Chapter 497 I Want to Be Alone
Hayden and Laura watched Charles walk away, their faces all mixed up with emotions.
Rex noticed and tried to chill them out, "Hey, don't sweat it. Charles will sort himself out."
"Hope so," Laura muttered, still looking worried.
Hayden, though, was way more chill. Standing next to Laura, he said seriously, "You should be more worried about him doing something dumb again, not about if he is moving on."
"What do you mean?" Laura asked, eyebrows raised.
Rex was curious too.
Hayden's sarcasm game was strong. "He loves Daphne but can't have her. Who knows if he'll find some lookalike to spend his life with."
"Charles isn't like that," Rex jumped in to defend him.
"Who knows?" Hayden shrugged, even though deep down he knew Charles had grown up a lot since his last relationship.
At least he wouldn't mess up the same way again.
Laura shot him a glare. "Have some faith in him, would you?"
"When he married Daphne, did you think he'd later ask for a divorce for his so-called first love?" Hayden listed Charles's screw-ups. "Nothing's predictable. I'm just trying to prepare you."
Laura snapped back, "So, am I a stand-in for one of your exes?"
"You've always been the only one."
"Who knows if that's true?"
"You do."
Laura was still ticked off by what Hayden had said earlier.
"Alright." Hayden knew Laura loved Charles. "I won't judge him anymore."
Laura was still a bit miffed.
Hayden kept trying to smooth things over.
Rex watched from the sidelines, amazed at how love worked. Even at their age, Hayden and Laura's bond was still rock solid. When would he find his true love?
Time flew by, and a few months zipped past.
During these months, Charles was either grinding at work or chilling at the Lancelot Mansion with his fam, living a super low-key life.
Since coming back from Gedser in May, he hadn't even hit up the hangouts Austin and Matt invited him to, and his social life took a nosedive.
Seeing Charles like this, his family got the hint: he probably wasn't gonna fall for anyone else ever again.
As for Daphne, their baby plan was going great.
Daphne was now four months pregnant, having made it through the tricky first three months.
One day, Benjamin was walking with Daphne in the yard.
Since Daphne got pregnant, he had passed all the work at the Reynolds Group to Desmond and stuck by Daphne's side 24/7.
During the rough patch when Daphne had morning sickness and couldn't keep anything down, Benjamin was super worried.
Luckily, that phase was over.
Seeing Benjamin glued to her side, Daphne told him seriously, "I'm not as fragile as you think. If you got stuff to do, go ahead. You don't need to babysit me."
"I've handed everything over to Desmond. I'm free," Benjamin said, holding her hand as they strolled.
Daphne suddenly stopped walking.
Benjamin, thinking she might be feeling off, asked with concern, "What's up?"
"I need some alone time. Is that cool?" Daphne asked seriously.
Being watched 24/7 was getting on her nerves.
And the worst part? Benjamin had banned Emma from visiting her.
Benjamin, usually the calm one, got a bit nervous and asked more gently, "You feeling sick?"
"No, I just need some space," Daphne knew this might sting Benjamin a bit, but she couldn't ignore Emma's situation. "Can you give me a break? I need some peace."
Benjamin hesitated, then said, "Alright."
He set her up in the yard with some snacks and drinks, then left her alone.
As soon as he was gone, Daphne gave a light cough.
Emma popped out from the bushes, grabbed a grape from the table, and asked, "How'd you get Benjamin to leave?"
"I told him I needed some alone time."
Emma was so shocked she almost dropped the grape.
If Benjamin found out Daphne said that just to meet her, he'd be livid.
"Didn't you have something to tell me?" Daphne saw the signal Emma had left her. "What's up?"
"I need to go abroad." Emma didn't waste time, worried Benjamin might come back and kick her out. "But Emery's got eyes on me. I need you to help me disappear so he can't track me."
Daphne was quiet for a moment. "I'll try."
"Aren't you good at hacking?"
"Benjamin doesn't let me use the computer," Daphne explained. "I've only used it four times in the past four months, and one of those times was to help Gavin dig up something."
If it weren't for Gavin, she wouldn't have had the chance.
Even Jesse had been turned down by Benjamin.
"I didn't realize Benjamin was so a control freak," Emma grumbled.
"When are you leaving? I'll figure something out."
"The sooner, the better. Today, if possible."
"Alright."
"I'll talk to him later. If he still doesn't let me use the computer, I'll pretend to be mad," Daphne said seriously.
Emma wanted to say, forget it.
Even a fake cold war was something she didn't want to see.
But before she could speak, Benjamin's calm yet dangerous voice cut in. "Daphne, you're quite something."
Emma stood up and bolted. "I'm outta here."
If she didn't leave now, Benjamin would definitely punish her.
"Hold up, you wall-climber," Benjamin said as he approached Daphne, his calm gaze landing on Emma.
Emma had already climbed up but paused to greet him, "Benjamin."
"Someone's looking for you," Benjamin said calmly, looking at her.
Emma had a bad feeling. "Who?"
"Come down and see for yourself," Benjamin said, pouring Daphne a glass of water, his tone unhurried. "He's waiting for you in the living room."
"That trick won't work on me." Emma had been fooled too many times and had learned her lesson. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. If I come down, you'll catch me."
"Then I will tell him to come over," Benjamin said, sending a message on his phone.
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