Chapter 172
James drove the car back to SilkGrove Estates and parked directly outside William's house.
William lifted his eyelids to glance outside and said coldly,
"Drive to number 17."
James didn't know why William wanted him to drive to number 17, but he could only comply.
William's expression was off, so he didn't dare ask more questions - the more he said, the more mistakes he'd make.
William got out of the car and rang the doorbell. After a few rings, Sarah came out in maternity clothes to open the door.
"William..."
Sarah, knowing she was in the wrong, reddened her eyes first to play pitiful. Her "William" sounded so pathetic, as if she'd suffered some great injustice.
William's hawk-like eyes looked over, scaring her and forcing her to lower her head.
He walked past her into the house first, looking around the place. The layout was identical to the one he and Ava were living in now. He knew Sarah had asked him for money a few days ago to buy a house - something he had once promised her - but he didn't know this crazy woman had bought it in SilkGrove Estates.
He was starting to understand why Ava had hurriedly moved out the day after they got off the cruise, barely taking any clothes with her. This must be the reason!
Howard was right - he could choose not to cherish her, but he shouldn't disgust her with this. And this was basically a public humiliation right at Ava's doorstep.
William was fuming,
"Sell the house and leave SilkGrove Estates!"
Sarah immediately squeezed out two lines of tears and carefully explained,
"William, I just moved here a few days ago. I didn't buy the house here for any other reason. I just thought it would be convenient for you to come see the baby. I really didn't think anything else, please believe me."
William narrowed his long eyes,
"If I ever find out again that you're trying to get attention in front of my grandfather, then we don't need to see each other anymore. I'll send you to Zephyria."
Sarah's face went pale. William was just warning her, but she was already scared, weak in the knees. She knew he would definitely do it. In his heart, even though she was pregnant with his child, she couldn't compare to Howard's place in his heart.
She shouldn't have listened to Steven and tested William's limits - it was basically dancing on the edge of death.
"William, I... I won't dare again..."
William knew her actions today were instigated by that old bastard Steven. She didn't have the guts on her own. He would settle this score with Steven.
"Move out first."
His tone left almost no room for negotiation. That powerful aura of authority made Sarah not dare to bargain.
She looked at the unopened packages in the living room - a baby crib, small toys, and a bathtub she'd bought for the baby. She hadn't even had time to organize them, and now she had to move.
But where could she move to?
"William, where do you want me to move to?"
William said coldly,
"Stay here for now and don't go anywhere. I'll arrange for someone to pick you up and take you to Lakeview Estates. In five days, the specialist will come to examine you directly. During this time, your movement is limited to inside the house."
Sarah knew she had completely angered William this time. He was going to lock her up, not even letting her leave the house, not even letting her contact her own parents.
He was guarding against her like this!
"William."
She called out tearfully, stroking her belly and asking,
"You will marry me, right?"
William didn't say anything and walked straight out the door.
Shortly after he left, a real estate agent came with clients to view the house. In just this short time, he had already listed the house online to sell it.
Sarah watched as the agent freely walked in and out of the home she had carefully set up, introducing each room to the clients. She hadn't even lived in this house for more than a few days, and it was already being resold.
Her mind was in chaos.
She called Nola,
"Mom, I can't hold on anymore. William is making me leave SilkGrove Estates. Why won't that bitch Ava divorce him? She's taken everything that should belong to me. I want her dead!"
On the other end of the phone, Nola paused and said,
"Sarah, don't worry. I'll make arrangements. If that woman won't leave willingly, then we only have one way to make her give up her position - to make her disappear from William's world forever. As soon as she goes out, that's when William becomes single again."
Sarah wiped away her tears,
"Mom, will she really disappear?"
"Yes, she'll disappear from our sight just like her bitch mother."
Sarah composed herself, as if she'd found hope.
"Mom, then we'll wait for her to go out."
Meanwhile, Ava sneezed in her sleep. Although her fever had broken, she still felt weak and tired. The cold, combined with the exhaustion from the past few days, made her want to stay in bed.
She told Olivia about her condition. As her prenatal doctor, Olivia advised her to rest in bed, avoid exhaustion and staying up late, and drink more water to boost metabolism. For a self-limiting illness like a cold, as long as she wasn't too uncomfortable, it would get better in a week.
Ava cursed herself for being useless. She had originally planned to stay with Howard until he was discharged, but now, with her cold, she didn't dare go near the hospital. She might pass the cold to Howard, which could trigger complications - especially dangerous for an elderly person.
She called Jeremy and was told that Howard was sleeping, eating well, sleeping well, in good spirits, and she should rest easy and not worry.
Ava felt relieved hearing that Howard was recovering well.
She couldn't sit still. Even lying in bed, her mind was on her designs. Going forward, she would focus on her work and her two babies.
Right now, making money was most important.
She had some inspiration budding recently. She found a piece of paper and, leaning against the headboard, sketched simply with a pencil, recording those scattered bits of inspiration to complete when her body recovered.
Just then, her phone received another message. The first one was from Emily,
[Ava, I'm warning you not to covet things that aren't yours, or you'll get what you deserve. Also, you're just lucky, don't be too arrogant.]
Ava didn't know what she'd done to offend this young lady again to make her say such things. She wasn't interested in knowing either. After divorcing William, they'd go their separate ways - they wouldn't even need to greet each other when they met.
She deleted the message and blocked Emily on Facebook.
Ava rarely had time to herself, to be quiet and alone.
She took stock of her cash on hand, preparing to leave Emerald City after the divorce.
She'd taken all her belongings, except for that car, which she couldn't take with her. She'd bought it with her own money for over two hundred thousand. After driving it for about two years, selling it secondhand could recover some money.
She entrusted Jack with selling the car.
Jack worked fast - by evening, he'd transferred the money from selling the car to her.
[Ava, I sold the car for a hundred thousand, and I have transferred the money to you.]
Ava was surprised and delighted. She hadn't expected a car driven for over two years could still get back a hundred thousand, enough to buy several more square meters of property in another city.
She thanked Jack.
After staying home for two days like this, Ava's health recovered well. Then Lucas invited her over for dinner.
Ava got ready and was about to leave when she was drawn to yesterday's news replaying on TV.
Last night, a car's brakes failed on the highway, causing a thirteen-car pileup and a major traffic accident. The scene was chaotic, filled with crying.
When the camera focused on the car with brake failure, Ava was stunned on the spot, as if her soul had been sucked out, numb from head to toe.