Chapter 183 No Habit of Looking Back
Daphne followed him, believing they truly had somewhere to be.
Rex watched from a distance, completely taken aback by Charles's tactic to end the chat between Roger and Daphne. He became rather curious as to what Charles had said to make Daphne willingly follow and to make Roger forfeit their conversation.
With this thought in mind, holding the itinerary in his hand, he walked over and feigned ignorance with his question, "Why did they leave?"
"He said he needed to go back to the old house with Daphne to pick something up," Roger admitted openly.
"Are you out of your mind?" Rex spoke slowly, resting his hand on Roger's shoulder, "It’s just picking up something, I could have gone instead."
Roger was taken aback, "Huh?"
Was that even an option? "But... Charles has such a strong intimidating presence that I didn’t dare to speak up," Rex explained.
Unlike the straightforward conversation between the two men, the interaction between Charles and Daphne seemed oddly peculiar.
After Daphne got into the car, she immediately asked, "What are we picking up?"
Charles was silent until then, started the car and headed towards the old house.
After driving for a while, he finally spoke, "Getting something was just an excuse. I sensed you were uncomfortable with the crowd, so I made up a reason to get you out of there."
"You can drop me off now," Daphne's tone was flat.
Charles didn’t seem inclined to let her out, driving back to the old house instead.
Daphne, resigning herself to the situation, closed her eyes to rest during the ride.
Upon arrival at the old house, Charles got out of the car, intending to come around to open the door for Daphne, but she had already stepped out on her own.
Knowing that the place was familiar to her, Charles first led her to have some lunch, then asked her to wait for him while he changed clothes, as there was a dinner event later and casual attire wouldn't be appropriate.
Daphne didn’t oppose him and simply hummed in acknowledgement, finding a place to rest.
Twenty minutes later, Charles reemerged. He had changed into a charcoal-grey suit with a crisp white shirt underneath. The outfit really brought out his aura of aloofness and detachment.
Even though they were divorced, and may not like him now, Daphne had to admit Charles had an admirable model's physique.
Casual wear made him appear sharp and rugged, while the suit brought out a detached and profound vibe.
His face was truly good-looking.
As Daphne stood up, about to ask if they were leaving, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out and saw it was her father calling; sliding the screen prompt to answer, she greeted him.
“Will you be coming back later?” Mr. Murphy inquired as his mind was preoccupied with how to face the Lancelot family soon.
Daphne responded affirmatively, "Yes."
Her clothes were still at the hotel.
Though Marcus hadn't invited too many people, and it wasn't mandatory to wear a formal attire, it still wasn't appropriate to dress too casually.
"When will you be back? Do you need me to send someone to pick you up?" Mr. Murphy asked, meticulous as ever.
Daphne declined, “No need, I will head back to the hotel with Charles later and come over from there.”
The hotel they stayed at wasn't far from the venue where Marcus was hosting his birthday party. It was only a quick ten-minute walk away.
The moment Mr. Murphy heard the name Charles, alarm bells went off in his head. Why was Daphne with Charles? He wanted to inquire, but he was quite aware that Daphne knew what she was doing. So, he simply ended the conversation with, "Let me know when you get back; I'll wait for you."
"Sure," Daphne responded.
After she hung up the phone, just as she was about to ask Charles when they should leave, she noticed him staring at her. She didn't shy away; instead, she naturally asked him, "Are you heading back to the hotel now, or do you have more things to take care of?"
If he had other matters to attend to, she would go ahead on her own. The only issue was that hailing a cab wasn't easy near the old house; they would have to walk a distance to find one.
"Was that dad?" Charles asked, his voice deep as he slightly parted his lips.
Daphne was puzzled. ‘Dad?‘
"Let's go." Charles led her to the car, and after getting in, he added, "Which hotel are you staying at? I'll drop you off."
"Charles," Daphne felt the need to clarify something important to him.
Charles looked at her, his dark eyes impenetrable. "Hmm?"
"We're divorced now. My dad isn't your dad," Daphne said, especially particular about how they addressed each other to avoid any misunderstanding of their relationship. "Please get that straight."
Charles just watched her, "Have you misunderstood something?"
Daphne furrowed her brows, unsure of what he meant.
"I was referring to your dad when I spoke earlier," Charles claimed with an air of seriousness, despite clearly messing around, and with his convincing demeanor, he added, "Next time, I'll make sure to enunciate every word clearly."
Grinding her teeth, Daphne really felt the urge to punch him. How could she have misunderstood 'your dad' as 'dad'?
She wanted to argue, but after a second thought, she decided to ignore him. Since silence was the best counterattack, after all.
In Charles’s mind, he expected that his comments would elicit some kind of reaction, at the very least a retort from her. Their interaction had been practically non-existent since they met that day, and if it continued that way, the chances of reconciling their marriage were slim.
He wanted to communicate with Daphne and have normal conversations or even arguments. Just so he could tell she acknowledged his presence.
"Daphne," he finally said.
She looked out the window, her tone indifferent as she replied, "Speak."
"Why did you hide your identity when you married me?" To this day, Charles still couldn't comprehend.
Not interested in having a meaningful dialogue, Daphne tossed an answer back, "Because I feared you would be after my wealth."
Charles was left speechless.
Persisting, Charles asked once more, "Then why won't you remarry me now?"
"Why do you ask?" Daphne said, clearly irritated by the topic. ‘Doesn't this guy have any self-awareness?’
Charles's gaze darkened slightly, "If you're still worried about me coming after your money, you could get a prenup. If it's because I divorced you for Kayla, you should marry me again, get back at me by spending my money."
"The last thing I lack is money," Daphne blurted out.
Charles fell silent for a moment.
In that instant, he really wished Daphne was still the person of modest background she used to be so he could shower her with money, help her out.
Now, Daphne lacked nothing.
"Not everyone has a bird-brain like you," Daphne couldn't help retorting, "I won't stumble at the same spot twice and I don't make a habit of looking back."
"So, you really don't care about me?" Charles was taken aback by her bluntness.
"Yes," Daphne answered directly.
"That's just too bad," Charles's dark eyes were tinged with an emotion he had not shown before, and his tone also deepened, "The more you behave like this, the more interested I become in you."
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