Chapter 393 Do You Think I'm Stupid?
Around nine, Charles and Mark rolled up.
Charles looked like he got hit by a truck—pale and down in the dumps, not his usual dashing self.
"Ms. Murphy, I'll go pack Mr. Lancelot's stuff. You two can chat," Mark said, giving Charles the space he needed. He knew Charles had something to spill to Daphne.
Daphne blinked, confused. "Pack what luggage?"
Mark shot a glance at Charles. This was Charles's news to break.
"My memory's back," Charles said, his hands shaking a bit. His dark eyes locked onto Daphne's face, like he was trying to etch it into his brain. "Sorry for all the mess I caused," he added, genuinely.
Daphne's eyes zeroed in on him, realizing this was the Charles she used to know so well.
Her mind flashed back to that night downstairs. Had he gotten his memory back by then?
"Why didn't you tell me when you went to see Brian?" Daphne asked, her emotions all over the place.
"I didn't know how to face you after my memory came back," Charles admitted. "I was scared if it didn't stick, you'd worry and blame yourself, so I went solo."
Daphne went quiet. Now that he remembered, he didn't need to stick around anymore.
"Daphne," Charles called out.
"Yeah?" she replied.
"I did a lot of dumb stuff when I had amnesia and caused you a ton of trouble," Charles said, his voice rough and low, missing its usual chill. "I'm sorry."
Daphne shrugged it off. "It's cool. It's all in the past."
Charles felt a storm of emotions, wanting to spill his guts about his regrets.
But he knew Daphne had moved on. No matter what he said, it wouldn't change anything.
"Is he good to you?" Charles asked after a long pause.
Daphne didn't get it at first.
"Benjamin," Charles clarified.
"Yeah, he's great," Daphne replied simply.
Her words shattered Charles's heart. He had to use all his willpower to hide the pain.
In the end, they missed their shot.
"As long as he's good to you," Charles said, trying to keep his voice steady, though his eyes showed his reluctance. "If he ever treats you bad, or if you regret it, my door's always open."
Daphne was taken aback. Once she got his meaning, she just said, "No need."
Charles felt a sting from her words.
"You don't need to feel guilty or regretful about the past. You've already paid your dues," Daphne told him straight up, seeing through his thoughts. "Living in the past won't help. It's time to move forward."
Life's long, and who knows what's coming next.
When she first got married, she thought she'd never find someone as good as Charles again and didn't see the troubles ahead.
But now, she had Benjamin, who was even better. The future was wide open, and she shouldn't limit herself to the present.
Charles felt a deep, aching pain in his heart.
"Maybe the person meant to be with you for life is just around the corner," Daphne shared her thoughts.
Charles just stood there, not saying a word. The future? He couldn't care less about that right now.
All he knew was Daphne didn't want him anymore. She wanted him to move on, start fresh somewhere else.
"Can I ask you something?" Charles finally said, something bugging him.
"Sure, go ahead," Daphne replied.
Charles took a deep breath, his voice rough. "Who was your first love?"
He remembered that time at Rex's party when Daphne dodged the question about her first love. It had gnawed at him, made him jealous of whoever that person was.
Daphne pressed her lips together, not hiding it this time. "You."
"What?" Charles's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"My first love was you," Daphne said, getting why he was asking. "I didn't say it back then because I didn't want to get too tangled up with you. And with how you treated me, you wouldn't have believed me anyway."
Charles felt a punch to the gut, followed by a wave of regret. They could've had something great, but he blew it.
"What about Fred?" Charles asked, still trying to piece things together.
"My custom-made pillow," Daphne answered. She remembered how she used to go home to sleep most nights. But since coming back from Ivrea City, she'd been staying here almost every night. She hadn't slept with Fred for months.
No wonder her sleep had felt off lately, but she hadn't figured out why.
Charles had no clue how he got out of Daphne's house. In the car, her words kept replaying in his head.
"My first love was you."
"My custom-made pillow."
At that moment, Charles realized what a fool he'd been. He'd wronged her over Kayla, doubted her because of what Aubrey did to Kayla, and questioned her honesty when Aubrey hurt her.
The truth had always been what she said. But why hadn't he believed it before?
After packing up, Mark saw Charles looking like he'd been hit by a truck and asked, "Mr. Lancelot, why don't you head back to Ivrea City and take a break?"
They say the best way to forget someone is time and a new place. If Charles stayed in Gedser, it would only make things worse.
"No need," Charles shot back.
Mark sighed quietly and got into the driver's seat, starting the car.
Sometimes, Mark really wanted to tell Charles that feeling sad, regretful, and knowing he was wrong now was pointless. It'd be better to focus on his career, become Daphne's equal in the business world.
That way, when Daphne ran the company, she'd hear all about the Lancelot Group and Charles. He wouldn't be forgotten.
"When I was going after Daphne before, did you think I was pretty stupid?" Charles asked, his voice low and rough.
"No," Mark denied.
Just as Charles was about to speak, Mark cut in seriously, "I thought you were extremely stupid."
"The evidence was right in front of you, and you still didn't believe it," Mark said, letting out his frustration, not caring about Charles's heartbreak. "I thought you needed to get your head checked."
Charles thought back to the past. His disbelief wasn't real; it was his pride getting in the way.
Plus, seeing Daphne with Evan had stirred up some bad feelings in him.
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