Chapter 90 Words Betray the Heart, Charles
"Who said I was worried about her," Charles retorted, feigning indifference, a clear contradiction to his real feelings. Seeing Daphne only reminded him of her connection with Evan.
Mark showed no mercy, “Just a minute ago, you were ready to dash into the flames for Miss Murphy.”
Charles’s eyes turned icy cold.
Is this guy living too comfortably these days?
“You should have a word with Miss Murphy,” Mark said, completely unfazed by his boss’s daunting stare, not even glancing back as he made his escape. “I’ll wait for you in the car.”
He promptly got into the vehicle and, as an afterthought, locked it behind him.
Charles didn’t take his words to heart and walked towards the car, reaching to open the door, only to find it locked at the crucial moment.
Charles: “...What?”
A chill surrounded him: “Mark!”
From inside, Mark kept his head down, not daring to look outside.
The car’s sound insulation was excellent; as long as he avoided his boss’s gaze, he could weather the storm!
“Did you come to see me?” Daphne asked.
Charles was still fuming and didn’t hide his irritation, “Do you think I came looking for you?”
“No,” Daphne replied curtly.
Her response only made Charles angrier. He had always known this woman was thankless. No matter how much he worried about her, to her, he was just someone who treated her with cold indifference.
“Good that you know,” he snapped, an edge of bitterness in his voice, “I’m only concerned about the marriage certificate. If it got burned, I don’t have the time to go replace it with you.”
“One can handle it alone if they have all the documents ready,” Daphne replied, her calmness irritating him even further.
Charles felt like he was about to explode.
He couldn’t stand being with Daphne anymore. Seeing Mark pretending to be oblivious inside the vehicle, he knocked on the car window.
Mark was in a quandary.
Should he unlock the door?
What if Miss Murphy and the boss hadn’t finished talking?
Before he could decide, a text from his boss popped up on his phone: [Open the door now, or you’re fired.]
Mark: “!!!”
He hastily put down his phone, unlocked the doors, and sprang out of the car. Wishing to avoid his boss’s bad graces, he quickly opened the rear door and gestured respectfully, “Please get in, boss.”
Charles entered, a cold aura enveloping him, chilling even Mark.
“Miss Murphy, we’ll be taking our leave,” he called out to Daphne while sliding into the driver’s seat.
Daphne simply acknowledged with a, “Hmm.”
The car drove off into the night.
Mark could hardly bear the icy pressure inside the vehicle and, choosing his words carefully, tried to strike up a conversation with his boss, hoping to ease the tension, “Boss, you obviously care about Miss Murphy. Why pretend you don’t?”
“Would you care about someone who betrayed you?” Charles retorted.
Bewilderment danced across Mark's forehead, etched in a series of question marks. "Betrayal? Miss Murphy betrayed you?"
Charles pursed his lips, his silence speaking volumes. He couldn't divulge the affair between Daphne and Evan.
Not that Mark was one to gossip, but any whiff of the scandal would tarnish Daphne's reputation.
"You're set to finalize the divorce with Miss Murphy on Wednesday," Mark pointed out, his impatience with his boss's apparent obliviousness evident. "Once the divorce is through, she might go back to Gedser for good. You might never cross paths again."
A slight furrow formed between Charles's eyebrows. He thought back to when Daphne had demanded a villa as part of the deal but then dismissed the thought. If she were truly planning to return to Gedser, she wouldn't be asking for a villa.
"Boss."
"Have you finished the investigation I asked for?"
"No."
"Then why are you preoccupied with other things?"
After being rebuffed twice, Mark pulled out his trump card, a question aimed straight for the heart: "If you're set on divorcing Miss Murphy, why bother investigating anything related to her and this Fred character?"
So he claims he doesn't care. When will the man be honest with himself? He's got nobody to blame but himself for this divorce mess!
"Mind your own business," Charles cautioned, his tone now laced with warning.
With those sharp words, Mark clammed up.
A complex storm brewed within Charles. His thoughts were swamped by everything Daphne; he couldn't understand why his focus on her had been intensifying lately.
Then, the vibration of his cellphone cut through his ruminations. It was Evan calling. Charles's gaze deepened before answering, "What's up?"
"Have you found Daphne yet?"
"Daphne?" Charles mused on the pet name used on WhatsApp, his voice cool, "Shouldn't it be Daffy?"
There was a pause from Evan's end of the line – a silence that pricked at Charles's heart. It was as if Daphne and Evan had always kept secrets from him, and now, he had peeled back the veil.
Daffy. For better or for worse?
"Should we meet and talk?" Evan said after a moment, reassured that Daphne's identity hadn't been compromised.
Gazing upwards, Charles made his decision. "Monday at 10 AM, at the office."
He was curious to see what Evan had to say.
Evan agreed and hung up without pressing further about Daphne. To him, the stark difference in Charles's demeanor now compared to previous phone calls hinted at one thing – Daphne was most likely safe.
Half an hour later, Daphne herself returned to her own home. The room still carried the acrid scent of smoke, and the walls were stained with soot.
She picked up the cell phone from the table, noticing a missed call from Evan, two from Mark, and seven from Charles. Thinking about what Mark had said downstairs, she couldn't help but furrow her brows.
She opened her phone and sent a quick message to Evan to let him know she was safe. As she was about to reply to Charles and virtually typed out that the fire had been put out and she was safe, something stopped her. After a bit of thought, she changed her response.
She sent just a few words and attached a photo.
Daphne: [Picture.]
Daphne: [The marriage certificate is still intact, not burned.]
The photo was of their marriage certificate on the table.
Charles was still in the car when he received the messages, and they nearly drove him up the wall.
That woman.
As infuriating as ever.
He didn't bother to reply, just turned off the screen and chucked the phone aside, his expression growing darker by the second. Mark noticed his mood through the rearview mirror, swallowed hard, and simply kept on driving.
Daphne's intention behind the message was straightforward; since Charles professed to care about the marriage certificate, she informed him of its safety.
After sending the message, she saw a few hours-old text from Marcus when she returned to her message screen.
Marcus: [Daphne, will you be joining us for Grandpa's 80th birthday banquet?]
Daphne: [Not sure right now.]
Her grandfather held a respected position in their social circle, and if the Murphy Group was sending a representative, she could attend on their behalf. She and Charles were to pick up their divorce papers on August 31st, while her grandfather's birthday was on September 15th.
She didn’t know what would await her back in Gedser and couldn't make any commitments without understanding the situation.
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