Chapter 314 Little Schemes
Jesse paused, then quickly said, "No."
Daphne was his boss; he couldn't think that way. He wanted to care for her, not take over her life.
Mark asked, "Really, no?"
Jesse replied, "No."
"We're close; no need to be shy," Mark said, leaning in. "I won't laugh at you."
"Unless Ms. Murphy is hurt, asleep, or something, I wouldn't hold her. And kissing? No way," Jesse, a bit drunk, spoke bluntly.
Mark stared at him, realizing he was serious.
"If that's true, you don't have romantic feelings for Ms. Murphy," Mark said, slurring a bit. "It's more like protective, family care."
Jesse thought about his relationship with Daphne.
"Or maybe like an older brother's concern for a younger sister," Mark suggested.
Jesse said, "But when I see her with Benjamin, I get uncomfortable and want him gone."
"That's because you and Ms. Murphy aren't real siblings," Mark explained. "You've always been her special assistant at HorizonTech. It's normal to feel threatened."
Jesse pondered this.
Mark stood up and stopped his drinking. "Don't overthink it; trust me."
Jesse ignored him. After sobering up a bit, he got up to wash and go to bed.
Both still had some sense left. After washing up, they went to their rooms and lay down.
Jesse fell asleep quickly. Mark, however, lay awake, relieved that Jesse didn't have romantic feelings for Daphne.
With Charles and Benjamin around Daphne, if Jesse liked her, he'd get hurt.
Charles had hurt Daphne before. Benjamin had her trust and care. Over time, Daphne might develop feelings for him.
It would be different if Jesse weren't so clueless and could speak up. But he was indeed clueless.
Luckily, Jesse just wanted to protect Daphne.
Rubbing his temples, Mark turned on his phone. Just as he was about to reply to Charles's message, he got a call from Charles.
Mark immediately sat up and called back.
It was 1:30 AM; he didn't know if Charles was asleep.
As the phone rang, Mark's heart pounded.
After a few seconds, Charles answered.
"Mr. Lancelot?" Mark asked cautiously.
"Getting bold, huh?" Charles's voice was displeased. "Turning off your phone on purpose?"
Mark bluffed, "No, I was having dinner with Jesse and didn't notice my phone died."
"Take a screenshot and show me," Charles demanded, exposing the lie.
When Charles left, he saw Mark's phone fully charged. It had only been about two hours, so the battery couldn't be dead.
Lying without making it believable—what a rookie move.
Mark glanced at his phone, still over 80% battery, feeling like crying.
Why couldn't he have Daphne's photo-editing skills? He'd have faked a screenshot and sent it to Charles without a second thought.
"Actually, I was worried Jesse would see your messages," Mark said, half-truthfully. "If I kept replying or taking calls, he might've guessed it was you."
That was partly true. Mostly, Mark just didn't want to deal with Charles, but he'd never admit that.
"I don't care about your reasons. I want all of Benjamin's info in three days," Charles demanded.
"Okay," Mark agreed.
Charles hung up without another word, continuing his cold bath.
The next morning, Daphne woke up and made breakfast. She was surprised to notice Charles hadn't gotten up yet, as he usually woke up early.
"Charles, breakfast is ready."
"Charles."
She called twice, but no response.
Daphne frowned, announced she was coming in, and opened the door. Seeing Charles still asleep, she went over to wake him and touched his arm.
He was burning up. She touched his forehead—fever.
Her mind flashed back to his previous high fevers, often paired with severe injuries.
"Charles!" Daphne called, trying to wake him.
Charles, groggy and hot, saw Daphne by the bed and felt comforted. Last night's cold bath wasn't for nothing.
"Daphne," Charles mumbled.
"Get up. We're going to the hospital. You have a fever," Daphne said, genuinely scared. If his fever caused brain damage again, she'd feel guilty towards the Lancelot family.
"No," Charles shook his head, his head pounding. "I don't want to go to the hospital."
Despite the discomfort, as long as Daphne was there, nothing else mattered. He wouldn't let Benjamin next door take her away.
"You're burning up. If you don't go, it could have lasting effects," Daphne tried to persuade him.
But Charles refused.
With no other option, Daphne got fever medicine from the first aid kit and gave it to him.
Then she called the family doctor, explained Charles's condition, and asked him to come over.
The doctor arrived in about half an hour. Meanwhile, she took Charles's temperature—102 degrees Fahrenheit—and kept cooling him down to prevent it from getting worse.
"Daphne, I feel awful," Charles said pitifully.
While cooling him down, Daphne comforted him, "Hang in there; the doctor will be here soon."
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