Chapter 1196:

Maybe he was feeling extra bold, because this time, he picked the most attention-grabbing restaurant in town.

Millie and the rest showed up as expected.

The event, predictably, turned into a media circus—paparazzi flashes everywhere, social feeds buzzing, and half the city tuned in to the spectacle. And then, things took a bad turn.

Charles and Trudy butted heads.

A crowd of shoppers saw Trudy striding ahead, leaving Charles trailing after her through the mall.

“What do you even want from me?” Charles snapped, frustration all over his face.

“I told you there was nothing going on between us. Why would she mess around with me when she’s already engaged to Myron? She’s not an idiot.”

Losing her temper, Trudy grabbed a cup of water from a nearby stall and threw it straight at Charles.

“Congratulations, Charles! Now the entire Crobert knows you’re just Millie’s lapdog!” Trudy shot back, her voice trembling with fury.

“I’m done with being embarrassed by you!”

“Trudy!” Charles shouted, dripping wet and fuming.

“Charles, go ask anyone—what woman would actually want to date a man like you? You’re just a total suck-up!” Trudy’s anger boiled over, and she slammed the cup onto the table so hard it shattered, drawing every eye nearby.

Everyone stared as Trudy shot the crowd a deadly glare and stormed off, leaving Charles soaked and looking like he’d lost a fight with a sprinkler.

“Trudy!” Charles hollered after her, but Trudy didn’t slow down.

“Unbelievable! Get back here, woman!” But she didn’t even flinch.

“Wait, just hear me out…” Charles called, swiping water from his face as he rushed after her.

Plenty of bystanders caught the whole thing, and before long, clips of the drama exploded all over the Internet. Not long after, for reasons nobody could quite pin down, Charles and Millie stopped showing up together.

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Soon after, word spread that Charles had real feelings for Trudy and that an engagement was on the horizon.

“Seems like Charles had to pick sides, and he went with Trudy,” someone snickered.

“Or maybe Charles finally got sick of being a suck-up.”

“Can you blame him? No guy wants to be known as an accessory to a woman, especially when they’re not even together. Maybe this was his ticket to get some space from Millie.”

The public found it absurd that Charles had to pick between Millie and Trudy.

Many believed the whole thing was just an excuse for him to cut ties with Millie.

After all, Charles had gained plenty from working with her—from Heavenly Melody to the recent Yaroslav Technology deal. Their partnership was tightly knit, with Millie leading most of the way.

This situation, much like Trudy’s recent drama, begged for closure. Without it, Charles would have trouble moving on—both personally and professionally.

If Charles wanted real influence within the Evans family, he couldn’t stay under Millie’s shadow—his family wouldn’t allow it.

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