Chapter 406 Neither of Us Got What We Wanted

Chapter 406: Chapter 406 Neither of Us Got What We Wanted

Charlotte had never been one to shy away from making things awkward.

She brought up Rose and Ryan’s marriage without the slightest hesitation.

The entire table went quiet.

A few people nearby exchanged uncomfortable glances, clearly sensing the tension but wisely choosing not to get involved.

Rose paused too, then sighed inwardly at Charlotte’s complete lack of subtlety.

She set down her chopsticks.

“I’m afraid Mr. Knight won’t have the time.”

She smoothly shifted the responsibility onto Ryan before turning to him.

“If he really wants to offer his congratulations, he can do it now. That way, he won’t have to worry about finding time to attend my wedding with such a busy schedule.”

The vice president and the others at the table looked increasingly uncomfortable.

Why did that sound so much like a direct hit?

Even Charlotte was caught off guard.

She immediately looked at Ryan.

Ryan leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes fixed on Rose.

She wore a faint smile, her expression calm and composed, every inch of her manner making it clear where her boundaries lay.

His gaze was unreadable.

“Do you really want my blessing that badly?”

The unexpected question made the atmosphere even tenser.

Rose knew Ryan had a sharp tongue, but she hadn’t expected him to be quite so irritating.

“It’s just a blessing,” she said evenly. “For good luck.”

Ryan looked away.

“If it’s for good luck, there’s no hurry. We can wait until the right time. Once your wedding is over, perhaps I’ll say a few words.”

Neither of them had raised their voices.

Neither had openly insulted the other.

And yet everyone at the table could feel the invisible tension between them.

Charlotte watched the two of them carefully.

They were sitting across from each other, yet neither seemed willing to take a single step closer.

A complicated look crossed her face. She briefly clenched her hands beneath the table before letting out a quiet breath.

“Two weeks,” she said, deliberately steering the conversation elsewhere. “It’ll be here before you know it.”

“That’s true.”

Rose nodded and didn’t engage with Ryan any further.

Ryan lowered his eyes to his watch.

But his thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.

Two weeks...

That should be enough.

Seeing that the tension had finally eased, the vice president smiled and tried to bring the conversation back to normal.

“Come on, let’s eat. Everything’s going cold. The fish here is actually pretty good.”

The discussion soon returned to the upcoming research project.

Rose and Ryan didn’t exchange another glance.

They were sitting directly across from each other, close enough that their eyes could have met at any moment.

Neither looked up.

For the next hour, they acted as though the other person wasn’t even there.

Eventually, Ryan pushed his chair back.

“I have some things to take care of at the office. I should get going. We’ll catch up another time.”

He stood and politely said goodbye to the vice president.

Charlotte remained seated.

Before leaving, Ryan gave her a brief nod.

Then he walked away.

From beginning to end, he hadn’t tried to have a real conversation with her.

And he hadn’t said another word to Rose.

He simply left.

******

Once lunch was over, Rose planned to return to the lab.

Charlotte suddenly caught her by the wrist.

“Come on. I need to talk to someone. I’m frustrated.”

Rose stared at her.

She couldn’t understand why Charlotte wanted to confide in her.

Charlotte knew perfectly well that Rose was Ryan’s ex-wife, yet somehow, she didn’t seem bothered by it at all.

Rose didn’t feel right refusing.

So, she nodded.

“All right.”

Charlotte studied her for a moment before suddenly asking, “Do you know what kind of impression you give me?”

Rose blinked.

“What kind?”

“You remind me of a couple who’s been married for years but is constantly on the verge of falling apart.”

Rose stared at her.

Charlotte continued, completely serious.

“On the surface, everything looks perfectly proper. Neither person does anything inappropriate. But underneath it all, the slightest thing the other person does still catches their attention.”

Rose was speechless.

“Where did you get that idea?”

Charlotte frowned.

“I’ve noticed that Ryan treats you differently.”

Rose’s expression changed slightly.

“I can’t quite explain it,” Charlotte continued, “but Ryan is the kind of man who doesn’t seem to care about much of anything. Most people can’t get a reaction out of him. But you can.”

She leaned closer.

“Whether you say something nice or say something that gets under his skin, he always reacts.”

Rose opened her mouth, but Charlotte continued before she could respond.

“Take that bottle of juice, for example.”

Rose frowned.

“He noticed you hadn’t touched the mango juice. Maybe you didn’t like it, or maybe you couldn’t drink it. Either way, he noticed. And he immediately had someone replace it with coconut water.”

Rose glanced away.

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Maybe not to you.”

Charlotte crossed her arms.

“But I was watching him.”

She paused.

“He didn’t even seem to realize he’d done it. It was completely instinctive.”

Rose didn’t answer.

“And there’s another thing.”

Charlotte’s expression became more thoughtful.

“When Ryan rejected me, he was always straightforward. Cold, direct, and completely unambiguous. He never gave me false hope.”

“But with you?”

She shook her head.

“It’s different.”

“He never says exactly what he means. He drops hints. He speaks in circles. He makes you figure out what he’s really trying to say.”

Charlotte looked at her seriously.

“That kind of behavior means his mind is working differently when you’re involved.”

Rose gave a helpless sigh.

“You’re overthinking this.”

She couldn’t understand why Charlotte was so hung up on it.

“We were married for seven years. Even when we weren’t really living like husband and wife, we were still together for seven years. We’re familiar with each other. That’s all.”

Charlotte stared at her.

Then she let out a quiet, almost disbelieving laugh.

“Rose, you really do think men are simple.”

Rose raised an eyebrow.

“What does that mean?”

“In my entire life, Ryan is the only man I’ve ever liked who completely ignored me.”

Charlotte’s expression became unusually bitter.

“He doesn’t like me, so he doesn’t give me even the slightest bit of hope. He doesn’t play games. He doesn’t have some hidden agenda. He simply doesn’t care.”

She paused.

“Take what happened that night. It was obvious nothing happened between him and Alicia, but he still didn’t bother explaining anything to me.”

Rose remained silent.

“But when I thought about it afterward...”

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“He actually did explain.”

Rose looked at her in confusion.

“Just not to me.”

That day, Ryan had been silent through most of the confrontation.

But when Rose appeared, he’d finally spoken.

[I’m not interested in her. There’s no reason I’d do something like that at a time like this.]

At the time, Charlotte had assumed he’d said it because he was worried about the relationship between the Mercer and Knight families.

But after thinking about everything that had happened since, she wasn’t so sure.

What if Rose hadn’t been there?

Would Ryan have bothered saying those words at all?

Charlotte kept that thought to herself.

“What?” Rose asked, clearly confused.

“Nothing.”

Charlotte didn’t explain.

If she laid everything out, she’d only make herself look pathetic.

Instead, she changed the subject.

“I was just thinking that even if Alicia hadn’t pulled that stunt, our engagement might not have gone as smoothly as I thought.”

Rose frowned.

“If Ryan hadn’t wanted the engagement, there would’ve been plenty of other ways for him to stop it.”

Charlotte’s lips curved into a humorless smile.

“But Alicia forced the Mercer family into a position where we had no choice but to back out ourselves.”

She stood.

“Honestly, Rose, I’m a little jealous of you.”

Rose sighed.

“You’re really reading too much into it.”

Charlotte pouted.

“Have you ever considered that you’re just too close to the situation to see what’s actually happening?”

Rose almost laughed.

There was something oddly childish about the way Charlotte said it.

“Are you taking your frustration out on me now?”

Charlotte immediately shook her head.

“No.”

She crossed her arms.

“I may be annoyed, but taking it out on someone who has nothing to do with it would be beneath me.”

She paused before adding, “I’m angry about Alicia. Whether she did it intentionally or not, I have my own opinion about that.”

Her gaze settled on Rose.

“But you? I can tell you’re not the kind of person who schemes behind people’s backs.”

Rose had to admit it.

She actually liked Charlotte.

Charlotte was arrogant, but she wasn’t malicious.

She was blunt, but at least she was honest about it.

As they walked out, Charlotte suddenly stopped.

“But you know what?”

Rose looked at her.

“What?”

Charlotte crossed her arms, and an almost smug smile appeared on her face.

“I actually feel pretty good about it now.”

Rose looked puzzled.

“About what?”

Charlotte let out a strange little snort.

“I can’t have Ryan, and Ryan can’t have you.”

She tilted her chin slightly, as if she’d finally found something amusing about the entire situation.

“So, basically, he’s no different from me.”