Madam Escaped Again, Sir (Lillian Hawkins and Eric Walker) novel Chapter 503

Guilt crept into Charles’ heart when he realized that Sonia had visited so many places and made so many calls just to get to him. He lowered his head and pouted for a while before he spoke. “I’m sorry, darling. I...”

“Well, tell me—what’s going on?” Sonia raised her hand to stop him as she didn’t want to hear an apology. Charles’ gaze flickered for a moment before he sat back down on the swing and hooked his arms around the metal chains. “It’s nothing much,” he uttered in a dejected tone. “I just think that I’m a really useless person. I’m a grown man now, but I don’t think I’m acting like one. I just wanted to take a stroll because I was troubled by these thoughts.”

“Is that all?” Sonia narrowed her gaze. It was evident that she didn’t trust his words. Her suspicions made complete sense—Charles had only told her part of the truth, after all. Sonia wanted to understand his abrupt change of emotions, yet he didn’t manage to provide her with a direct answer. He merely brushed her question off by saying that he was a useless man.

But... He’s not telling me why he feels like a useless man, Sonia thought. This is giving me a headache, but I know that he’s not doing it on purpose. He probably has his reasons for talking in circles.

Indeed, Charles avoided her gaze as he let out a casual yawn. “Of course that’s all...” His voice grew softer toward the end of his sentence, and he eventually lowered his head and pressed his lips together.

Sonia let out a sigh before she sat down on the swing beside him. She had checked to ensure that the swings were clean, so she wasn’t worried about dirtying her clothes. Once she sat down, she held the metal chains and kicked her feet against the floor to send her swing backward. With her head leaning against the metal chain, she said softly, “This place hasn’t changed at all. It’s just the way it used to be.”

Charles smiled. “Of course. I’ve spent the last six years taking care of this spot just to ensure that it stays exactly the same. I’m sure some of the facilities here would have been ruined if I hadn’t been taking care of it.”

“Why did you take such good care of this spot?” Sonia looked at the man beside her.

“Because... This is our secret hideout, and it’s a special and meaningful place to us. That’s why I felt the need to protect it,” Charles let go of the metal chains as he explained himself.

A guilty smile formed on Sonia’s lips after she heard what Charles said. “You’re right. Well, I don’t think I have the right to say that it’s special to me. I nearly forgot about this place until today.”

Charles looked up at the sky. “I know. You stopped coming here after you got married to Toby, and I’ve never heard you talk about this place after that. Eventually, I assumed that you had forgotten about this park entirely. It’s completely fine—this was our secret hideout when we were kids, but we aren’t kids anymore now, are we? We don’t need a secret hideout anymore. Anyway, you managed to recall this spot in the end, right?” After finishing his words, he shifted his gaze to look at Sonia.

She giggled. “How often have you been coming here in the past six years? Do you come here a lot?”

“I think so.” Charles nodded. “I come here when I’m tired or if I miss someone.”

“If you miss someone? Who’s that someone?” Sonia asked in an inquisitive tone.

He simply looked at her without saying anything. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked puzzledly.

“It’s nothing.” Charles scoffed at himself before he turned away from her. Charles, Charles... You know how slow Sonia can be when it conies to romantic relationships. If you don’t give her a direct explanation, she will never know that you’re in love with her— she would never even consider that possibility! If you think that she’ll understand your feelings when you look deep into her eyes, then you must be dreaming! he thought to himself.