Sonia inhaled a deep breath and said, "It's about you and Daphne."
When she said that, Charles was shocked as his pupils contracted. About Daphne and me? What is she implying? Does she know?
His hand involuntarily tightened around his teacup.
Having noticed his actions, she sighed. "Charles, you're nervous."
He pursed his lips and kept quiet.
Then, she added, "You're nervous because you think I know something, right?"
He immediately raised his head to look at her, revealing his shocked eyes.
"It seems like I'm right." Sonia smiled faintly. "We grew up together. Not only do you know me well, but I also know you. That is why I can guess what you're thinking by looking at your eyes, expression, and actions. You can easily guess mine as well because we know each other best."
After being silent for a moment, Charles finally spoke, "So? What do you want to say about me and Daphne?"
She took another sip of her tea. "Since things have come to this, I won't hide it from you anymore. Charles, I know everything that has happened between you and Daphne."
"What?" He turned ashen. "You knew?"
"That's right." She nodded.
"Did she tell you that?" He looked grim, and his voice sounded a little angry.
Sonia quickly denied it by shaking her head and explaining, "Of course not. How could you think of her like that? Daphne never told me anything that happened between you two, so you can't put all the blame on her without having any substantial evidence. That's not fair to her. I found out about it because you both were acting strangely."
Hearing that, Charles kept quiet and looked at her. His eyes conveyed that he wanted her to continue.
While rubbing her temples, she resumed. "You and Daphne are former classmates, and she's been your head secretary many years after graduating, so the two of you have a good relationship. You're her superior, and she's your subordinate, but you're also friends. Even if you didn't develop feelings for each other, you would've built a strong bond after interacting for many years. Knowing your character, I know you wouldn't develop hatred and displeasure toward Daphne without reason unless something unacceptable had happened between you two."
"What happened next?"
"Your relationship with Daphne deteriorated too quickly. You guys were acting normally the day before, but your attention changed drastically the next day. Not only was Daphne affected, but I was also shocked at your sudden dislike for her. I noticed she was constantly in a daze and wasn't performing well during that period. The two of you were obvious, so I was curious about what happened. I asked you and Daphne about it, but…"
She paused before continuing, "But the two of you wouldn't tell me what happened. I think of you two as my friends, so how could I not worry when both of you act so strangely? From then on, I told myself I have to pay attention to what's happening between you two, but even after two months of observation, I still couldn't figure out what happened."
When Sonia said that, she laughed bitterly. "No matter how many times I asked, none of you would tell me anything. You'd clearly show your disdain for her, and she would be disheartened. That made me even more worried, so I secretly investigated what had happened. Before I found someone, I discovered Daphne was pregnant. During the first two to three months of a woman's pregnancy, she would experience morning sickness, and that was how I got suspicious and confronted her about it. She knew she couldn't keep this secret from me any longer and told me everything."
Then, a sarcastic smile appeared on Charles' face. "So, she still told you everything in the end. What does she want? Is she trying to get your sympathy so that you would make me forgive her?"
She frowned. "Charles, how can you think of her that way, painting her in such malicious light? Daphne had never asked me to do anything for her, and she only told me what happened because I found out about her pregnancy. So, she was forced to tell me because I found out and not because she wanted to. Also, making you forgive her? She never did that. If she did, I wouldn't have waited till this second to talk with you about it."
Aware he was being unreasonable, he did not rebuke when Sonia reprimanded him.
She sipped her tea and calmed down before continuing, "Daphne told me everything, and that's how I knew. Come to think of it—I had something to do with this. You confessed your feelings to me that day, but I rejected you, so you left in disappointment. We grew up together, and I think of you as my older brother. I was worried you might do something stupid when I saw you leaving, but it's inappropriate for me to chase after you because it'd seem like I was playing with your feelings. That's why I had Daphne find you so that you wouldn't do anything to harm yourself. She's been your friend for many years, so I felt assured with her looking after you."
"But that woman betrayed your trust and got into my bed," he said while clenching his fists.
Shaking her head resignedly, Sonia argued, "Charles, though Daphne was wrong and got in your bed sober, could you say the same for yourself? That you weren't completely innocent?"
Hearing that, he was stunned. He wanted to say he did nothing wrong but inexplicably found himself speechless.
She noticed his behavior and smiled faintly. "See, you don't even believe you were innocent. You know, according to research, you can't do anything when you're truly drunk. If you did the deed with Daphne, it meant you were either somewhat sober or still conscious of your actions and who you were with. But what did you do? You didn't push her away, right? You and Daphne did it willingly, so why are you putting all the blame solely on her when you were responsible too?"
"I…" His lips quivered at the urge to rebuke, but he did not know where to start.
The tea was no longer warm, so Sonia poured him some fresh one while reasoning, "Daphne loves you, so she didn't reject you when you pulled her back. Meanwhile, you could've pushed her away after recognizing her, but you didn't. What happened didn't simply come from consent but also from your mutual feelings toward each other. You like her! Otherwise, you wouldn't have slept with her. After that incident, you blame her for everything and think she got in your bed that night. Well, the truth is, you're too much of a coward to accept the reality."
"I am not." As if stimulated by something, Charles paled and sprang to his feet, denying.
She calmly sat in her chair and looked up at him. "You are. You can't accept the fact that you slept with another woman after confessing to me. You think by doing that, you've betrayed me and your feelings. You refuse to admit you did something wrong, so you push all the blame onto another woman, thinking that she seduced you and lured you into doing something 'wrong'. That's why you hate and feel disgusted by her."
"That's not true. It's not like that!" he screamed, shaking his head repulsively.
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Same story i read about Jarred and Amber Reed...