Chapter 152 Not Getting Together with Daphne Just to Arrange a Marriage
"Don't mind him," Daphne said indifferently when it came to matters involving Charles. "Where else do you want to go? Let's go."
"Upstairs," Lydia suggested.
"Okay,” Daphne agreed.
And just like that, they ignored Charles.
When they arrived at the store, Lydia went inside to try on clothes. The sales associate looked at Charles standing outside the door and tentatively asked Daphne, "Ma'am, is the gentleman outside with you?"
"He's not," Daphne replied simply.
She was naturally beautiful and had a serene expression, so the sales associate believed her without question.
The associate hesitated, but then warned Daphne, "Be careful when you leave later; he seems to have been following you."
"Thank you for the heads-up," Daphne said, expressing her gratitude.
Lydia purchased two outfits, and Daphne helped carry them.
For the next few hours, Daphne and Lydia continued to shop. Lydia was on a shopping spree, and whenever she found something suitable for Daphne, she bought it for her as well.
By four o'clock, Charles watched the two enter another store, furrowed his brow almost imperceptibly. He was genuinely curious about how Lydia, who seemed fragile and delicate, managed to shop for four hours straight and was still going.
It wasn't that he was tired. The thing was, as he followed them around, he had drawn too many strange looks; as if he was some sort of stalker.
Ten minutes later, Daphne and Lydia came out, and Charles approached them, initiating conversation, "How much longer are you planning to shop?"
Daphne and Lydia looked at him with puzzled expressions.
They didn't understand why he would ask such a question. How long they shopped didn't seem to have anything to do with him at all.
"I need to talk to you," Charles said, his gaze fixed on Daphne.
"Did you forget the promise you made before?" Daphne's tone was indifferent, a sign that she had long moved past the point of getting angry at the sight of him.
"I haven't forgotten," Charles responded, his eyes dark, his voice as low and steady as ever. "I just wanted to explain a few things to you."
"Our relationship is non-existent," Daphne replied with her usual detachment. "There's no need for explanations; we have nothing personal to discuss. If it's about business, you should be talking to the CEO of the Murphy Group."
With one sentence, Daphne effectively blocked any path for Charles to veer into her personal space.
The more she maintained her cool distance, the more Charles wanted to establish some connection with her, to shatter her composure and provoke some anger or emotion from her concerning him.
"Let's not talk about us then," Charles said, pulling out his phone with his signature aloofness. "Marcus asked me to call him as soon as I saw you; he said he needed to talk to you."
Daphne was about to refuse, implying she could get in touch with Marcus on her own, but Charles had already dialed the number.
Marcus answered quickly, with Rex still at his side. Marcus had his issues with Charles, betraying an edge of impatience in his voice. "Spit it out. Don't waste my time. Rex and I are practicing our writing."
Charles went silent for a moment, knowing full well that since his divorce from Daphne, he had become the least favored person at home. "Daphne's here with me," he finally said.
The line went quiet for a second.
"Put me on speaker; I've got something to talk over with Daphne," Marcus soon commanded, ready to get to the point.
Charles complied, "It's on speaker now."
Lydia glanced at her sister, then waited quietly alongside.
Marcus's voice boomed through the phone; his every call of Daphne's name was laced with a hint of endearment, "Is that you, Daphne?"
"Yes, Marcus," Daphne replied, even altering her form of address.
Charles looked at her, his grip on the phone tightening involuntarily.
Marcus seemed unfazed; after all, to him, Daphne would always be Daphne. "I wanted to ask you something. Are you free to talk?"
"Yes, I'm free."
"Do you still have feelings for that rascal Charles?" he asked bluntly.
Upon hearing this, both Charles and Lydia turned their gaze toward Daphne with anticipation, awaiting her response.
Everyone expected some hesitation from Daphne, but to their surprise, she gave a straightforward answer the moment after Marcus's question was posed. "No, I don't."
The words hit Charles like a ton of bricks, making even his breath catch in his throat. How much must they dislike him to utter those words without hesitation?
"Do you honestly dislike him that much?" Marcus asked again.
Daphne replied, "I truly don't."
"If you truly don't have any feelings for him at all, then I'll just go ahead and arrange a marriage for him," Marcus said slowly, his words dripping with disdain for Charles, "Several of the old timers have been asking me about this recently."
Daphne didn't feel it was her place to comment. "You do what you think is best."
"If you still have any affection for him, I'd leave no stone unturned to keep him available for you," Marcus said, leaving others to wonder if he was serious or not. "But if you don't like him, then I might as well squeeze whatever value out of him that I can."
Daphne was speechless.
Charles furrowed his brow, barely perceptible, "Marcus, I can hear you."
"So, what if you can hear me? I'm only speaking the truth," Marcus said without an ounce of guilt. "If you can't win over Daphne, then you'll just have to agree to the arranged marriage."
"The Lancelot Group doesn't need a marriage alliance," Charles stated flatly. He would never accept an arranged marriage. Even if it was the will of his family.
"Of course, the Lancelot Group doesn't need it, because that would be absurd. It's a company, not a person," Marcus scoffed. "I'll give you three more months. If you can't win Daphne over by then, you'll go through with the arranged marriage. Non-negotiable."
With that, Marcus hung up the phone.
After setting the phone aside, he turned to Rex, who was standing nearby, and asked, "Was I convincing enough?"
"More than enough," Rex replied, giving him a thumbs up.
"By doing this, do you think Charles will hold a grudge against me?" Marcus pondered.
He might dislike him, but Charles had always been the brightest and the most sensible of the bunch.
"He should be thanking you, not holding a grudge," Rex said as he set down his calligraphy brush, a smirk playing on his lips. "For all we know, he might be overjoyed right now, grateful you've given him a reason to renew ties with Daphne."
That's what Marcus had said. He couldn't believe Charles agreed to a challenge to complete within three months to win Daphne back, promising not to bother her until he had won.
He couldn't understand how Charles' train of thought worked. Even the best relationships fade without connection and involvement, but still, he agreed to such terms. Talk about being clueless.
His emotional intelligence is seriously worrisome.
"After my birthday, go give him some help," Marcus said with a sigh. "With the way his mind works, he'd probably never win Daphne back on his own."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
