CHAPTER 175: YES... I’M GAY.

"So... sorry," Charles blurted out, his voice shaky with embarrassment.

He gave a slight bow of his head toward the onlookers as a silent apology.

In response, a few employees scoffed and rolled their eyes before turning their attention elsewhere, clearly unimpressed.

Charles sighed deeply, dragging his palm across his forehead as though trying to rub away the tension that clung to him like a second skin. "I... I didn’t mean to yell," Charles muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.

His eyes softened as they met Freda’s, laced with regret.

Freda blinked, still trying to process the outburst. "What was that about?" she asked, her voice low but firm.

Her gaze lingered on Charles, a mixture of concern and surprise swirling in her eyes.

From the very first day she met Charles, he had always been the calm one, the gentle soul who never raised his voice—never lost control. But this moment... this very moment had just rewritten that image.

"I... I’m just worked up," Charles whispered, his words tumbling out in a shaky trail.

Freda scoffed, her brows knitting together. "You’re just worked up?" she repeated, staring at him with a mix of disbelief and hurt. "Charles, if you hated that I took your phone, you could’ve just said so—like you always do. Instead, you yelled at me and turned the whole damn lobby into an audience."

With that, Freda shoved his phone against his chest.

The coldness in her eyes stung more than her words. And without waiting for a single reply, Freda spun around and walked away, her heels clicking sharply against the tiled floor.

Charles sighed, his footsteps quickening as he followed Freda toward the elevator.

The doors slid shut, and the silence that filled the space between them was almost suffocating.

Taking a deep breath, Charles gathered the courage to speak. "I... I know it’s wrong for me to snap at you all of a sudden, but it’s just that I didn’t want you reading my text message."

He hesitated for a moment, his gaze falling to the floor as he awaited Freda’s response, unsure of how she’d take his confession.

Deep down, Charles doesn’t know if he should tell Freda the truth or if it was best for him to keep the truth to himself.

Freda narrowed her eyes, clearly intrigued yet frustrated. "Your text? Charles, we both know we’ve read each other’s messages before, so what’s so different about this one?"

Charles swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry. He opened his mouth to respond, but the words seemed to escape him, tumbling over each other as nervousness gripped him. "Umm... it’s a text... it’s a text from..."

He paused again, his thoughts scattering, his heart pounding in his chest.

Each second of silence seemed to stretch into eternity, and he felt the weight of Freda’s gaze pressing on him.

Sigh!

Charles sigh, his shoulder dropping down in frustration. "The reason... the reason why I snapped out you was because that was a text message from my partner."

Stunned!

Freda’s eyes widened in surprise, her gaze fixed on Charles as his words hung in the air.

She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, the elevator door suddenly beeped open, interrupting the tension between them.

Charles didn’t waste a moment as he swiftly stepped out of the elevator.

Swiftly, Freda grabbed Charles wrist as she pulled him back inside the elevator. "What did you just say? Yo... You now have a partner? When? How and who?"

Charles let out a slight chuckle, the tension between him and Freda easing as he noticed the curiosity still lingering in her expression.

It was clear that she was no longer upset with him, her playful demeanor returning.

Exhaling!

Just as the elevator door began to close, a man in his early fifties rushed toward the elevator, his quick pace causing the door to open again.

Freda, momentarily startled, pulled Charles by the arm with a determined look on her face.

Without a word, she led him out of the elevator and toward the emergency stairs.

Charles glanced back at Freda, intrigued by her sudden change in direction as they made their way down the quiet hallway toward the stairs.

Freda glanced to her left and then to her right, checking if anyone was around to interrupt their conversation before finally deciding to question Charles. "So Charles, since when did you meet a lucky girl?"

"Umm... it’s not a girl, Freda." Charles mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper.

"My God! You’re gay!!" she yelled, placing her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide in shock as though they were about to pop out of her sockets.

Charles scoffed. "Lower your voice," he whispered sharply. "And for the record, I don’t think I’m gay. I find women attractive too. Maybe I’m bisexual—I’m just not entirely sure yet."

"Woah," Freda purred, slowly dropping her hand from her mouth. "You? I never imagined you’d be into men." She smirked, the corners of her lips curling into a teasing grin. "Although now that you’ve said it... you do give off sassy button energy."

"Freda, just stop," Charles purred, rolling his eyes as he caught the mischievous glint in hers.

She was clearly enjoying every second of teasing him.

"Also," Charles added with a sigh, "I can’t give you his name or show you his picture... not until we’re official."

Freda’s brows shot up. "Wait—hold up. Is this some one-sided crush thing?"

"Nooo!" Charles groaned, shaking his head. "It’s mutual, okay? But he’s not ready for us to go public yet, and that’s why I freaked out when you grabbed my phone."

Charles voice dropped, laced with guilt he completed his phrase. "I know I was wrong for snapping at you... I just acted before thinking."

Freda smiled, nodding slowly as if piecing together a juicy secret. "That’s understandable," she mumbled, the curiosity in her voice impossible to miss. "But... is this mystery man someone I know?"

"Nope!" Charles replied a little too quickly, his reflex sharp—almost defensive.

His heart skipped.

’Damn! He hadn’t thought this far ahead.’

Telling Freda about being into men was one thing... but if Augustine found out he was talking about them? Charles could already imagine the storm.... And indeed he was right.