The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress novel Chapter 681

Their eyes met across the table. Herschel was the first to break the silence. “Nigel, I’m sorry. I’ve let you down.”

He took responsibility, his voice steady but soft. “I shouldn’t have kept things from you, pretending it was for your own good. I should’ve realized sooner that, more than anything, what matters most to you is your family’s love.”

He looked his son in the eye. “I was wrong. I owe you an apology.”

“Maybe I’m saying this too late, but I mean it.”

Herschel had spent his entire life with his head held high, never one to lower himself or admit fault—except for this moment, for his son.

Because Nigel knew how proud his father was, he understood just how difficult this apology must be.

Thinking of all the years he’d misunderstood his father, Nigel felt a pang of guilt. “Dad, I’m sorry too. I’ve misjudged you for so long. I should be the one apologizing.”

Herschel couldn’t bear to see his son take the blame. After a pause, he said quietly, “It’s not your fault. This is on me.”

Nigel called a waiter over. “We’ll have one of each of your house specialties, please.”

The meal stretched on for quite some time, but by the end of it, the last traces of resentment had melted away between father and son.

—

The next day, Citrine did something she almost never did—she showed up at CICI Group in person.

As soon as she closed her office door, she booted up her favorite game.

In the early days, Citrine had tried to hide her gaming from the staff, worried they’d slack off if they saw the boss playing around. But after a while, everyone knew the drill; they stayed focused, and she no longer bothered to hide it. Now, she played openly, sometimes even muttering curses when her teammates let her down.