Chapter 189 Clear Conscience Is Enough
To her, starting a new relationship meant she had moved on from the past. Whatever twists the past relationship had faced or whatever unknown reasons might have existed, it was all behind her now. There was no need to revisit, and rewrite finished chapters.
Life was a process of moving forward.
Betraying a current partner for the sake of an ex was the most foolish and irresponsible action one could take.
"You can say that because it hasn't happened to you," Charles retorted, doubtful that Daphne could be so nonchalant. "Can you honestly say that when you married me, you had completely let go of your first love?"
Daphne fell silent. She wished she could claim a first love, but did she even have one?
Charles thought he had read Daphne's mind. "If you had truly moved on, you wouldn't have silently drunk three glasses when Rex told you to call him," he surmised.
"Think what you want," Daphne replied, uninterested in elaborating. "Having a clear conscience is good enough for me."
In her heart, he was her first love; whether he imagined she still pined for him or suspected her of deceit, Daphne remained resolute in her convictions.
No matter what she considered, it all seemed pointless. She didn’t want to waste any more time with him and used Marcus’s party as an excuse, “The dinner is about to officially start, and if you keep me here, we’re going to delay Marcus’s birthday.”
“I won’t let you get involved with Roger,” Charles said before he left. But inwardly, he was wondering if Daphne had any feelings for Roger. In the past, he could have been certain that she didn’t. Yet she, who typically didn’t like to add strangers on her phone, had done just that today.
Daphne didn’t respond to his remark. After watching him leave, she leaned against the wall to collect herself. The saying goes ‘beauty is a double-edged sword.’ If only she ’hadn’t been struck by his good looks, she wouldn’t have married Charles.
She wondered if this 'face-judging' habit could be changed; she was afraid of getting past one challenge only to face a bigger one.
While pondering these thoughts, she took out her phone and caressed it, eventually making a call for help in deciding. "Daffy?" Evan's gentle voice came through.
"There's something I need your help deciding," Daphne said, her mind clearing up and her emotions stabilizing, "Someone wants to use my connection with Charles to get back at him. Should I keep it going?"
Evan could tell from her tone that something had happened. "Do you have any concerns?"
"I don't want to get too entangled with Charles," Daphne was always straightforward with Evan, "When I get back, I want to stop any new collaborations with the Lancelot Group." As for the previous ones, she wouldn't bother about those.
Evan adjusted his glasses and shifted his gaze from the paperwork, "You decide about the collaboration, but regarding that person, you can keep working together."
"I can't work with him," Daphne thought with disfavor, wanting to stay away.
"You're Daffy," Evan reassured her, calming her spirit, "There's nothing you can't do."
If it were anything else, he would tell her to just not collaborate if she doesn't want to, and that's okay. But he knew how much Daffy wanted to catch this person, how deeply she wanted to avenge the near destruction of her previous team, and if now he suggested that they should not collaborate and think of other ways, she would regret it later.
He understood what she wanted and naturally, he would make this decision for her whenever she was slightly confused and unsure.
Daphne felt completely calm now, "Okay."
"Did you guys just fight?" Evan guessed.
"Um," Daphne responded in a neutral tone.
"There's something I've been thinking about that I think I should tell you," Evan said as he opened the WhatsApp chat history on his computer.
Daphne was unaccustomed to hearing him speak so formally. "What is it?" she asked.
"A couple of days ago, the captain sent me a message," said Evan, his thin lips curving into a smile that reminded her of a typical neighborly figure, Gavin. "He asked about you."
Daphne's sense of calm evaporated. "What did he ask about me? What did he want to know?"
"He was asking whether it's true that you got married and then divorced," Evan said, curious himself about how the captain had come across that information, especially given the restrictions on mobile phone use where he was stationed.
Daphne relaxed a bit, "As long as he doesn’t ask whether I’ve regressed in any way, it's fine."
Evan glanced at the last sentence the captain had sent him, his eyes deepening with meaning, but ultimately, he chose not to tell Daphne about the captain’s impending return. That news would surely keep her up at night.
"I have to go," said Daphne, hearing the noise from outside. She didn't want to linger on the phone, "We'll talk more when I return."
"Sure," Evan responded with typical gentleness toward Daphne.
After they hung up, Daphne headed out as the party was officially getting underway.
The birthday celebration progressed smoothly. Daphne went over to greet Marcus, and after spending some time with the older man, she took her seat.
Logically, Daphne should have been seated elsewhere with Mr. Murphy, but Marcus, hoping to ease the tension between them, had insisted that Mr. Murphy and Daphne join Hayden and the others. As luck would have it, Charles was seated next to Daphne.
During the entree course, Marcus kept giving Charles pointed looks, likely suggesting that he take care of Daphne instead of just focusing on himself.
There was still a bit of a cold war between Charles and Daphne. Even though he was annoyed, Charles, using the serving spoon, placed some of the soup into her bowl.
Daphne refused when Marcus spoke up, but she failed to decline effectively. Halfway through the soup, she felt like it was sitting like a rock in her stomach. She didn't want to eat the food that Charles had served her, but the occasion and atmosphere didn't allow her to simply remove the food from her bowl. So, she ate it with forced determination.
"That's enough," Daphne stopped Charles, "I'm full."
Without a word, Charles placed the soup into her bowl.
Daphne thought to herself bitterly about the dogged persistence of Charles causing her irritation.
The meal ended with Daphne holding back her resentment towards Charles, which had built up to a significant boiling point, though she never let it show.
After the dinner party ended, Marcus pulled aside Mr. Murphy for some small talk. The conversation mostly circled back to the recent incident involving Charles from Marcus's family and how poor their conduct had been. Marcus genuinely felt that their manners had been lacking, and Mr. Murphy just humored him by engaging in the chat.
As for Daphne, she excused herself to the restroom not long after finishing her meal. She hadn't even reached the door when a tall figure blocked her path. The man was dressed in a sleek suit, slim in stature, with a mischievous look in his eyes.
It was Austin.
She had no intention of speaking to him and didn't think they had anything worth discussing.
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