Chapter 54
The moment William caught me, I snapped back to reality almost instantly. I quickly steadied myself and pulled away, creating distance between us.
William explained, "Sorry, I saw you were about to fall just now..."
I quickly shook my head and forced a smile, "I know, thank you, Mr. Jones. It was my own carelessness."
William looked at me, his eyes seeming a bit unfocused, and muttered softly, "Emily was right. Grace, you really do look beautiful when you smile. It feels like even the air smells sweet..."
The comment came so suddenly that my face warmed slightly.
Taking it as drunken rambling, I quickly joked, "Mr. Jones, that's way too much. I think you really have had too much to drink."
William seemed to realize he'd spoken out of turn. He cleared his throat lightly and didn't continue the topic, turning instead to go to the cashier to pay.
After he settled the bill, we headed back to the private room to get our coats and bags.
Just as we turned the corner, we ran right into George and his group.
Terry had sharp eyes. He immediately spotted William walking beside me, and perhaps he'd also caught a glimpse of that brief moment when William had held me.
He let out an exaggerated "Oh," his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Well, if it isn't Mr. Jones and Mrs. Smith! We just saw you two at the entrance—quite the special relationship you have there!"
He deliberately drew out his words, his gaze sweeping back and forth between William and me. "Mr. Jones, if you have feelings for our Mrs. Smith here, at least wait until she's divorced, won't you? Being this eager—if word gets out, it won't look good for your reputation either, will it?"
William's expression darkened instantly. "Terry, watch your mouth!"
Terry's face stiffened at William's blunt rebuke.
He probably hadn't expected William to confront him so directly over me.
William came from a powerful family background and was highly capable himself. He was known in their circle as someone not to mess with.
Terry was a bully who picked on the weak. Though unwilling to back down, he didn't dare actually cross William, so he could only shut his mouth resentfully.
Glenn, who had been silent until now, spoke up, his tone filled with disgust.
"Mrs. Smith, you're quite the schemer. On one hand, you're stringing George along and won't agree to a clean divorce. On the other hand, you're out here getting cozy with other men."
"You're using the same shameless tactics you used to cling to George on other men now. It's really disgusting."
I wasn't surprised by Glenn's hostility.
In George's circle of friends, I'd long been painted as a scheming, clingy woman who only knew how to use her looks and manipulative tactics to climb up.
I'd heard all the rumors and slander before. I was numb to it.
I ignored Glenn's cutting words, my gaze unconsciously drifting toward George.
He stood beside Sarah, his expression showing his usual cold detachment.
Regarding Terry and Glenn's mockery of me, William's defense of me, and even the fact that I'd nearly fallen and been caught by William, his face showed no reaction whatsoever.
His eyes didn't linger on me for even a second, as if I were just an irrelevant stranger.
He tilted his head slightly and asked Sarah in a low voice, "Feeling better? Are you uncomfortable anywhere else?"
Sarah smiled softly and said sweetly, "Much better, George. But you should really be more concerned about Mrs. Smith, shouldn't you? She almost fell just now, too, and after all, she's still your wife."
George just hummed lightly in response, his gaze still fixed on Sarah's face, with no intention whatsoever of showing concern for me.
The last bit of ridiculous hope in my heart died out, leaving only cold self-mockery.
I should have stopped having any illusions about him long ago, shouldn't I?
"William, let's go." I withdrew my gaze, no longer looking at that group of people, and spoke to William.
William nodded and moved to escort me away.
However, Terry still couldn't seem to swallow his anger. He deliberately spoke loud enough for me to hear, mocking, "A woman who cheats during marriage and uses other people's feelings will get what's coming to her sooner or later. George, you should hurry up and divorce this kind of woman. Just looking at her is annoying!"
George still didn't respond.
As if Terry wasn't insulting his wife, but rather someone completely unrelated to him.
My steps paused, and a surge of anger shot straight to my head.
I could tolerate their belittling and slander of me, but I couldn't stand them attacking William like this.
I spun around sharply and looked coldly at Terry. "Terry, you're so concerned about my marital status—people who don't know might think you have a crush on George. What's it to you whether I get divorced or who I'm with? Since when does a yapping dog like you get to tell me what to do?"
"You!" Terry's face turned purple with rage.
William wanted to defend me, but I gently tugged at his arm and shook my head.
Arguing with this kind of person would only lower my own standards.
"Let's go," I said to William, my voice clear. "Don't waste time arguing with a dog that can't understand human speech."
With that, I walked toward the elevator without looking back.
Behind me came Terry's furious shouting, "Grace, a woman who cheats during marriage like you deserves to die! George, hurry up and divorce her!"
From start to finish, George remained silent as ice.
Just then, Tom also came out of the restroom.
Seeing Sarah, he approached her. "Sarah's here too? What a coincidence!"
However, when Sarah saw Tom, the smile on her face instantly disappeared, replaced by a flash of barely concealed disgust and nervousness.
She didn't respond to Tom's greeting. Instead, she instinctively shrank back behind George.
I knew why Sarah reacted this way.
After her mother went to prison for theft, she was taken in by her uncle Tom for a few years.
But Tom had problems with both his lifestyle and how he conducted himself.
Once Sarah was able to support herself, she couldn't wait to leave the Wilson family and desperately tried to distance herself from them.
In front of George, she packaged herself as pure and innocent.
She was afraid George would find out she had an uncle like this, and learn about her mother's unsavory past.
George had business dealings with Tom. He took the initiative to nod in acknowledgment. "Mr. Wilson."
Tom quickly responded, "Mr. Smith, pleasure to meet you!"
Then he looked at Sarah and said, "Sarah, you see me and don't even say hello? That's rude."
Sarah's expression grew even more unpleasant, but she didn't dare show it too much in front of George. She could only force out a smile. "Uncle Tom."
I had been about to leave, but seeing this scene, I suddenly changed my mind.
I pulled William over to sit in a corner booth, saying quietly, "William, let's sit over there for a bit. I'm feeling a little dizzy and want to rest before we go."
William didn't suspect anything and immediately nodded with concern. "Okay, sit down and rest first."
We quietly sat down in that booth. The lush plants perfectly concealed our presence while allowing us to clearly hear the conversation of those people not far away.
I saw Tom say to Sarah, "I came here today to discuss a business deal with Mr. Jones from Star Tech. That company has good technology, but they actually dared to refuse cooperation with you before. So today, I made sure to give them some special attention."
Hearing this, Sarah's expression improved slightly, but her tone remained cold. "Uncle Tom, you don't need to take it too much to heart. I'm doing fine now at the company George gave me. I'll run it well and produce results."
Tom didn't seem to agree. He said, "It's good that Mr. Smith gave you a company, but how can that compare to building something yourself? Why not come help me manage my company? We could team up..."
"No need, Uncle Tom." Sarah interrupted him, her tone firm. "I want to rely on my own abilities."
She paused, as if remembering something, and laughed with self-mockery. Her voice wasn't loud, but we could hear it clearly from where we sat. "Speaking of which, William really does treat that Grace specially. He refused to cooperate with me because of her. But now, for her sake, he's cooperating with you instead. Ha..."