Chapter 880: I didn’t skip school! I skipped her class!
[Flashback]
"You’re doing good, boy."
The young Stephen gazed up, only to see a man grinning at him with a cigar between his teeth. The man placed a hand on top of his head, ruffling his hair.
"Keep it up, boy," said the young Chairman Bennet, watching as Stephen, now on the cusp of his teenage years, glanced down at the workbook he was answering in the garden. Stephen lowered his head to hide the blush creeping onto his cheeks.
He pressed his lips together, focusing on the workbook in front of him. He answered diligently, knowing his uncle was watching.
Stephen’s mother and Chairman Bennet were siblings. However, due to poor decisions, his mother married a deadbeat man who would beat her and Stephen nearly to the brink of death. It wasn’t until the chairman intervened and helped his sister escape that things began to change. Since then, the chairman has been the one to take care of them, even sending Stephen’s father to jail.
Sadly, shortly after, Stephen’s mother died from injuries sustained over years of domestic abuse. The toll on her body had been too great. So, the chairman became the only parent Stephen had. This made the compliments and approval from the chairman especially meaningful to the young boy.
"I’m... home...!"
Just then, young Charles announced his arrival. Stephen turned his head, only to see a boy with a dirty face, clothes, and shoes. The chairman’s face immediately wrinkled in displeasure at the sight of his son.
"Charles, where in the world did you go?" Chairman Bennet spat, clearly frustrated. "You look like you’ve been in a tunnel!"