Chapter 445 Can You Stop Doing Things You'll Regret?
"Not bad," Charles croaked out before slamming his drink back in one go.
'What if me and Daphne had a kid?' he wondered, but quickly shook it off.
'Nah, better leave things as they are,' he thought.
Even if they had a kid, it wouldn't change squat. The only change would be that Daphne's love life getting messier.
He couldn't promise her a happy, stable life, and he sure as hell didn't want to mess up her current one.
"Take it easy with the drinks. I'm outta here," Charles said, setting his glass down. He wasn't even buzzed. "Matt's in Ivrea City too. I'll hit him up to keep you company."
"No need," Austin shot back, not in the mood for more drinks.
Charles gave a nod and bounced.
Austin felt something was seriously off with Charles lately.
So he shot a text to Mark: [What's up with Charles?]
In less than two months, it felt like Charles had turned into a whole different person.
Mark replied all formal: [I can't spill his business, not even to his friends.]
After sending the text, he saw Charles heading out. He quickly caught up and said, "Mr. Lancelot, hop in the car."
Charles got in, same as always, taking the back seat while Mark drove.
"Mr. Lancelot, if you wanna drink more, go ahead. I'll wait here, so you don't have to worry about getting home drunk," Mark added, noticing Charles was still pretty sober.
He'd told Austin to have Charles drink less since he hadn't eaten much.
Drinking on an empty stomach was a bad idea. Austin had said Charles had eaten, which made Mark feel a bit better.
Charles hadn't slept well in ages. Sometimes Mark wished he'd just get drunk and crash hard.
"I had enough. Let's head back," Charles said, his eyes darker than they'd been in days.
Mark didn't push it and started the car.
On the way back, Charles stared out the window, lost in thought.
Mark hadn't seen him like this in a long time. He took a guess, "Mr. Lancelot, got something on your mind?"
Charles stayed quiet.
Mark didn't push.
The only sound was the faint hum of the tires.
Just when Mark thought Charles wouldn't answer, he mumbled, "She really doesn't wanna see me."
"Who?" Mark asked.
"Daphne," Charles replied, his emotions all over the place.
Mark's eyes widened, his thoughts momentarily freezing.
Lately, neither Mark nor Brian had mentioned Daphne around Charles, worried it would mess him up more.
Did Austin say something to Charles?
"She moved," Charles said, struggling with the words, "to the villa area."
No one knew how he felt when Austin told him that Daisy and Daphne's new place was just one villa away.
At that moment, Charles had one thought, 'Does she hate me so much to move away? Does she really find me that repulsive?'
Mark didn't overthink it, taking the words at face value. He said casually, "How does that mean she doesn't wanna see you? Maybe she's planning to live with Benjamin, so she moved."
Charles stayed quiet.
He had no clue what Daphne was thinking or why she really moved.
But the idea that she might've moved just to avoid him, felt like a boulder crushing his chest, making it hard to breathe.
"If you wanna know, I can dig around for you," Mark offered, hating to see Charles in pain.
"No need," Charles shot back, "It doesn't matter anymore."
The only one really hurting was him, and he didn't matter.
Mark didn't reply, but he made up his mind to find out.
Otherwise, it would be a thorn in Charles' heart, causing pain for a long time.
If it was a misunderstanding, why suffer needlessly?
"Should I have Brian come over tonight?" Mark asked, worried Charles would stay up all night again. "If you keep this up, your body won't hold out."
"No need," Charles refused.
"Mr. Lancelot," Mark called out.
"No need," Charles repeated.
Mark was genuinely worried about his health, so much so that he blurted out, "Can you stop doing things you'll regret?"
"You didn't listen to me before, and now you regret divorcing Ms. Murphy and not treating her right," Mark said, his voice heavy with concern. "If you don't listen now, what if you meet someone you wanna spend your life with later, but your health is too shot to enjoy it?"
"I won't," Charles said with certainty.
"Don't be so sure. When you talked about divorcing Ms. Murphy, I told you you'd regret it. How did you respond then?" Mark emphasized each word, wanting Charles to feel the sting. "Now you say you won't, aren't you afraid you'll regret it later?"
Charles didn't bother to argue with Mark.
Thinking back, he remembered all the dumb things he'd done.
Mark, seeing things clearly from the outside, tried to persuade him, "Life's long; there's no obstacle you can't get over. One day, you'll meet someone to spend your life with, like Ms. Murphy and Benjamin, a true partner."
Charles still didn't speak. He didn't know what the future held; he only knew that now and for some time to come, his heart belonged to Daphne.
As for why not forever, it was because he didn't dare to be certain about anything anymore.
When it came to love, no matter how sure he was, the outcome was always different.
"Even if you don't care about yourself, think about your family who cares about you," Mark said slowly, looking at him through the rearview mirror. "If you collapse one day, you know how worried your parents and elderly grandfather would be."
"You can shut up now," Charles said coldly. "Have Brian come over at 10:30."
"Got it!" Mark immediately answered and made the call.
When Brian heard about it, he got out of bed immediately. "Are you sure Charles asked me to come over?"
"Yes," Mark replied.
"Really?" Brian asked again.
"Yes," Mark said firmly.
"Wait, I'll be right there," Brian said, feeling guilty towards Charles, quickly got dressed, and left.
Brian hadn't left Ivrea City during this time, fearing that if he left, Charles would need him and he wouldn't be there.
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