No One’s Fault (1)

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Hearing the words of resentment from one of his grandchildren, Elder Sullen staggered back suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Seeing this Maverick and Joaquinn who were closer instantly caught him in worry.

"Grandpa!-Grandfather!" Maverick, Joaquinn, and Daniel said in unison. Mo Chendong and Laura were worried as well as they waited for Maverick and Jonathan to bring the Elder to the couch to rest.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Sullen fell into a deep thought as Ashton's words remained in his head. He was well aware that he made a mistake, a part of him also regretted it wondering what would have happened if he was a little more attentive with his sons. He always thought that he did everything for his children after his wife had died. His deceased mother used to tell him that he should find a new wife to take care of his young children but he refused because he promised his late wife that he would love only her in his lifetime even if she had already died. Even until now, Elder Sullen thought his decision was right and that he was enough to raise two children properly but maybe he was wrong.

All these years, he thought that because his eldest son had always been mature and understood their situation despite his young age, he thought that everything was fine even if his time was divided between them and the company. Even when he found out that his sons had not been on good terms, Elder Sullen thought that their relationship would get better soon. He thought that it was just a simple misunderstanding between siblings and that it was normal but seeing that it had been more than 5 years, Elder Sullen knew there's something else between them that he wasn't fully aware of. He wanted to find out what was happening but at the same time, his health did not permit it. Time flew by and before he knew it so many years had passed since he decided to step down from his position to silently reciprocate without knowing that his beloved grandchildren are all suffering all this time.

While believing that he had given Daniel the justice for the mistreatment his Sullen family had done to him, his other grandsons were all in pain. He saved one while forgot the other three.

"I'm sorry..." Elder Sullen whispered towards Maverick and Joaquinn. "I didn't mean to favor Daniel among all of you... Daniel was alone when I brought him to the family but I love you all equally. I never want anything to hurt you..." Elder Sullen said, his eyes glistened with tears. This was all his mistake, he should have tried even harder but instead he gave up making his health an excuse.

"Grandpa, this wasn't your fault... please don't mind Ash's words. We know that you did everything for the family and we also know that you would never let this happen to us if you knew but simply didn't know… We kept you from knowing anything," Maverick soothed the Elder, brushing his shoulder. To be honest, he also thought that maybe if the Elder was a little more attentive, maybe what had happened to him would be prevented before it had gotten this serious. There was a point where he was upset and shut himself off but later on, as he grew up and understood a lot of things, he knew this wasn't anyone's fault—at least not entirely anyone's fault.

One thing always leads to the other so the situation couldn't be blamed on one person alone. Maverick was at fault. The people who took advantage of him were also at fault. Of course, Gared Sullen had a lot of contributions because he had a choice but chose to pursue the wrong path. Elder Sullen also may have had a contribution to this as he kept his eyes blind despite knowing there was something wrong in his family and lastly, their deceased mother who forced Maverick to keep his gender.

"Not knowing is not an excuse, Dear... I should've been more attentive and tried to know what was happening. Instead, I left you all alone and used my health as an excuse," Elder Sullen sighed dejectedly but at the same time his breathing became normal as he sat down. One more reason why he never tried to know what was the truth was because he was afraid of it. He was afraid that once he knew the truth, the perfect image he thought his family had would shatter. He wasn't ready to accept that and he might not be ready… ever.

"It's all the past now and I don't blame you Grandpa," Maverick smiled, holding the Elder's hand.

"Me too... And I'm sure Ash didn't mean to say that to you… You too Daniel, none of this was anyone's fault," Joaquinn said as well before he faced Daniel who was all this time with a worried expression. Daniel is a sweet child and Joaquinn understood why the Elder focused his attention on him. He saw how the young Omega was treated and although he felt bad about it, he kept quiet because he already had his hand full with Maverick and Ash having only him to depend on.

While Joaquinn was indeed a bit upset at some point that the Elder didn't give the same attention to Maverick who was also mistreated by their father, he couldn't blame him either because they chose to hide and kept Maverick's situation to themselves.

"I understand..." Elder Sullen whispered helplessly before he glanced at Maverick silently and soon pulled him to sit next to him. He couldn't contact Gared Sullen at this moment so there was no one he could ask about the truth except Maverick and Joaquinn. "Perhaps it's good that your father wasn't here. I want to ask him why he had kept your true identity to us but it seemed that I have to ask the both of you first, I want the whole truth," Elder Sullen added, finally determined to know everything after such a long time. He was prepared no matter what truth he might hear at this moment. If not now then when? He wasn't getting younger and he didn't want to pass and face his wife without him even trying to do anything.

"Grandpa, I-I don't think it's good for you to..." Maverick initially said but wasn't able to finish his words when Joaquinn held his arm, urging him to stop. This is because although he agreed that the Elder might never be prepared to hear the truth that they know, they could no longer hide it. There was never a normal and perfect family in their Sullen family that their grandfather had hoped for. They did their best to disguise it but today, it has to stop!

"Grandpa had been kept in the dark all this time that's why this had happened. If we trusted him and told grandpa from the start, you might not have suffered Mav. Grandpa is prepared to know the truth that we know, if we don't tell him now then when? I'll take responsibility for what will happen next," Joaquinn said this time with a faint melancholic smile before he faced Elder Sullen. Their grandpa wasn't getting younger and if they refused to tell now because it might hurt him then when were they going to tell him? He needed to know while he still could. He didn't want to admit it but the Elder probably only had a few years left in his life and he might not get peace if he left knowing that there was something he needed to know.

"Hmm, you're right. I'm sorry, Grandpa... Quinn and I will tell you then."

"Thank you, Dear... I will take whatever truth it is," Elder Sullen assured, making Joaquinn and Maverick look at each other. There were no words exchanged between the two but they both nodded at each other. To Daniel as well who was not far from them, although Daniel didn't really know the truth as well as he only stayed with the Sullens for a couple of years, his nod indicated that all three of them agreed to let Elder Sullen hear the truth. In the end, Joaquinn sighed and began...

"Grandpa, I don't know the whole story but I know that Dad had always blamed uncle George for the death of Grandma... I know you noticed it too but the two of them never had a good relationship and are always silently competing with each other..." Joaquinn started, looking at the Elder who painfully closed his eyes. He already knew this when he heard the two long ago. At that time he was so upset and was sent to the hospital where he learned a part of the truth from Daniel. He never got to talk to his sons about the issue since then and now it has been brought up again. Of course, his wife's death had nothing to do with George. He won't deny that he was saddened at the unfortunate event because he had lost his precious person but he never blamed his son for it. He thought back then that Gared was the same but he was wrong again.

He thought that all the talk he had with the young Gared would suffice but clearly, it wasn't. He blamed his younger brother even until they had grown enough to understand a lot of things.

"Mia and I chose to keep George even when the doctor said that it would be dangerous. When she died, I was saddened but I never blamed our child... Your father was too young at that time and I thought he would understand as I slowly let him know." Elder Sullen said with a weakened voice. The story had just begun and his condition was already this degraded. It was because of this that no one wanted him to know anything about the family. But he needed to be strong to fix whatever it is that needed to be fixed. Maybe at this point all they needed was just a little closure—talk about all the misunderstanding and move on.

"We know that Grandma's death was no one's fault and we know that Dad thought the same but he's prideful... Dad hated uncle for such a long time, even more so when uncle George was showing a lot of talent that he hadn't... His hatred turned into jealousy even more so when Mom—the woman she liked—liked uncle George. Mom told us that Dad forced himself on her and had me but despite that, she loved me anyway. At that time, for my sake she chose to marry Dad even though she knew she would be miserable," Joaquinn said, keeping his hands together as he stared at it remembering the images of his late mother's cries almost every night.

"Mom hated Dad at first but she tried her best to be with the man who took her freedom. And Dad, he wasn't that bad at first too, it was... it was until Mav was conceived that he began raising his hand against Mom." Joaquinn added, his fingers tightened together as it crossed.

"I heard him once when he was so angry about work... I was young and was terrified. I saw him slap Mom across her face and yelled at her—calling her names. I couldn't do anything but cry and listen to him blame Mom for not being able to secure a project and instead it was Uncle who did. Of course, Dad was being unreasonable but he would always blame Mom for whatever reason especially when it was about uncle. And when Mav was born, he continued doing so as if it was because of us that his dream was ruined...

When in the first place… it was him who couldn't let go of the past and decided to blame everything on anyone besides himself."

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To be Continued...