Chapter 141
William let out a long sigh.
But he glanced uneasily toward the bedroom, then took Emily's hand.
"This isn't the place to talk. Come with me -- let's go outside."
The apartment Emily bought was a large one, and she was the only resident on this floor.
The building had tight security -- you needed to swipe a card to use the elevator, and it would only stop at the floor you were authorized for.
In other words, absolutely no one else could come up to this floor.
The stairwell was the same -- you needed an electronic key to open the fire door on this floor.
William pulled Emily out onto the balcony and looked at her seriously, beginning to tell her about that night in the past.
That year, before he'd even graduated from college, he'd already taken over the family business, which was exactly why Clarence was so unhappy about it.
He couldn't understand why Raymond had handed all the family business over to Parker to handle when William wasn't yet grown up, while he could only tag along and help out.
Now that Parker was getting older and his health wasn't what it used to be, by rights, it should be his turn to take over.
But Raymond had skipped right over him and given it to William, completely overlooking him.
William had a real talent for business. In just half a year of managing the family business, he was already doing brilliantly, even opening two new subsidiaries.
Raymond was very pleased and praised William wherever he went.
The more he praised him, the more upset Clarence became -- all that glory should have been his.
Managing the family business wasn't that hard. He'd been exposed to it since childhood and had learned it all long ago, but Raymond just wouldn't give him a chance to prove himself.
Soon, the resentment in Clarence's heart kept building until it finally exploded.
Raymond sent William to inspect a branch office. Clarence seized the opportunity to try to get him killed, secretly arranging for people to sabotage things and bribing several people around William.
That trip, everything went wrong for William -- the car broke down, the brakes failed, and even the hotel arrangements fell through.
William noticed something was off and even knew that someone close to him must have been bought off.
But he couldn't spare the time to deal with it. He had to inspect the branch office first and handle it when he got back.
When William checked into that ordinary hotel, Clarence pulled another trick -- he bribed a server to drug William.
Raymond had been faithful his whole life. What he despised most was messy affairs between men and women. He'd been loyal to one person his entire life, and so had Parker.
Raymond believed that if someone couldn't even manage their private life properly, they had no ability to handle other matters.
Clarence picked his timing perfectly. William had just taken over the family business -- if news got out after half a year that his private life was a mess, and he'd even let his private life interfere with the important business of inspecting the branch office, Raymond would definitely be very unhappy.
He would think William had gotten cocky, that in just half a year, he'd forgotten who he was.
"I was on guard against everyone around me -- my assistant, even my driver, was all within my range of suspicion. But I never thought that an insignificant server would drag me."
William let out a long sigh.
Emily could clearly see anger burning in his eyes. He was furious.
No matter what, he and Clarence were family, yet Clarence had used such dirty tactics against him. It was truly shameless.
"Then I ran into you."
William continued, "After I realized I'd been drugged, I had someone call an ambulance. I waited in my room. But my assistant had been bought off and never called the ambulance. I waited for a long time, the drug's effects became really unbearable, and then..."
William didn't continue.
But Emily understood -- later, by some twist of fate, he'd encountered her.
William had temporarily lost his reason from the drug and just wanted release as quickly as possible, and the two of them had sex in that dazed state.
"When I woke up the next day, you were already gone."
William looked at Emily with regret. "That night I thought, even though this was just a misunderstanding, I'd still slept with you and needed to take responsibility for it."
"But I never expected you to leave and never appear again. I didn't even know what you looked like, and you didn't leave any note or message. I wanted to find you but didn't know where to look. All I remembered was that you seemed to have a birthmark on your face."
At this, William looked at Emily's cheek, puzzled.
But before he could ask, Emily said, "I did have a birthmark before, but I had it removed later."
"I see."
He nodded. "No wonder I didn't recognize you when I first met you."
With that, all the misunderstandings were cleared up.
William wasn't an irresponsible man -- he'd even searched for Emily for a long time.
Thinking of this, Emily's heart filled with mixed feelings.
Everything William said today was completely unexpected. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond.
"Emily, come home with me."
William held Emily's hand. A gentle breeze blew, stirring a few strands of hair on his forehead, making his eyes look even more tender.
Emily's pupils contracted slightly. "Go home? What do you mean?"
"Back to the Brown family."
William looked at her seriously. "I already know Oscar and Nina are my children. They're members of the Brown family and absolutely can't be left out there."
"Come home with me. That way, they can be reunited with Aiden."
"Most importantly, I like you."
Without warning, William confessed his feelings directly.
Emily felt her chest shake hard, her heart like it was about to jump out of her chest.
"I like you."
He repeated it, his gaze burning with deep feeling. "To be honest, I don't know exactly when I fell for you -- maybe it was back then, maybe it was when we met again this time. But I know I really do like you."
"When I was unconscious and badly injured, it was your name I called. When I woke up, the first thing I wanted was to find you, afraid you'd misunderstand me, desperate to clear things up. When we parted, my heart was full of reluctance -- I really didn't want to leave."
"All these signs were telling me I like you."
"Before, I never faced my own feelings, always thinking there were so many things to handle, that it wouldn't be too late to find you after dealing with everything at hand."
"But now I don't want to delay anymore. I want to be with you. I want to bring you back to the Brown family, let Oscar and Nina return to where they truly belong."
"Emily, will you come home with me?"
"No, I can't."
Emily's mind went blank. Almost without thinking, she shook her head.
"I can't go back with you. I can't be with you."
"Why not?"
The smile in William's eyes instantly disappeared. "Did I do something wrong? Or have you never been able to forgive me? Then what will it take for you to forgive me? Tell me, and I'll do it."
"No, it's not that."
Emily shook her head even harder.
William's confession was too sudden. Emily wasn't prepared at all.