Chapter 1333: The dinner is over for the two of you

When Finn had previously said he didn’t see the necessity of meeting Nina’s family, it had displeased all of them. Charles felt the same way, finding Finn’s reasoning convoluted. This practice wasn’t just a Bennet family custom—it was a tradition in Anteca. A culture. And while the Bennets—at least, this little branch of the family—weren’t particularly traditional, they still understood its importance.

That was why Finn’s reasoning displeased Charles even more. He didn’t believe it.

But just minutes after meeting Finn’s parents, Charles felt terrible. It was an awful feeling, one he knew would linger, for assuming Finn had been lying when he hadn’t. The boy might have his faults, but he wasn’t as irresponsible as his parents.

Above all, how could a parent not set aside work for something more important? Unless, of course, what was most important to them was work—not their son. Charles could just imagine a poor boy left alone in a castle full of everything except the things and people he truly needed—his parents.

"Mr. Bennet, what do you think you’re doing?" Mrs. Davis frowned, clearly displeased. "Do you have any idea how much that call might have cost us?"

"I didn’t take you for the type to interrupt someone’s business, Mr. Bennet," Mr. Davis remarked, rising from his chair to stand toe-to-toe with Charles. "Had you broken that phone—"

"You’re lucky my wife and children are watching," Charles cut in with a laugh, running his tongue along the inside of his cheek. "Otherwise, your assistant would be picking up its pieces outside. Being late to a family meeting is one thing—I can overlook that. But the blatant disrespect you’re showing my family? That, Mr. Davis, I will not."

Jessa smirked, her shoulders relaxing as she grabbed her glass of wine. "If he hadn’t done something, I would have," she muttered, whistling quietly before nodding approvingly at Charles.

Her husband simply sighed, letting things be. He knew Jessa was growing more upset by the second, not only because of how distracted the Davises were, but because they seemed to treat this entire meeting as an inconvenience. His eyes flickered to Allison, who silently dabbed at the corner of her lips, showing no intention of interfering with her husband.

Their children were the same, acting as though nothing was wrong.

’Oh, goodness. No one’s going to stop this, are they?’ Lester wondered, his eyes traveling to his own children. Yugi and Yuri simply watched, their reactions different but equally passive.

Lester, growing more worried, searched the room for someone who might put an end to this before it spiraled further. But Nina only looked nervous and panicked, while Finn kept his head down.

"How insolent," Mrs. Davis huffed sharply, glancing around the table. To her dismay, no one reacted. If anything, their eyes were sharp, their faces shadowed.

"Dad..." Nina pursed her lips, concern evident in her voice.

"For the sake of this family’s union, Mr. Bennet, I will let this slide," Mr. Davis finally said, holding Charles’ gaze. "So long as you apologize—"

"HAHAHA!"

Charles’ loud laughter erupted before Mr. Davis could even finish. "Ah... goodness, it’s been a while since someone told me something so ridiculous my stomach actually hurts. Apologize? For what? For interrupting your call?"

"You have no idea how important this deal was," Mrs. Davis hissed, stepping behind her husband, her glare fixed on Charles. "My husband and I postponed something incredibly important for this meeting. We are trying our best—"

"Mom."

Finn’s voice cut through the tension. Slowly, he raised his head and stood, his chest rising and falling heavily. His hands balled into tight fists, his jaw clenched.

In his previous life, Finn had desperately sought his parents’ attention, clinging to their promises—only to be disappointed time and time again. By the time he became an adult, he had stopped expecting anything from them.

So when he was reborn, he took advantage of their absence. He lived.

Or at least, he tried to.

His only saving grace back then was learning not to expect anything.

If they promised to be there, he wouldn’t listen. After all, they never were. Not for his graduation when he was at the top of his class. Not when he received recognition for outstanding work. Not even for something as simple as a school family day. Never once had they attended, so eventually, he stopped telling them about these things.

Even when he got rebellious—when he got into trouble—they never dropped everything to see about his problems.

Finn had come to terms with that. He had long since grown numb to it.

But for once—just this once, in two lifetimes—he had asked for something. Only one thing.

All he wanted was for them to come and sit with the Bennets for an hour or two. Just one night. After that, he wouldn’t ask them for a single thing. Not even at his wedding.

And they had come.

Only to be more interested in their work.

Finn sucked in a slow, trembling breath, struggling to contain the anger rising inside him. "Please," he exhaled. "Just... this... once."

Mrs. Davis opened her mouth, then shut it again. She cleared her throat and let out a heavy breath, shifting her gaze to her husband.

"Hon," she called, reaching for his arm.

Mr. Davis glanced at her hand before looking back at Charles. "I’ll send them out."

"No." Charles’ response was immediate.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Davis frowned.

"Mr. Bennet, we don’t want to prolong this any further. Let’s drop it," Mr. Davis said sternly. "For the sake of your daughter and my son."

"No." Charles’ answer was quick—so quick, it was as if he didn’t even need to think about it.

Finn’s breath hitched. His stomach churned.

Was Charles about to object to their union?

Finn’s panicked gaze darted to Nina, only to find her watching him with a subtle smile. She reached for his hand, squeezing it gently.

"It’s going to be fine," she whispered, nodding encouragingly. "It’s not you."

Confusion clouded Finn’s thoughts. But before he could dwell on it, Charles spoke again.

"For the sake of MY children, get out of here." His cold, unwavering stare locked onto Mr. Davis. "This dinner is over... for the two of you."