Chapter 188 Taking Responsibility for My Life
Hearing those words, Charles's icy gaze settled on Daphne's face, clearly filled with disbelief. "Really?"
Daphne had always been one to judge a book by its cover, and excessively so. He knew this better than anyone else.
"What's 'really' or 'not really' about it? Haven't you ever heard the saying?" Daphne replied calmly, glancing back at him.
Charles just stared at her, as if waiting for her to spout some twisted logic.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Daphne said bluntly, her expression growing more serious, "As long as I like him, no matter how he looks, I find him attractive."
"Do you believe that?" Charles spoke slowly.
Their eyes met and Daphne said, word for word, "Why wouldn't I believe what I say?"
The atmosphere between them grew strange. Charles was reminded of a past conversation where Daphne had asked him if he ever believed anything she said.
"So, can we add each other on WhatsApp?" Roger asked, pressing on despite feeling a bit intimidated by Charles, "We can keep in touch after we get back to Gedser."
"Sure,” she replied. Daphne took out her phone.
Without making a scene, Charles stepped in front of her, directly addressing Roger, "Jasper's calling you, aren't you going over?"
Roger was taken aback. He glanced back instinctively, seeing nothing.
"Jasper didn't call me..." he turned back to reply, but before he finished speaking, he saw Charles pulling Daphne away.
At that moment, he realized Charles genuinely didn't want him getting too involved with Daphne.
Charles openly led Daphne to a less crowded area, passing through the hotel lobby to a nearby corridor.
Daphne tried to break free, but Charles was gripping her too tightly, almost crushing her bones. If not for the fact they were at Marcus's birthday party, she might have lost control and started a fight right there.
The nerve he’s got! It hurt the way he was dragging her.
"Bang!"
Charles yanked her toward him, slamming her against the corridor wall.
No one was around, and the noisy lobby was some distance away. Even if there were sounds here, nobody would hear them.
"Are you out of your mind, Charles?" Daphne frowned, wincing from the pain in her back.
"You like that puppy-dog type so much, Roger?" Charles was irritated.
He had thought to make up for the past by gradually making amends with Daphne, to go along with her wishes and not oppose her. But now, he realized he was mistaken.
Whether she received warmth or coldness from him, she would rather entangle herself with a stranger like Roger than give him the time of day. With this attitude, a reconciliation with him was out of the question.
"Why should I care about your likes and dislikes?" Daphne said, convinced he wasn't thinking straight. "And in what capacity do you have the right to ask?"
Charles was taken aback.
"Aren't you the one questioning me?" Daphne pressed on. "Are you an ex-husband, or a suitor?"
"Wasn't it you who declined to speak with me?" Charles' gaze darkened, his cool retort slipping out.
Daphne was speechless.
‘The nerve of this man is so irritating!’ She didn't want to spend another moment with him, "Move aside."
"You haven't answered my question," Charles stubbornly insisted, eager to know the answer.
"I'm under no obligation to respond," Daphne said icily, her patience wearing thin. "If you don't step aside, I won't hesitate to take action."
After all, they were alone. Her outfit might not have been ideal for a fight, but that didn't mean she couldn't hold her own.
"Try me," Charles challenged, his demeanor was becoming tense.
Daphne swung her hand towards his face, but Charles caught it swiftly, in the blink of an eye.
Daphne then aimed a kick at him.
Charles sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the blow.
"Today is Marcus' birthday, and I have no wish to cause a scene," Daphne said, always holding a sense of respect for her elders. "I would hope you could show some restraint as well."
"High and mighty words just to cover up for your smooth transitions," Charles knew she wasn't that kind of person, but he couldn't bear to let her slip away.
Even if it meant arguing or making a fuss. He still wished for their lives to be intertwined.
Daphne looked at him as if he were foolish and retorted, "Even if it's a smooth transition, it's certainly better than securing your next relationship before even being divorced."
"I've already cut off contact with her," Charles replied, barely opening his thin lips.
"That's because she doesn't like you. If she genuinely came back to you, and her terminal illness was real..." Daphne fired back with each point, "By now you would already be applying for a marriage certificate with her, wouldn't you?"
Hearing this, Charles' brow furrowed ever so slightly. His eyes deepened before he asked a pointed question, "Does it bother you?"
Daphne fell silent. This was precisely why she couldn't stand being with someone who was mentally absent.
She couldn't understand how Hayden, Laura, and Marcus, who were such wonderful people could end up raising someone like Charles.
"It's pointless to talk to someone you don't agree with." Daphne didn't want to continue the conversation. "I have nothing more to say to you."
If it weren't for the need to catch that person, she would cut all ties with him completely.
However, one thing still puzzled her. Why would that person target Charles with such vengeance?
Charles grasped her arm, his nearly six-foot-three stature casting an imposing aura. "You don't have to worry about the past," he began in a compelling tone.
"Charles," Daphne interrupted him.
His gaze settled on her.
"I'll say it one last time, everything that happened before can't be made up for," Daphne asserted with an unusual seriousness in her normally placid eyes. "No matter what you do, I'm not going to remarry you. You might as well let that hope die."
"Do we have to go through this?" Charles responded in a voice chilled with frustration.
"It's you who wants it this way," Daphne said, genuinely baffled by his thought process. "When we were together, you wanted a divorce. Now that we're divorced, you want to remarry. Are you sure your mind is functioning properly?"
Charles’s expression darkened slightly as he said, "I just want to put a period at the end of our past."
If everything were only as it seemed on the surface, and Kayla had left due to a terminal illness, then he should fill the gap of the lost emotions and offer her a future.
He wondered if Daphne would give him a piece of her mind if she knew about these thoughts!
"If your first love had left you because of a terminal illness, not wanting to be a burden, and then came back after being cured to explain everything, wouldn't you divorce me for him?" Charles posed the question.
Even now, he vividly remembered how Daphne had reacted when Rex suggested that Daphne should call her first love. She, who hardly drank, downed three drinks without a word.
"No," Daphne declared emphatically.
Charles didn't believe her one bit.
Daphne didn't care whether he believed her or not. "The past has passed. I'll take responsibility for my life and for my partner," she stated firmly.
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