Chapter 163 Do You Like My Sister Daffy?
"So, are we still on for soup later?" Mark asked tentatively.
This meal could very well turn into a setup.
Charles's eyes flickered with emotion, but he uttered just one phrase, "Why not go?"
No matter if it was a setup or whether Mr. Murphy had something against him, he had to go. Because the other party was Daphne’s relative.
Half an hour later, Gavin's secretary had already booked a restaurant and he was taking Charles there.
Daphne watched them leave. She didn't say much, but as she was about to leave work and head home, she received a call from her grandfather, asking her to come over.
Her memories of Grandpa were deep-seated. Ever since she was a little girl, he had always been kind to her and Lydia. That was until she found out that he had forced her mother into an arranged marriage, a fact that dimmed the image of the otherwise gentle old man in her heart.
After telling Lydia she wouldn't be coming home that night, she was picked up by someone sent by her grandfather.
By the time she arrived, it was already seven in the evening. The visit was much like any other; the old man, as usual, dined with her. At the table, it was just the two of them.
After dinner, Kieran took her for a walk in the yard.
Daphne knew it probably meant he had something to discuss with her.
“So, I hear you’ve been away from Gedser these past years, got married in Ivrea City?” Kieran was over eighty, and he asked with a kind look in his eyes and a gentle tone.
Without hiding anything and chatting as usual, Daphne replied, “Yeah.”
“How did he treat you?” he asked.
“All right,” she said indifferently.
“All right, and yet a divorce?” His curiosity was palpable.
“It wasn’t right,” she responded.
Their conversation continued casually.
Kieran knew Daphne's character well; he was aware she wouldn't take her marriage lightly. He guessed she probably didn't want anyone prying into her past.
“These days, an old friend was reminiscing with me, and he mentioned he has a grandson of marrying age,” Kieran spoke slowly as they strolled, “He said his grandson is quite the catch, good-looking, and with an excellent family background.”
Hearing this, Daphne had a hunch it was about arranged marriage.
“He wants you two to meet,” Kieran glanced at her, “Do you want to?”
“No,” Daphne refused promptly. She didn't like blind dates.
“I figured as much. You've always been like that,” Kieran said with an affectionate smile, clearly fond of her, “I’ll decline on your behalf.”
Daphne paused, feeling more surprised than she’d like to admit.
Her reaction didn't escape Kieran's notice.
He looked at her, his voice suddenly heavier with seriousness, “If I were younger, I would have arranged for you two to meet. But as one grows old, some things just don’t seem worth meddling in.”
Daphne didn't respond.
She wanted to ask why he had forced her mother into an arranged marriage, but so much time had passed, and her grandfather had gone from hair of snow to sending off a loved one with locks of black.
Asking now would be like twisting a knife in his heart.
“Daffy,” Kieran stood by the lotus pond, his voice tinged with a certain aged roughness and remorse, “I wronged your mother.”
Daphne paused, turning to look at him instinctively.
“If I hadn’t forced her into that marriage with your father, perhaps she wouldn’t have left us so soon,” he admitted his mistake.
Two years had passed since Ann had left, and every day he regretted the decision he had made back then. As he aged, he realized that some things just weren't as important as family.
Daphne didn't know how to comfort others; she just told the truth, "Mom told Lydia and me something before she left. She said she was very happy to have us."
Life is full of uncertainties. Every crossroad represents a different future. No one knows if the path chosen is the right one. Whether Mom hated Grandpa or not, Daphne couldn't tell, but she knew that her mother had lived without regrets.
Kieran sighed deeply, releasing emotions that had been building up for two years in this one conversation.
"There's a chance Marcus might try to arrange a marriage for you." Kieran wanted to shift from the heavy topics and offered a lighter one, "If you need Grandpa's help, just give me a call."
"Okay," Daphne responded confidently. She wasn't worried about such matters. She didn't have any vulnerabilities that Marcus could exploit, nor did she need an arranged marriage to create value for herself. No one could force her into marriage, and she had no intention of entering one.
"Daffy," Kieran began, calling her by her nickname.
"Hmm?"
"No matter what, the family will always have your back. You just do what you need to do," Kieran spoke with earnest. He knew he had wronged his daughter in the past. Now he couldn't fail to protect his granddaughter's happiness.
Daphne didn't object, "Okay."
That night, Daphne stayed over, unaware that Gavin and Charles were having a blast drinking on the other side of town, already referring to each other as brothers.
In the private room, Mark and Gwendolyn sat frozen, glancing nervously back and forth between Gavin and Charles, who sat close together on the couch.
"Charles, I'm upset with you for disappointing my Daffy," Gavin slurred, uncharacteristically tipsy, having been bested by Charles's drinking, "But you are handsome, and Daffy likes that kind of look."
Charles was silent.
Mark and Gwendolyn didn't know what to say.
"Charles, tell me the truth, do you like my girl, Daffy?" Gavin's face flushed red from the alcohol. He had intended to get Charles drunk to interrogate him about his relationship with Daphne, but it was he who ended up under the influence first.
Despite his usually cool and serious demeanor at work, in private, especially with friends, Gavin could be quite the chatterbox.
Charles's eyes held a complex mix of emotions. After a moment of silence, he said, "I don't know."
He genuinely wasn't sure about his feelings for Daphne. He had thought about remarriage, but according to the information he had dug up, the thought of Daphne didn’t bring a smile to his lips.
More often than not, his expression was one of worry and deep thought.
"Do you even know if you like her, what's going on in that head of yours?" Gavin draped an arm over his shoulder and leaned in close, "So tell me, if Daffy started dating someone else, would you be upset?"
‘Yes.’ That was Charles's first reaction. Not only would he be upset, he'd want to stop it.
"If someone bullied Daffy, would you feel like defending her?" Gavin asked again.
‘Yes.’ That's the word that popped into Charles's mind.
"The most important point," Gavin put his index finger on Charles's lip and murmured gently in his ear, "Is there anyone who could take Daffy's place in your heart?"
Charles thought it over.
The final answer was, ‘No.’
At that moment, he couldn't help but remember what Mark had told him before, that being drawn to someone is impulsive.
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