boyutpedia Chapter 572: Difference
Chapter 572: Difference
He quickly stepped forward and stopped them. "Thessy."His grip tightened around her wrist. Then he lowered his voice and whispered into her ear.
"Don’t go with him."
His expression was unusually serious. "He only wants to use you."
Thessy immediately revealed a shocked expression.
However, the very next second, she raised her voice so loudly that everyone in the room could hear.
"Brother, what are you talking about?"
Her eyes widened innocently. "Why would Brother Clutch ever think that way about me?"
Philip’s face darkened. His fists trembled slightly.
Meanwhile, Clutch started laughing. "Oh my God."
He wiped away imaginary tears. "I never knew you were this jealous of me."
The surrounding players immediately burst into laughter. Clutch casually wrapped an arm around Thessy’s shoulder. "Relax."
He smirked. "Even if Thessy is your precious little princess, I have no interest in hurting her."
However, inside his heart, his thoughts were completely different.
’Actually, marrying her wouldn’t be a bad idea. The Peterson family will have no choice but to give in to me as long as I make their little princess fall in love with me. And watching Philip suffer every day would be entertaining.’
The more he thought about it, the more appealing the idea became.
Meanwhile, Philip felt his patience finally reaching its limit.
The anger burning inside him gradually cooled into disappointment.
Looking at the two of them, he suddenly felt exhausted. "Fine."
His voice became unusually calm. "Since both of you have already made your decision, I have no right to interfere."
Then he simply turned around and walked away.
Seeing this, Clutch chuckled. "Some people really can’t accept reality."
His tone carried obvious mockery.
Once Philip disappeared from sight, Clutch immediately lowered his voice and looked at Thessy. "Thessy, believe me."
His expression softened. "I’m not a bad person."
He sighed dramatically. "Your brother just wants to make sure you have nowhere else to go except him."
Thessy frowned slightly. Clutch continued.
"If I were in your position, I would have built connections a long time ago."
His eyes flashed. "Successful people understand the importance of relationships. If you can sleep around a bit then..."
Thessy suddenly stopped walking.
"So you’re saying I should sleep with others just to build connections?"
Her voice became noticeably colder. Deep inside, she had her own bottom line.
She would never degrade herself by chasing countless people. She only needed one powerful connection.
One person with enough influence. That would be enough.
Seeing her hesitation, Clutch immediately realized he had spoken incorrectly.
His heart skipped a beat. He quickly waved his hands. "Wait, wait."
He laughed awkwardly.
"Why are you interpreting my words like that? That isn’t what I meant at all."
His smile returned. "Forget it."
He gently guided her forward. "Let’s go eat first."
Meanwhile, Claw followed behind Philip.
Seeing his exhausted expression, Claw could not help but ask softly, "What happened, Philip?"
Philip remained silent for several seconds. Finally, he sighed.
"Sometimes I genuinely wonder whether my sister has ever understood my concerns."
His voice sounded tired. "Otherwise, why would she act like this today?"
He rubbed his forehead. "You know, I..."
Suddenly, he stopped speaking. A certain girl appeared in his mind. Lana.
Compared to Thessy, Lana was completely different.
He had never lectured Lana. He had never restricted her.
Yet somehow she always understood situations better than most adults.
Before, he had never had anyone to compare Thessy with. But now that he did, he could finally see the difference clearly.
Thessy was spoiled. Not just as a younger sister. As a person.
Just as the two continued talking, Claw suddenly narrowed his eyes. "Hey."
He pointed toward the distance. "Isn’t that your other brother?"
Philip immediately looked up.
Sure enough, standing near the end of the corridor was Conrad.
A bright smile was on his face as he spoke on the phone.
The moment Philip saw him, a deep frown appeared on his face.
Why was Conrad coming to his mansion? Just as Philip was wondering that, Conrad noticed him standing near the entrance.
He waved his hand, ended the phone call, and walked over. "Philip, let’s go. There is a family meeting."
Hearing those words, Philip instinctively nodded. Then he suddenly paused.
"But... Thessy. She..."
Before he could finish, Conrad casually waved his hand. "There is no need to think about her."
His expression remained indifferent. "Hurry up."
After a brief pause, he added in an emotionless voice, "She isn’t a part of this family anymore."
Those words would have undoubtedly made Philip protest in the past. However, today... he remained silent.
Seeing his reaction, Conrad felt genuinely relieved. ’Finally... My foolish younger brother is finally beginning to see Thessy’s true colors.’
Although it was only the beginning, it was still a huge improvement. Without giving Philip another chance to hesitate, Conrad grabbed his shoulder and gently pushed him toward the waiting car.
Before getting inside, Conrad looked at Claw. "You can head back now."
Claw nodded respectfully. "Understood."
With that, he quietly left. The car soon pulled away from the mansion. For several minutes, neither of the brothers spoke.
Finally, Conrad broke the silence. "What happened, Philip?"
Philip continued staring outside the window. After a long silence, he finally spoke. "Brother..."
His voice sounded unusually hoarse. "Did I really make the wrong decision by trusting Thessy?"
Conrad chuckled softly. "Coincidentally..."
He reached into his briefcase. "I prepared another file."
He placed it on Philip’s lap. "Why don’t you read it first and make your own judgment?"
This time, Philip did not reject it. He slowly opened the folder.
Unlike before, he did not read it with prejudice. He forced himself to remain completely neutral.
Page after page... his breathing gradually became heavier. The deeper he read, the more shocked he became.
It turned out... Thessy had already known the truth when she was only fifteen years old. She knew that Lana was the Peterson family’s biological daughter.
Yet she deliberately hid it. At the age of eighteen, she had even started interfering with Lana’s fate. She manipulated numerous events surrounding Lana’s life.
Again and again. The investigation clearly showed that four or five different opportunities had existed for the Peterson family to meet Lana.
Every single one of those opportunities had mysteriously disappeared. The reason? Thessy had secretly intervened every single time.
If events had continued the way they originally were... there was an extremely high possibility that the Peterson family would never have reunited with Lana.
Philip slowly lowered the file. His fingers trembled slightly.
’If that had happened... Lana would have had no choice but to continue living with Thessy’s biological family.’
He remembered the investigation reports regarding that family. A family that heavily favored sons over daughters.
A family where girls were treated like burdens. The mere thought made his chest tighten painfully.
His heart ached. His hands unconsciously clenched into fists. Looking toward Conrad, he forced out a bitter smile.
"I suddenly feel like such a fool."
Conrad looked at him. "You shouldn’t think like that."
Philips felt a little better and was about to thank his brother when he heard him continue. "You are a certified idiot who, even after being given the opportunity, can’t think straight."
Philip was instantly speechless. His lips twitched helplessly. "Brother..."
He let out a sigh. "The least you could do is comfort me."
Conrad laughed. "I don’t comfort idiots."
He crossed his arms. "When all the evidence was laid out right in front of you, you still chose to ignore it."
He looked directly into Philip’s eyes. "So tell me. What exactly were you thinking?"
Philip fell silent. After several seconds, he finally answered. "Brother... how am I supposed to suddenly forget someone I’ve called my sister for almost twenty years?"
His eyes lowered.
"I grew up with her. I laughed with her. I protected her. And now everyone is telling me to push her away and accept someone who was practically a stranger until recently."
He let out another bitter laugh. "How can I do that so easily?"
He closed his eyes.
"Maybe... The reason I’ve had such a difficult time accepting Lana... And such a difficult time letting go of Thessy... is because I still can’t let go of those memories."
Conrad quietly listened. He did not interrupt. After a long pause, he finally spoke. "Philip."
His voice remained calm. "You and I simply think differently."
He leaned back against the seat. "I’ve always been the more practical one."
He looked out of the window.
"When I first accepted Lana, it wasn’t because I suddenly developed brotherly affection for her. It wasn’t because I immediately loved her. It was because it was the right thing to do. My brain always works before my heart."
He smiled faintly.
"Only afterward... after seeing her personality... after witnessing everything she has done... My heart slowly began accepting her as family."
He looked back at Philip.
"But you’re different. You’ve always listened to your heart before your mind. You were protected far more than I was. So your perspective naturally became different."