Chapter 1056

Chapter 1056 A Complex Feeling

Charles’ gaze was drawn to Daphne throughout the conversation despite her figure having vanished outside the door for a long time as she never returned it.

Sonia finally patted him on the shoulder, prompting him to retract his gaze and turn his head. “What’s wrong?” Charles inquired, his hand touching his shoulder.

“I should be the one asking. Why are you staring at the direction Daphne left? I’ve called you twice, but you didn’t respond,” Sonia said, crossing her arms and looking at the door behind him.

“You’re mistaken. I wasn’t staring at her. I was just thinking about something.” Charles was agitated and retorted quickly.

His reaction made Sonia roll her eyes. “Alright! Whatever you say. Let me tell you, Charles. You can’t treat Daphne this way when you come to look for me next time. She’s my secretary and no longer yours, so it is inappropriate for you to act like this.”

As the president, Sonia had to protect her own secretary. She must ensure that Daphne was not bullied by Charles while under her care.

“Okay, okay. I will ignore her in the future, okay? Anyway, I don’t think I bore any strange behavior toward her. Didn’t you see her expressionless face when she greeted me? I haven’t even had the time to complain about her rude attitude. Why are you blaming me instead?” he explained as he curled his lips and waved his hand.

Sonia’s lips twitched upon hearing this. “Charles, your statement is a little unreasonable. Isn’t Daphne’s attitude toward you the same as it has been in the past? There is no change, so why are you complaining that you cannot accept her attitude ever since she moved to my company?”

Charles was stunned and speechless.

Yes, Daphne did greet me in the same way she has before.

I never thought that there’s anything wrong with her.

Why did I dislike her attitude now?

Charles lowered his gaze as he felt an indescribable irritability in his heart.

He drew out a chair and sat down after a while before waving his hand again, “Forget it, let’s not talk about this. It makes me upset.”

Sonia could not help but roll her eyes at him.

Why is he upset?

He’s the one who stared at Daphne and complained about her attitude.

Why is he agitated?

Sonia, on the other hand, had always been respectful toward others’ boundaries. As such, she had stopped talking about it since Charles did not want to.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

An assistant, who appeared with a tray, knocked on the door and announced, “Miss Reed, your coffee is ready.”

“Please come in!” Sonia nodded with a smile.

“Yes.”

The assistant hummed before entering the room with both hands on the tray. She then placed two cups of coffee in front of Sonia and Charles.

After setting the cups down, the assistant turned around and left the room.

At this point, Charles called after her, “Wait!”

“Do you have any other orders, President Lane?” the assistant inquired as she came to a halt.

“Where’s Daphne?” he asked, turning the cup of coffee in front of him; his tone was flat and he was unable to express his feelings.

Seated across from him, Sonia had no idea what he was trying to ask.

“Miss Daphne is answering a call and she has to take care of some work, so she’s busy right now,” the assistant explained, holding the tray vertically in her arms, recalling what Daphne had just instructed.

Charles remained silent as his narrowed eyes fixed on the coffee cup while deep in thoughts.

Presently, the meeting room abruptly fell silent.

The assistant stood there, neither leaving nor staying, and had no choice but to seek assistance from the president.

Sonia stroked her brow, feeling a headache as a result of Charles’ actions.

“Charles…” Sonia was just about to open her mouth to speak when Charles sipped his coffee before tossing the cup against the table.

Crack! The noise startled both Sonia and her assistant.

“Is something wrong with her, or is she making up excuses to not send me my coffee? I believe you know the answer.” His gaze was full of rage.

The assistant was about to part her lips to speak when she decided to lower her head and remain silent.

“Lexi, you may leave first.” Sonia waved at the assistant as she was unable to bear it any longer.

“Okay.” When Lexi heard the president’s words, she immediately dashed to the door and left the office, as if granted amnesty.

After Lexi had left, Sonia turned to face Charles, who was looking unhappy across from her.

He was obviously upset by Daphne’s departure as he still had some unspoken words to deliver.

“Charles, I was the one who asked Daphne to bring in the coffee through someone else, so you don’t have to blame her for not doing it personally,” Sonia explained quietly while looking at him.

“Why did you do that?” Charles’ grip on the coffee cup became slightly tighter.

“Why not?” Sonia pinched her brows and tiredly explained, “Have you noticed how much Daphne fears you, Charles? I’m not sure what happened between you two that makes her fear you so much; all I know is that I’m now her boss and it’s my responsibility to keep her safe. I’ll find a way to keep her from meeting you because she feels uncomfortable and scared whenever she sees you. I was right to protect her, wasn’t I?” She spread her arms.

At the same time, she purposefully concealed the fact that she was already aware of what had happened between them.

After the explanation, Charles was more concerned with her words than with her presence. He felt as if his heart had been ripped out when he heard Sonia say that Daphne was afraid of him.

“Why is she afraid of me?” he inquired quietly as his lips moved slightly. The question was almost directed at both Sonia and himself.

She then rolled her eyes at him. “Shouldn’t you be aware? Anyway, it is what it is.”

He squeezed the coffee cup again before going silent. At last, he appeared to comprehend why.

After that night, I’ve said a lot of inappropriate things to Daphne.

She is probably scared of me because of my words.

Shouldn’t I be pleased with her fear and avoidance though?

After all, this is what I wanted in the first place…

I’m filled with indescribable rage, now that I’ve seen her treat me this way.

It also reveals to me that I… seem to dislike Daphne’s fear of me and the way she avoids me.

Why?

Charles’ eyes and expressions were muddled as he looked down at his hand.

Sonia had no idea what Charles was thinking when she looked at him, but it definitely had to do with Daphne.

“All right, Charles. Enough about that. You don’t want to see her and she doesn’t want to bring you your coffee; isn’t this what you’re wishing for?” She knocked on the table and shook her head.

Absolutely not!

Charles had an unspoken desire to utter these two words.

As he was about to speak, he reacted and realized this was something he should remain in his heart.

As a result, he swallowed abruptly, nodded, and smiled. “You are correct. It’s a good thing to avoid meeting someone I don’t want to see.” He picked up the coffee and drank it after speaking.

The delicate coffee cup precisely blocked the corners of his sinking mouth, masking the fact that his expression was far from calm and happy when he said this.

All in all, it was clear that he was not speaking his mind.