Chapter 12
Before Charles could speak, his phone rang–it was a call from the villa’s. landline. He knew without a doubt it was Camilla.
Charles couldn’t help but think of Westwide Pharmaceutical, which made
him irritable.
He took a deep breath to calm himself before answering the call, maintaining his usual gentle tone. “What’s up, Camilla?”
Camilla said, “Charles, I forgot to mention something. I’d like to get someone to work on the garden. Is that okay with you?”
Charles frowned impatiently.
She probably meant just weeding. After all, the garden full of tulips had been planted by Camilla herself, she wouldn’t possibly make any significant changes
Charles found it almost laughable when he thought about it. Just because he had casually mentioned liking tulips, Camilla had gone to great lengths to plant an entire garden, tending to them meticulously and ending up with her hands covered in scars.
And all it took was a smile from him for her to feel that it was all worth it. Her every emotion revolved around him. Actually, in the beginning, Charles had been moved by her devotion.
As a wife, Camilla was beyond reproach. She helped him secure his position at the company and took care of him wholeheartedly in their family life. But Charles found her too predictable and, ultimately, boring.
“You can decide about the house,” Charles replied, his tone flat. “I have
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get back to work.”
phelia, clicking her high heels, walked over to Charles and deliberately himed in, “Mr. Hawthorne, the meeting is ready to start.”
Camilla, on the other end of the call, heard Ophelia’s affected voice and couldn’t help but feel a cold disdain. Charles had just arrived at the office, and they were already acting so eager.
She thoughtfully said, “Alright, go ahead with your meeting. I won’t listurb you anymore.”
Charles nodded, about to end the call, when he heard the dial tone first. He was taken aback for a moment, staring at the call that Camilla had hung up on him. ‘Camilla actually hung up on me first? She used to always wait for me to end the call,‘ he thought to himself.
What’s wrong, Mr. Hawthorne?” Ophelia’s voice brought Charles back to the present. She tilted her delicate face up, looking at him with concern, her ample chest brushing against his arm ever so slightly.
Charles neither rejected nor held her.
Ophelia curved her lips into a small smile, leaned in further, and affectionately reached to smooth out the slight wrinkle on Charles’s brow.
Did Camilla upset you?”
This time, it was indeed Camilla who had upset him. But the reason was
oo trivial to mention. Simply because she had hung up on him first.
For some reason, Charles felt that the awakened Camilla seemed a bit different from the one he remembered.
He was inexplicably irritable and was about to push Ophelia’s hand away when someone pushed the door open from behind.
Whoa, I guess I’ve got bad timing,” came the teasing, nonchalant voice of
Chapter 12
a man. “Interrupting Ophelia and Charles’s cozy moment.”
Ophelia’s face turned red as she pulled her hand back and called out, “Hi, Bastian.”
It was Bastian Crowhurst. The Crowhurst and Hawthorne families were old acquaintances, and Bastian had been not only Charles’s childhood. friend but also his college roommate.
After Ophelia left, Charles gave Bastian a mildly reproachful look. “Don’t speak so casually.”
Bastian lazily plopped down in the chair opposite Charles. “There’s no one else here, and besides, I always joke like this.”
Charles grabbed a file from the side and threw it at him.
Bastian nimbly dodged it, then dropped his playful playboy demeanor and said seriously, “Charles, I’ve got something important to tell you. You must have heard about Westwide Pharmaceutical having a new owner, right?”
Charles sighed, “I’m already trying to find out who the new boss is.”
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