Chapter 479 Hating Myself
If it were anyone else, Daphne could've kept her cool, but right then, her heart was all over the place, not sure how to handle it.
But she didn't dwell on it too much at the time, just chalked it up to fear.
Later, when Benjamin straight-up confessed, she was at a loss for words to turn him down.
She realized she had slowly fallen for Benjamin during their time together.
It wasn't love at first sight, but something that grew over time.
"Why so quiet? What's on your mind?" Emma nudged.
"Nothing." Daphne snapped out of it, giving a nonchalant reply. "I don't know when I started liking him, but when he confessed, I knew I did."
"You're brave," Zoey said seriously. "If it were me, I'd have bolted ages ago."
Daphne used to think the same, but the truth was, no one could resist Benjamin. His gentleness and respect were a huge draw, and she was no exception.
"That's why Benjamin likes Daphne and not you," Emma teased.
The three of them chatted a bit more before calling it a night.
That night, Daphne felt a sweet happiness.
It turned out mutual affection is pure bliss.
Daphne hoped her proposal would go well, but when Benjamin proposed, she felt truly loved.
Compared to this sweetness, Charles had a totally different reaction.
Back at the hotel, he watched a video on his phone, full of scenes from Daphne and Benjamin's proposal, with close-ups of her face.
"Mr. Lancelot," Mark walked in, all gossipy. "Did you see today's trending news?"
Charles quickly turned off the video and locked his phone. "What?"
"Drone fireworks! And a meteor shower," Mark said, clearly into it. "Usually, people avoid flying drones during fireworks to prevent accidents, but today, there were none."
Charles felt a pang in his chest, the images replaying in his mind.
The drone and fireworks combo had to be Daphne's idea.
"Should we get some of those drones too?" Mark asked, testing the waters.
Charles was quiet for a bit before replying in a low voice, "No."
"Why not?"
"No need."
"Weren't you considering this before? Now that someone figured it out, it saves us the hassle." Mark didn't notice anything off and just thought Charles was in a bad mood. "And I heard tonight's fireworks and meteor shower were for a proposal."
Charles didn't respond, feeling a bit down.
Mark wanted to say more but sensed something was up and asked, "Got something on your mind?"
"It was a proposal." Charles felt a heavy weight on his heart and needed to talk.
He wished Daphne well but also regretted the past.
Mark paused, thinking, and asked, "Were you there?"
"The drones and fireworks were Daphne's proposal to Benjamin." Charles's voice was rough, his eyes full of mixed emotions. "The meteor shower was Benjamin's proposal to Daphne."
"What?"
Mark was stunned.
Charles dropped his gaze, his face a mystery. "Did I rush into marriage too fast back then?"
At the time, he thought Daphne was smart, cultured, and they clicked.
They had a lot in common, and he had a great first impression of her, so after a few days of thinking, he decided to tie the knot quickly.
In their world, most marriages were business deals.
He didn't want that, so he picked someone he genuinely liked.
But now, he was starting to wonder if he messed up.
"In these things, there's no right or wrong. If it felt right for both of you, then a quick marriage is normal," Mark said, trying to be logical. "Nowadays, people your age often get family pressure to settle down."
Not everyone got to marry for love; as long as they both wanted to make it work, there was nothing wrong with it.
Charles felt a heavy weight on his heart, his mind a tangled mess.
Mark bit his lip and cautiously asked, "Mr. Lancelot, can I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"When you married Ms. Murphy, was it partly because she looked a bit like Kayla?" Mark asked boldly.
Daphne had asked this before, but now he wanted to hear it again.
"No," Charles answered firmly, reflecting his true thoughts. "I married her because I felt we were compatible and well-suited."
"Then you..." Mark hesitated.
But Charles got what he meant.
He also answered the unasked question, "When she asked me back then, I said yes because I was emotionally messed up and wanted to annoy her."
"Actually, she doesn't look like Kayla at all," Charles said, feeling his past self was too impulsive.
Daphne was one of a kind.
Her world was black and white, stubborn and persistent, with a purity that many people lacked.
If she had the background and ability, this was a strength; if not, it was a weakness, as being too rigid could lead to breaking.
Charles was very grateful that Daphne belonged to the former.
Mark bit his lip, feeling complicated, and didn't ask anything else.
That night, Charles slept restlessly, dreaming of the past, dreaming of Daphne's disapproving look.
At that moment, Charles hated his past self, his arrogance, stubbornness, and autocracy.
But no matter how much he hated it, it was his past, and no one could escape their past and start over.
After that day, Charles's emotions became even more unpredictable, he slept less and less, and his appetite dwindled.
Eventually, even Brian's hypnosis had little effect on him.
It was the end of June.
In Ivrea City, Charles sat in the living room with Brian and Mark.
Brian looked at Charles, who had woken up so early, and felt puzzled. "It shouldn't be like this. Based on the past few days, you should be sleeping for at least five hours. How come you woke up after just two hours?"
"Will I die?" Charles asked.
"No," Brian replied; it wasn't that serious yet.
"Then don't worry about it." Charles didn't care about himself at all. "You go back to Gedser and take care of your business. I can handle things here."
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