This Time, I Will Get My Divorce, Mr novel Chapter 544

“You—”

Asher and his supporters grew so incensed at her words that their faces turned the color of beetroot, but they couldn’t retort against her. She was right; she might be the vice president now, but the fact remained that she was the largest shareholder of the company, and that meant she enjoyed privileges they did not. As unhappy as they were, they had neither the means nor standing to retaliate against her.

At the sight of the scowls on their faces, Sonia smirked and refrained from snorting in contempt. I can’t believe they’re still trying to pick a bone with me at this point. How petty. Stoically, she withdrew her gaze and glanced in the direction of Charles’ seat.

He had his head down, so she couldn’t quite see the look on his face, but she felt how distant he was all the same. She sighed quietly as she settled into her chair and announced, “Alright, let’s start the meeting.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the whole table chorused as everyone opened up the folder in front of them.

The meeting went on for two hours before it came to a conclusion. Asher and his supporters were the first to leave the room, but Sonia stayed unmoving in her seat. She didn’t keep her things or seem like she was about to rise to her feet and walk out of the room any time soon.

Instead, she leaned into her seat and rested her head against the back of her chair, staring at Charles.

Presently, Charles was keeping his things, and when he was done, he stood up to leave.

Seeing this, Sonia quickly called out, “Charles, wait.”

He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her, his expression devoid of the warmth and humor she was used to seeing. He looked almost impassive as he asked flatly, “What is it?”

Sure enough, he was sticking to his promise and had dropped the term of endearment. In the past, he would have added ‘baby’ to that statement.

Sonia was composed as she rose from her seat and eyed him steadily. “How about you and I have a talk?”

“About what?” he asked, his gaze on her indifferent and distant.

She didn’t answer him immediately. She was watching the others who had yet to file out of the conference room; they were all ears, trying to pick up on gossip.

As though sensing her gaze, they looked down at their shoes guiltily and hurried out the doors. Soon, the large conference room was empty, save for Sonia and Charles.

She kept her eyes on him and said matter-of-factly, “About how you’re still holding a grudge against me after our conversation last night.”

Charles parted his lips, but he offered no retort because he really was still holding a grudge against her for their dispute last night.

The resentment he felt was not only due to the fact that he knew she would never choose him as a romantic partner, but also the way she had gone about things.

Even if they would never work out as a couple, they still had over twenty years of friendship between them, but all it had taken was Toby’s unhappy remark for Sonia to come up to Charles and ask him to drop the nickname he had been calling her all this while.

How am I supposed to just let that go, Sonia?

Upon seeing the sullen look on Charles’ face, Sonia sighed wearily and said, “I’m sorry, Charles. I know I should have been more considerate of your feelings instead of springing the conversation up on you like that, but I don’t think I was wrong to do that. You like me, don’t you, Charles?”

His eyes widened in disbelief as he gaped at her. “How... How did you know?” He had been in love with her for more than a decade, and she was the one thing on his mind ever since he learned the ways of the world. He had wanted to confess his feelings for her on countless occasions, but his lack of courage kept him from doing so.

Alas, she found out anyway, much to his surprise.

She lowered her gaze and explained, “I didn’t know it at first, but after what you said last night, I figured it out. Why else would you have reacted the way you did? This brings me back to why I said I did the right thing, because I don’t like you the same way, and I can’t ever reciprocate your feelings for me. What I’ve done, at best, was to make you give up hope that we might ever stand a chance; think of it as a wake-up call, Charles, because if your feelings for me deepen over the years, then you’d only end up getting hurt, and I’d be riddled with guilt.”

With that, he turned to leave with a self-deprecating, hollow smile on his face. How pathetic. I’ve loved a girl for over ten years, and I got rejected before I could even confess my feelings for her. The love story he had hoped for was written off before he even got to the prologue.

Meanwhile, Sonia was rooted in the same spot as she stared after Charles’ retreating figure. She parted her lips to call out for him but caught herself and watched him leave. What’s the point of calling out for him? He might just take it the wrong way and start having false hopes again.