Chapter 255
That evening, Willow had just finished dinner and returned to her room when Charles called again.
"So? Made up your mind yet, Willow? Your grandmother or Sterling—what's it gonna be?" His voice was ice-cold.
Willow's heart felt just as frozen.
After a moment of silence, she tried playing the one card she had left. "Charles, don't forget—I still have proof of your affair."
The second the words left her mouth, his tone turned even colder. "You're the one begging me right now, Willow. Is this how you ask for favors?"
"So does this mean you've decided to pick Sterling after all?" he asked.
Willow's mouth snapped shut as she realized her words had hit exactly the nerve Charles didn't want touched—a purely emotional, knee-jerk reaction.
Charles let out a bitter laugh. "You think I'm actually scared of those little video clips you've got? Everyone who needed to see them already has. What do I have left to worry about? What, you gonna release them publicly? Go ahead. I'm about to head back to the Lancaster Group anyway. When that happens, I won't be the only one affected."
Willow caught the threat in his words, and her heart sank completely.
Like he said, if he really did return to the Lancaster Group and she released that footage, the company's reputation would definitely take a hit.
And when that happened, Sterling would inevitably get dragged into it too.
Not to mention Maria...
Maria already knew Charles had cheated during their marriage, but she didn't know he'd slept with another woman on Willow's wedding night.
Willow herself had been traumatized seeing it—how much worse would it be for Maria, who loved her so deeply?
Defeated, Willow, fell silent and didn't bring up the videos again.
When she didn't respond for a while, Charles quickly figured out where her head was at.
His next words carried a hint of amusement. "Willow, my patience has limits. Your grandmother or Sterling—give me an answer so I know what to do next. You know how it is—compatible hearts are worth their weight in gold these days. Who knows? Maybe I put the word out, and someone offers me a fortune for it. Hell, I might even get a favor out of the deal."
In her room, Willow dug her nails into her palm so hard the thin skin nearly broke.
Maria or Sterling—the answer was obvious.
"I choose my grandmother." After what felt like forever, she forced the words out.
Charles's voice brightened with satisfaction. "Good. I knew you'd always been such a dutiful granddaughter."
When he'd been with Willow before, she'd compromised countless times for Maria's sake.
Charles had wanted to see exactly what would happen if he put Sterling and Maria on opposite sides of a scale—which one would Willow choose?
Turned out, Sterling still couldn't compete with Maria.
That answer pleased him immensely.
"It's getting late. Get some rest. I'll come visit your grandmother tomorrow. Willow, make sure you come down to meet me." His tone was leisurely, like he had all the time in the world.
Willow's brow furrowed. "The heart—"
Charles cut her off. "What's the rush? Something this important—naturally, I'll hand it over once my objective is achieved. We'll have a nice long talk when we meet tomorrow."
With that, he hung up without giving Willow another chance to speak.
Willow didn't sleep at all that night.
Early the next morning, Charles's call jarred her awake.
"I'm downstairs. Come get me."
On Sterling's turf, he apparently didn't dare just barge in.
Willow agreed.
When she came out of her room, Maria was already outside eating breakfast.
After a moment's thought, Willow decided to give her a heads-up. "Grandma, Charles is coming to see you. He's already downstairs."
At the mention of that name, Maria's expression turned sour. "Who asked him to come? I don't need him visiting me. Tell him to go back!"
Willow understood how Maria felt—she didn't want to see Charles either.
But...
"Grandma, he definitely wronged me, and I have no intention of forgiving him." Willow offered hollow reassurance. "But you two did spend all that time together. Charles does have some genuine feelings for you. Now that you're having such a major surgery, it makes sense for him to show his face, all things considered."
She forced out a weak smile. "Just be polite to him when he's here. If you really don't want to talk, then don't—I'll handle the conversation for you."
She was terrified that Maria's bad attitude might give Charles leverage to make even more outrageous demands.
For Maria's sake, she could agree to anything.
But if Charles went back on his word, she truly didn't know what she'd do.
Maria eyed her suspiciously. "Did Charles do something to you? My surgery getting delayed—did he have something to do with that?"
Willow's expression flickered before she quickly recovered. "No. I just thought, since you're about to have surgery, it'd be better not to make enemies with anyone beforehand. Maybe it'll help the operation go more smoothly."
The excuse sounded stiff even to her own ears.
Maria sensed something was off, but couldn't figure out what. Finally, she relented. "Fine. Bring him up."
Willow breathed a sigh of relief and headed downstairs to meet Charles.
---
In the hospital lobby, Charles stood impeccably dressed with an assistant behind him carrying bags of expensive supplements. They drew quite a bit of attention.
Spotting Willow, Charles approached with a smile. "Willow, you're finally here."
Then he turned meaningfully toward the nurse at the reception desk. "See? I told you I was here to visit family. My girlfriend came to get me—now will you let me up?"
The nurse looked at Willow, her expression shifting.
Willow's face darkened slightly. "Ruth."
Ruth gave her a complicated nod before looking away, her mind racing.
Willow and Charles? They really hadn't broken up? Had Sterling's special treatment been because of Willow's relationship with Charles?
But... when she'd seen Willow and Sterling together, they'd seemed way more like a couple...
No matter how hard Ruth tried, she couldn't make sense of it.
One thing was certain, though.
Ever since Kaitlyn's visit, Sterling had given explicit instructions that he be notified whenever anyone came to visit Maria.
Ruth watched the two of them step into the elevator, then pulled out her phone and called Blake.
---
Completely unaware, Willow led Charles to the hospital room.
Along the way, Charles kept making small talk, asking after her and Maria's well-being with the easy familiarity of someone whose relationship had never fractured.
Willow didn't have his acting skills. She couldn't pretend everything was fine. Most of the time, she stayed silent.
Only when they reached the door did she force out a faint smile and push it open.
"Grandma, Charles is here." She announced his arrival.
Charles strutted in with his entourage, all smiles. "Grandma, it's been too long! I've been thinking about your health every single day. You must've missed me, too, right?"
He was as smooth-talking with Maria as he'd always been.
But to both Willow and Maria, those words sounded more like a taunt.