Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress novel Chapter 1324

Chapter 1324: Love at first sight (?)

"I know because... someone like her—her age—sees this as a challenge. And once she gets what she wants, it’ll all fade like smoke in the air. A waste of time."

If it wasn’t Penny pulling a prank and using Grace, then this was the only explanation Haines could think of: Grace saw him as a challenge. After all, she had always sought more, pushing herself to the limits just to see how far she could go.

Now that Grace was a highly successful corporate lawyer, she was probably looking for something thrilling. Since men her age would easily fall for her beauty or wit, she had chosen someone older—someone who would hesitate to pursue a woman half his age.

And Haines just happened to be the most convenient option in her world.

"That woman..." Mildred let out a wry smile after a brief pause. "The woman who broke your heart, your trust, and everything else—she must have shattered you into a million pieces."

"This has nothing to do with her."

"It does, Haines," Mildred countered, raising her brows with a knowing look. "I’m not saying you’re wrong. Perhaps you’re right. A young, successful, and—I’m sure—beautiful woman could be with someone younger, smarter, maybe even better-looking, without a leg problem."

"But it’s the what-ifs that bother you, isn’t it?" She wiggled her brows as she picked up her tea. "What if she was being honest? What if everything she said wasn’t just a game, but a genuine show of sincerity?"

She took a sip, letting her words settle in. "You’re judging this young woman—who’s willing to add more responsibilities to her life for the next thirty days—without fairly considering her efforts. Why? Because, just like that woman from your past, you’re afraid she’ll break your heart. So you see the worst in her and the situation before anything else."

"I bet you don’t see the worst in anything else—except when it comes to matters of the heart," she added knowingly, sipping her tea after stripping Haines bare with her words.

Haines, on the other hand, was speechless. His mouth opened, but the argument in his throat never came out. He knew it would fail. Mildred had struck a truth he couldn’t deny.

He never saw things negatively—whether in business or in life. Not that he was the most optimistic person, but he had always believed he could figure things out, no matter how tough they seemed. Even the most impossible tasks Charles had given him back in the day—Haines had taken them on without hesitation, even when failure seemed inevitable.

He had always figured things out.

In his mind, that was simply how it worked. But with Grace—this entire discussion, which he had only brought up to avoid offending Mildred—he hadn’t seen any potential. Not because there wasn’t any, but because he had refused to look.

"It’s always the what-ifs, Haines," Mildred said with an encouraging smile. "The what-ifs... the countless, heavy what-ifs we carry on our shoulders. The ones only we know."

"I’m not interested."

She shrugged indifferently. "All I’m saying is, maybe if you opened your heart, I’d find the courage to confess as well. I don’t have to go first, do I?"

"You’ll be waiting forever. I’m not interested."

"Very well, then." Mildred exhaled deeply, smacking her lips. "I never thought about confessing before I met you, but maybe we’re both just... pathetic. Or just too afraid to do something that’s already long overdue."

She shook her head, then said, "But anyway, if this young woman really is just playing a game and will lose interest the moment you reciprocate—if you think she’ll make you look like a fool—then why not give her what she wants?"