Chapter 4

I took him home. My work was demanding. After Mom and Dad passed, all the family and company matters fell onto my shoulders. My only responsibility was to keep him alive.

Most of the time, I didn't see him much.

One time, I came home and happened to find him eating. Seeing me enter, the person sitting at the dining table immediately put down his forks, stood up awkwardly, and greeted me, "Uncle Julian."

Mr. Jenkins, the butler, helped me change my shoes. I raised my eyelids to look at him, my gaze distant. I saw the expression on his young face shift slightly. Then he lowered his head and called out again, "Mr. Blackwood."

I'd never lived under someone else's roof, but I vaguely understood that feeling. So, I understood all of Liam's caution, his anxiety, his wariness.

I ignored him and went straight upstairs. Mr. Jenkins followed me, casually asking, "Would you like to eat?"

Liam was still standing by the table. I cast a downward glance at his figure. "No, I'm not eating. It kills my appetite."

His body stiffened. From this angle, I couldn't see the humiliated look on his face.

It wasn't until I returned to my room that Mr. Jenkins spoke, a hint of hesitation in his voice. "Young Master, I know you resent the late Master Adam, but that child…"

I changed my clothes and tossed them into his hands. He'd worked for my family for over thirty years, longer than I'd been in the Blackwood household. I considered him half a senior. Hearing him speak, I didn't get angry; I just smiled and retorted, "Mr. Jenkins thinks he's very innocent and pitiful?"

Mr. Jenkins sighed.

"But I don't see it that way."

Actually, I was lying. How could I not know Liam was innocent? He was merely a child discarded at an orphanage at birth, then coincidentally adopted by Adam. He hadn't done anything wrong. But when I saw his face, I couldn't control my resentment and fury. I knew my selfishness and arrogance, but toward Liam, I wouldn't soften.