Broken Bond: Claimed by My Ex-Husband's Alpha Billionaire Uncle-Chapter 108: The Guilt

Before she could walk out of the room, Carmen suddenly called out, "I’m sorry, Charlotte."

Charlotte stopped in her tracks and turned around, confused. "Why are you apologizing?"

Carmen didn’t answer right away. Her eyes stayed locked on Priscilla, who was lying quietly on the bed, looking so fragile. After a long pause, Carmen whispered, "All of your suffering ... started because of me."

If only she hadn’t allowed Priscilla to marry Ronan, maybe Julian would have never been born, and Charlotte wouldn’t have had to go through so much pain because of that monster.

Charlotte slowly walked back to her, sitting down beside her on the edge of the bed. "You don’t have to apologize for something that wasn’t your fault," she said gently.

"Every birth and every death, every path we take, they are all part of the fate written by the Moon Goddess. We don’t have the power to change it."

She smiled. "All the bad things that happened to me, they weren’t because of you. It’s simply because ... Julian is a terrible person, that’s all."

For a moment, neither of them spoke. They just sat there quietly.

Charlotte glanced at Carmen and finally found the courage to add, "And I would never blame you for caring about her. She’s your daughter, after all."

And deep down, Charlotte knew, Priscilla was a victim too.

Charlotte still wasn’t sure whether all the terrible things Priscilla had done to her were because of Ronan’s influence or her own choices.

But as someone who had lived through abuse herself, Charlotte understood how too much fear, pain, and pressure could break a person’s mind and heart.

Maybe this was just Priscilla’s way of surviving. Just like Charlotte had once hidden behind her obsession with beauty, perhaps Priscilla had coped by letting her bottled-up emotions explode onto others.

"Being a mother is hard, you know," Carmen said softly as her eyelids drooped. "It’s really hard to raise our children well when we’re still carrying wounds inside our hearts."

Priscilla’s father, Samuel, had left too many scars on Carmen. For so long, she lived in survival mode, always stuck between fighting or running away. She couldn’t even give the love her children deserved because she was too caught up in her own pain.

And those wounds? They didn’t just stay inside her. They spread and hurt the people she loved most.

When children grow up in a home filled with violence and brokenness, some will accept it as normal. Others will grow up vowing to never live like that.

That’s exactly what happened to Carmen’s family.

One of her daughters ended up trapped in the same kind of abusive marriage, while the other swore to the Moon Goddess that she’d rather die than ever bow to her mate.

Their lives were falling apart, all because Carmen couldn’t stay strong enough or give them the love they needed.

"I used to envy Mona a lot," Carmen confessed, her voice shaking slightly. "We shared the same husband, but somehow, she managed to heal. She never passed her pain onto her son."

It wasn’t fair.

They lived under the same roof, married to the same man, yet their children turned out so differently.

Louis became a good husband and a loving father. Damon? He treated his mate with nothing but gentleness.

"Your daughters are still good people," Charlotte said softly, breaking the silence. "Priscilla became like this because she forced her son to carry the weight of all his past mistakes, the ones he made to me, and to his other victims. And Diana ..."

She smiled. "She’s cool. Honestly, Diana’s life is really impressive. She gets to travel around the world, live by her own rules, and on top of that, she doesn’t have to suffer by being stuck with a terrible mate."

Carmen suddenly fell silent. It seemed like she had focused too much on her daughters’ flaws and completely overlooked the good parts inside them.

"They ..." Carmen took a deep breath and smiled softly as she looked at Priscilla. "You’re right. They’re not that bad after all."

"You can’t compare yourself to Mona," Charlotte said gently. "Even if you shared the same husband and the same house, your wounds are completely different."

Mona carried the guilt of destroying someone else’s family. She drowned in guilt and tried her best to make sure her sons wouldn’t grow up to be as cruel as their father.

Meanwhile, Carmen had to endure the pain of watching her own family fall apart right in front of her eyes. The family she had built for years was suddenly shattered the moment her husband marked another werewolf.

On top of that, she also had to bear the shame and judgment thrown at her family by others.

Samuel blamed her, saying she made everything worse by taking the property dispute to the Nocturnal Order, forever tainting his name.

"But still ... I could never blame her," Carmen said, her voice growing softer. "Back then, Mona was struggling just to survive. She had to pay off the debts left by her late father, and the loan sharks were ready to sell her to a brothel to satisfy those disgusting werewolves."

"If I had been in her shoes," Carmen continued, "I probably would have let Samuel mark me too, without a second thought. There’s nothing wrong with that."

At least, that’s what Carmen had been telling herself all this time. Even though she no longer hated Mona now, back then, it was hard not to.

"You’re too kind, Carmen," Charlotte said softly, patting her shoulder. "Your daughters are lucky to have you."

When Mona gave birth to a baby boy, Samuel immediately wanted to give most of his wealth to his son. However, Carmen acted quickly. She brought the matter to court to secure her assets before Samuel could transfer everything.

Because of that, Carmen managed to claim a larger share of Samuel’s fortune than he had intended.

It was one of the few victories she had during that painful time, but it came with a price. The bitterness, the blame, and the endless judgment from others weighed heavily on her, even until now.

"Still," Charlotte praised her, "not every mother could do what you did. You made sure your daughters got what they deserved, and you even managed to humiliate your bastard husband."

Carmen let out a weak chuckle, though tears still shimmered in her eyes. "It didn’t feel like a victory back then. All I could think about was how broken everything was. The house, the family, the love ... all of it."

Charlotte nodded, understanding more than Carmen realized. "Maybe it wasn’t a victory," she said softly. "But it was still something brave. You fought for them. You didn’t just let everything go."

Carmen wiped the corner of her eyes and whispered, "Thank you."

The room fell into quietness, with only the sound of Priscilla’s soft breathing filling the space.

Despite the heaviness, Charlotte noticed a small change, Carmen looked just a little less burdened, as if, after all this time, someone had finally told her that she wasn’t a failure.

"When I returned to Northbridge, Damon and I discussed Priscilla’s situation," Charlotte said, her voice turning more serious. "What’s happening to her is closely related to her mental state, so we’re planning to call a professional who specializes in cases involving werewolves like her."

Carmen blinked, surprised. "A professional? You mean ... like a therapist?"

Charlotte nodded. "Yes, but someone who understands werewolves. Someone who knows how to handle cases where the mind and the wolf are both affected."

Carmen lowered her head, guilt flashing in her eyes. "Will that even help? She has suffered a lot ... I’m afraid it’s too late."

Charlotte gently shook her head. "It’s never too late, Carmen. Priscilla is still here. As long as she’s breathing, there’s hope."

Emilia was a great therapist. Even though Charlotte still had many wounds left to heal, after having several sessions with Emi, she had become much stronger.

Even when she lost her child, she didn’t choose to jump off a cliff or drown herself in the sea just to escape her frustration.

Damon had told her that Emi often worked with werewolves suffering from severe mental illnesses, so there was no harm in letting her check on Priscilla first.

And if Emi couldn’t handle the case, at the very least, she could recommend a doctor who would be more suitable for Priscilla’s condition.

"Then, let’s try it," Carmen said firmly. "I’ll do anything to heal my daughter."

Charlotte could hear the desperation hidden behind Carmen’s calm voice. Even after everything, Carmen hadn’t given up. No matter how broken things seemed, she was still willing to fight for Priscilla.

Charlotte gave a soft smile. "You’re stronger than you think," she said. "And you don’t have to do it alone this time."

Carmen lowered her head, wiping away a tear before it could fall. "Thank you, Charlotte," she whispered.

"You don’t have to thank me," Charlotte replied. "We’re family, remember?"

The room fell quiet again, but this time, the silence felt a little warmer, a little lighter. There was still a long way to go, but at least, Carmen no longer had to carry the weight by herself.