Chapter 253

Royce stood at the doorway, yanking at his tie in frustration as he heard the impatience in my voice.

He took a couple of steps forward, and I caught a faint whiff of alcohol mixed with a subtle hint of perfume.

The same scent I had smelled that day.

It was probably from Yvonne.

The thought made me even more irritated. "I asked you, what are you doing here?"

Too many things were weighing on my mind, making my thoughts jumbled.

Looking at Royce standing in front of me, I couldn't muster a friendly expression.

Royce's pupils contracted, and a hint of hurt flashed in his eyes as he leaned in closer. "What's wrong?"

He didn't call my name, but his eyes were slightly unfocused as he approached.

I took a step back. "If there's nothing important, just go back."

"I don't have time to chat with you."

I still hadn't dealt with everything that happened today, and in a few days, I had to attend a baby shower. Before that, I had meetings at the office.

I had a lot on my plate, I thought.

Just as I was about to push Royce out and close the door, he raised his hand to hold the doorframe, stubbornly looking at me. "Talk to me properly."

His attitude only made me more annoyed.

I spoke coldly, "Let go."

"No. Tell me what's wrong first."

We were at a stalemate when I heard movement inside the house, as if someone was coming out.

I heard my mom's puzzled voice, "Caroline, what's going on? Who's here?"

The footsteps were getting closer.

I didn't want Kelly to see me arguing with Royce, so I stepped out of the house and closed the door behind me.

Maybe my sudden movement caught Royce off guard, and he didn't dodge in time, so I almost bumped into him.

I glared at him. "Follow me downstairs."

Royce seemed to understand what I was worried about and didn't insist like before. He followed me to the elevator.

I was fuming inside, and my steps were hurried as I entered the elevator.

When we reached the ground floor, Royce caught up to me and grabbed my wrist as I continued to walk away.

"Caroline."

The way he called my name reminded me of when he confessed his feelings to me.

His deep, rich voice was like red wine, but thinking about how he had been with someone else today, I lost interest immediately.

"We need to talk this out."

I shook off his hand, trying to put some distance between us.

Even though I knew that if I kept losing my temper, he might not be able to take it.

Royce seemed a bit helpless. "What do you mean, talk it out? Are you going to bring up the same things again, Caroline?"

"So you still want to talk about the same things? Caroline, I don't know what I did wrong to make you suddenly treat me like this."

I thought about the text Yvonne sent me, the things Maeve told me, and Kathy's comment that "Royce probably doesn't like that type."

The emotions welled up inside me, making my voice bitter. "What do you want me to say? You didn't do anything wrong, but you have so many options."

"Options?"

"Like Yvonne, and plenty of other young girls who are interested in you."

As soon as I said that, Royce moved.

He grabbed my shoulders and said seriously, "Caroline, look at me."

"I thought the last time we talked about this would be the final time. I thought my sincerity had moved you, and you would give me a chance to pursue you. But I didn't expect you to go back on your word."

His words stung, and I instinctively wanted to break free and argue back.

But then he said, "Caroline, you're not like this when you're doing business. Why are you such a coward when it comes to me?"

"Where's the fearless you who dared to love and hate? I'm just asking for a chance to pursue you, not even for you to agree to be with me. Why can't you even give me that?"

Why?

My emotions burst, and I suddenly broke down. "Because even if we were together, people would think I used some trick!"

"Royce, I've been hurt by marriage and love. Now I have a few kids to take care of, but you have plenty of young girls around you. Can you guarantee you'll never change your mind?"

Royce's silence grew more pronounced as I spoke.

I didn't know if he was wavering.

But I knew that as I said these things, I felt a sense of release.

"In any case, I've thought it through. We're not right for each other. Don't come looking for me again."

His hands slipped from my shoulders.

I gritted my teeth and walked away from him. "And no matter what business we might have in the future, don't come to my house."

My mom had a good impression of him and had even told me not to give up too easily.

But when it came to feelings, I was truly scared.

Back home, Kelly was in the living room, looking at me. "Did you go out just now? I heard some noise at the door."

"Yeah, I had something to take care of."

I didn't say much more.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I took it out to check.

It was a message from Royce.

[No matter what you said today, I'm going to pretend it didn't happen. Starting tomorrow, I'll continue to pursue you seriously.]

[Caroline, I'm serious about you. If you don't like other girls around me, I can replace all my assistants.]

Is that the issue?

I almost wanted to throw my phone.

This feeling of having made a decision but not being able to cut ties was frustrating.

I put down my phone and went to check on the kids.

Since bringing the kids back, we had converted a large master bedroom into a children's room.

When I entered the room, I saw the kids sleeping soundly in their beds.

During the time I was busy outside, Kelly had taken on the responsibility of caring for the kids, doing her best to take care of each one.

I was grateful for that, and after some thought, I transferred some money to Kelly.

Not long after I left the children's room, Kelly was waiting at the door, scolding me playfully. "Why did you suddenly transfer money to me?"

"I don't want it. I'll send it back to you. You have plenty of expenses with your business."

I hugged her with a smile. "Mom, I have plenty of money. You've been taking care of the kids' every need. I promised to take care of you, so why are you spending your own money?"

"You silly child, I'm not that old yet. And let me tell you, among my peers, none of them are as happy as I am. Not only am I a grandmother, but several times over."

Her words made my eyes well up with tears.