Chapter 139 With a New Boyfriend, He'll Surely Give Up
Charles stood up and stormed out, the bottled-up anger rushing to the surface. He had done everything Rex had advised, but still, Daphne remained impervious.
Daphne followed him outside.
Downstairs, Mr. Murphy and Lydia had been anxiously waiting, fearing a dispute might break out into an argument or even a fight between the two. They waited for quite some time. Eventually, they heard noise from the staircase.
Both turned their eyes instantly, sensing an increased chill emanating from Charles's presence, guessing that Daphne had likely ended things with him.
"Father-in-law," Charles paused in the living room.
Mr. Murphy instinctively turned to respond; but then remembered that Daphne had divorced him, so he pretended not to hear. He wasn't the father-in-law anymore.
Charles's eyes slightly lifted, immediately seeing through his act.
Unbothered, he stood there, his lips parting to speak each word deliberately, "I've just arrived in Gedser today and haven't settled on a place to stay. I was wondering if it might be possible for me to spend the night here?"
The three of them were utterly flabbergasted. It never crossed their minds that Charles could be so shameless.
"Daphne and Lydia are young ladies, it's inappropriate to have a stranger stay over," Mr. Murphy said, losing his cool. "Mr. Lancelot had better find somewhere else to stay."
"All right, father-in-law." With those words, Charles left.
His reasoning was simple, during his marriage, he had no clue about Daphne's background or who her parents were, and he had never visited. Although they were now divorced, he felt he needed to make up for the lost time.
Mr. Murphy was puzzled by how quickly Charles had left. Was he really that obedient?
Barely coming to his senses, he noticed Daphne and Lydia staring at him. "What's... What's the matter?" he asked, totally lost.
"By responding, you just acknowledged him as your 'son-in-law'," Lydia fumed, mocking Charles. "That man is just too cunning!"
"Get someone to return his stuff." Daphne glanced at the neatly arranged gifts, a slight frown on her forehead.
Mr. Murphy quickly took care of it.
But Charles was cunning like a fox, guessing they would react this way, and instructed his driver Mark to leave as soon as he got in the car. As a result, the items were not successfully returned.
Mr. Murphy felt a twinge of guilt looking at all those gifts. "What should we do with all this stuff?"
"Once he settles down in Gedser, have it delivered to his place," Daphne said calmly. "And if he comes here again, don't open the door."
"Okay," Mr. Murphy agreed.
Daphne hummed in acknowledgment and started upstairs.
"Daphne!" Mr. Murphy called out suddenly.
She paused in her tracks, her tone as neutral as before: "What is it?"
"Do you... still like him?" Mr. Murphy wanted to know, not wanting Daphne to be too heartbroken. "What do you feel towards him?"
"I don't like him, no feelings," Daphne answered quickly.
During those six months, her fondness had been worn away bit by bit. After everything that had happened, even the last traces of the feelings she had had dissipated. She truly did not have feelings for Charles. Not even one.
Mr. Murphy watched her retreating figure, worry creeping into his expression. He turned to Lydia, "Do you think your sister truly doesn't like him, or is it that she's just afraid to, after being hurt?"
"She genuinely doesn't like him," Lydia stated firmly.
"Why?"
"Because she is my sister." Lydia's response was straightforward, marked with a youthful innocence and simplicity.
Her sister had always been the kind of person whose word was law; if she liked something, she'd say it—and if she didn't, she made it clear. Pretense just wasn't in her nature.
"What if Charles shows up again?" Mr. Murphy fretted. "He doesn't seem like the type to back down easily."
"He won't back down because he thinks my sister is single and that if he tries hard enough, there's hope," said Lydia earnestly. "But if she's not single, if she has a boyfriend, he'd eventually get the message."
Mr. Murphy's worry deepened, particularly for Daphne: "But right now, I doubt she's interested in romance."
The scars from her first marriage, her first love, ran deep. She probably didn't want to entertain the idea of love or marriage again.
"Who said anything about a real relationship?" Lydia's mind was buzzing with ideas. "Evan gets along great with her, right? Why not have them pretend to be a couple?"
Mr. Murphy's eyes lit up. 'Exactly. Why hadn't I thought of that?'
Unbeknownst to them, Daphne was pondering on the same dilemma.
Given Charles's persistence, a second visit was inevitable. Even without answering the door, that man would find a way in.
She disliked the intrusion but avoiding him completely seemed unlikely; all she wanted was a quiet, stable life.
With these thoughts, she made a phone call.
Meanwhile, on Charles's side, Mark glanced at the rearview mirror while driving, he asked, "Boss, how did it go with Ms. Murphy's father?"
"Cancel Rex's black card," Charles said curtly.
Mark hesitated. 'Did things not go well?' he thought.
"Okay," said Mark.
Fiddling through his phone, Charles recalled Daphne unblocking him and instructed, "Drive to the White's place."
"The White's?" Mark was taken aback.
Charles hummed in confirmation and fell silent.
Mark didn't ask further. As they drove up and he caught sight of Kevin, he grasped what was about to unfold.
Kevin, who hardly ever returned home once a year, never expected to encounter Charles there.
What kind of twist of fate was this?
The moment Charles and Mark appeared at the White's residence, Mr. White welcomed them wholeheartedly, his smile almost reaching his ears.
When he learned that Charles had come specifically to see Kevin, he was adamant—bombarding Kevin with reminders to be polite and to make a good impression, to avoid giving offense.
Kevin verbally agreed, but he didn't take it to heart.
The two men settled into the living room for a talk.
Kevin was clad in a white casual sweatshirt and exuded a strong sense of youth. Despite feeling nervous inside, he took the initiative to ask, "Mr. Lancelot, is there something you wanted to see me for?"
Charles went straight to the point, "How much do you know about Daphne?" Though he was a guest, his aura once seated made it seem as though he was the master of the premises.
Kevin immediately had his guard up.
'Daphne?'
"I don't know her that well," Kevin thought quickly. "Evan is the one who's closest to Daphne. If you want to know more about her, you should ask him."
"Since neither of us knows her well, why not take the opportunity to learn more about her together?" Charles suggested earnestly, though it was hard to tell if he was schmoozing. "As her friend, wouldn't it be a failure not to know the basics?"
Kevin was puzzled. 'What?'
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