, a drop of rain landed in his eye, and as he wiped it away, he realized it wasn’t rain. It was an uncontrollable tear rolling down his cheek, still warm.
He raised his hand to wipe it away, realizing it wasn’t rain but his own tears. Finn glanced back at the Burns residence.
He had been here since the age of five, twenty-five long years.
Over these years, he had endured exhaustion, tears, abuse, curses, hunger, pain… all to take everything from here.
And now that he spoke of giving it all up, was there no regret or reluctance?
There was, but he had never felt this relaxed before.
In the end, it wasn’t necessary.
After Finn left, Old Burns picked up a dumpling with a fork, took a few bites, then spat it out. It had turned cold, no longer appetizing.
“Atonal, did I do wrong?”
The old butler replied, “You didn’t say anything wrong to Mr. Finn.”
The words were correct, but the actions were wrong. No one dared to correct them, allowing events to unfold, and it was the innocent who suffered.
The old butler stood quietly behind Old Burns, watching him sigh with lowered eyes, noticing more white hairs on his temples.
After a moment of hesitation, the butler asked the question that had been on his mind, “Old Burns, are you really planning to give up on Mr. Finn?”
“Give up?” Old Burns closed his eyes, images of Hamish and Finn flashing through his mind.
After a long pause, Old Burns cryptically said, “Hamish is beyond saving, but there may still be hope for Finn.”
“What do you mean?”
“Even after losing Elisa, Hamish still has the Burns Group to call his own. But consider what Finn has left. He has been working for the Burns Group all these years, to give up inheriting the Burns family means he will have nothing.”
Old Burns closed his eyes, “Even the smallest ant has dignity. Let alone a person. When hatred takes over, can it truly last? I told them not to meddle with emotions, one by one they didn’t listen. Who ends up hurt in the end? Causing harm to oneself and others.”
The old butler fell into contemplation, is love truly a bad thing?
He couldn’t help but think of Old Burns’ wife, Old Mrs. Burns.
In a family like the Burns, where there were enemies even without cause, Old Mrs. Burns died in a kidnapping case. The kidnappers demanded money in exchange for her, but when Old Burns brought the money, all he saw was his wife raped and tortured to death.
At the age of thirty-five, Old Mrs. Burns lost her life, and Old Burns changed completely after that.