Chapter 502


    “I’m not sure about that,” the admin said while shaking her head. “Perhaps you can give him a call.”


    “Alright. Thank you so much for your help!” Sonia beamed at the staff before turning to head out of


    the building. While walking back to her car, she pulled her phone out to dial Charles’ number.


    However, once the call went through, Sonia was greeted by the t, robotic tone of a female instead


    of Charles’ voice. “Hello. The number you’ve dialed is unavable. Please try againter...”


    Sonia frowned as she pulled the phone away from her ear. That’s odd. Did Charles turn his phone


    off? What’s up with him? Sonia bit her bottom lip as she stuck a finger out to tap on her phone


    screen. She made another call—this time, she contacted Grace.


    Grace’s phone wasn’t turned off, and she picked up the phone after it rang for a while. “What a


    surprise, Sonia! Why are you calling?” Grace’s gentle and warm voice filled Sonia’s ear once the


    call went through.


    Sonia smiled. “I’m calling because I miss you, of course! Apart from that, I also have something to


    ask you.”


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    “What is it?” Grace sat down on the couch and elegantly sipped on her coffee.


    Sonia leaned against her car seat as she exined herself. “Well, I was wondering... Do you know if


    Charles is home now?”


    “Charles?” Grace shook her head. “He’s not home. He should be in the office at this hour.”


    “He’s not here,” Sonia uttered as she rubbed her temples. Grace put her coffee cup down when she


    heard this. “He’s not in the office, huh?”


    “Yeah.”


    “Hmm... Perhaps he’s out to meet a client. Otherwise, he might have gone to supervise one of the


    factories. Why don’t you just call him if you’re looking for him, Sonia?” Grace asked.


    “I called him a while ago, but he had his phone turned off.” Sonia rested her forehead against her


    palm as she spoke in an exasperated tone.


    Grace shrugged upon hearing this. “Well, I can’t do anything to help, then. He can be really


    stubborn sometimes, and no one ever manages to find him when he decides to hide. I’m surprised


    that he’s hiding from you, Sonia. Did you guys get into an argument?”


    “No. We didn’t argue about anything,” Sonia uttered with a zed look in her eyes. “He called me


    earlier, and we had a decent chat. However, he sounded rather emotional toward the end of the call,


    and he disappeared after that. I’m not sure what to do with him either.”


    “What were you guys talking about? Can you tell me about it? Perhaps I can put the pieces


    together,” Grace offered. Sonia nodded as she gave Grace a summary of her conversation with


    Charles earlier. After Grace listened to Sonia’s exnation, she remained silent for a long while.


    Sonia felt her heart sinking when she realized this. “Why are you being so quiet, Mrs. Lane? Did I


    do something to make Charles mad?”


    “No,” Grace replied with a smile. “You didn’t offend him in any way. This has to do with his own


    issues.” There was a hint of frustration in Grace’s voice.


    “His own issues...? Sonia tilted her head sideways—she felt more confused than ever. “Have you


    figured out what’s wrong with Charles, Mrs. Lane?” she asked directly.


    “I think so, yeah. That brat knows that he missed his chance again,” Grace uttered with a sigh. “I’ve


    told him about this a long time ago. I told him to gather his courage and to stop hiding his emotions,


    yet he never took my advice. Well, look at how things turned out now! He lost all hope again. In my


    opinion, he deserves all of this,” Grace grumbled.


    “Mrs. Lane...” When Sonia heard what Grace said, she had a vague idea of what was going on.


    However, she wasn’t too sure if her guess was right.


    “Alright, Sonia. You should just ignore that guy. Just let him disappear for a while, and he’lle


    back when the time is right. I have to go now. I’m meeting a few otherdies for our facial


    appointment, and I should be heading out soon,” Grace said.


    “Okay,” Sonia said with a nod. Once the call was over, Sonia threw her phone aside and pinched


    the bridge of her nose. Did she just ask me to ignore Charles? How could I do that? We’ve been


    friends for more than 20 years now. We grew up together! Furthermore, it seems like his sudden


    change in demeanor has something to do with me, so I’d feel bad if I just left him alone. Our 20-


    year-friendship means too much for me to do such a thing.


    Sonia decided that she would have to figure out a way to get to Charles. With a finger tapping


    against her right temple, Sonia made a mental list of all the possible ces that Charles might visit.


    After thinking about it for a while, Sonia widened her eyes as she jolted upright in her seat. I got it! I


    know where he might be! Perhaps he went to the park that we used to go to all the time.


    Sonia recalled an incident that urred when she was eight years old. Back then, Sandra pped


    Sonia on the face, and Sonia ran out of her house while bawling her eyes out. Coincidentally,


    Charles had shown up on her front doorstep to ask her to y. When Charles found out that Sonia


    had been pped, he gave Sandra a harsh scolding. Sandra was furious, so she lifted a broom to


    attack Charles.


    However, Charles didn’t hesitate to grab onto Sonia’s arm, and they sprinted out of the house to a


    park nearby.


    The park was an abandoned spot, and it was also Charles’ secret hideout. When they were there,


    Sonia couldugh and joke all she wished to—Sandra wouldn’t be there toin about how


    noisy Sonia was. When Sonia was there, she didn’t have to deal with Sandra’s hateful res. After


    spending some time there, the abandoned park eventually turned into Sonia’s secret hideout as


    well.


    Whenever Charles called her out to y, they would meet at their secret hideout. That spot


    practically held all of the happiest memories that Sonia and Charles had shared throughout their


    childhood and adolescent years. When did I stop visiting our secret hideout? I think it has been


    about six years now. I stopped going to that spot after I got married to Toby. If Charles didn’t


    disappear today, I might not even have thought of this spot that we used to go to.


    Sonia felt a pang of guilt in her chest as she took a deep breath. Finally, she started the engine and


    made a move. It took about 40 minutes for her to arrive at an old, abandoned park.


    Sonia stepped out of her car and looked up to see the dangling signboard that had the park’s name


    on it. The metal pieces were coated with rust, but Sonia smiled when she saw the familiar sight of


    the rundown ce. Her gaze softened as she realized how much she had missed the ce. It’s


    been six years. I’m finally back at this ce that’s filled with joy andughter.


    As she tore her eyes away from the signboard, Sonia parted her legs to walk into the park. She


    observed the park’s surroundings to see if anything had changed since shest came here. Soon


    enough, she arrived at one of the old swings in the middle of the park. There, she found the person


    she had been looking for.


    Charles had his back facing her, and his head was hung low as he held the metal chains that the


    swing hung from. He used his feet to tap the floor beneath him so that the swing would sway back


    and forth.


    Click, click. Sonia walked over in her heels, and Charles immediately heard the sound of someone


    getting closer to him. He stopped swinging himself, and the swing came to a gradual halt. After


    letting go of the metal chains, he sat upright and turned around to look at the person behind him.


    He had assumed that it was some random stranger approaching him out of curiosity. However, he


    hadn’t expected to see Sonia standing in front of him. A mixture of shock and surprise spread


    across his face as he leaped out of the swing and stared at Sonia. “What are you doing here,


    darling?”


    “Are you surprised?” Sonia responded to his question with another question.


    Charles nodded. “Of course. You haven’t been here in years. I assumed that you had forgotten


    about this ce. What made you decide toe here?” he asked.


    Sonia opened and closed her mouth a few times before she gave him an answer. “I couldn’t find


    you anywhere, so I started thinking about the possible ces that you might visit. I came here


    because I recalled that we used toe here a lot. I can’t believe you’re actually here,” she uttered.


    “So... Did youe all the way here just to find me?” Charles cried excitedly.


    “Yeah.” Sonia nodded. “Your mood changed so abruptly, and you ended the call without telling me


    what was going on. I was worried, so I went over to your office. However, your admin told me that


    you weren’t in and that she had no idea where you went. I called your phone, but it was turned off. I


    called Mrs. Lane to ask if you were home, but she said that you weren’t. After all that, I finally ended


    up visiting this ce.”