Chapter 190 I Trust You

Chapter 190 I Trust You

"You specifically called me here because you want to ask about Thalia being the other woman?"

Thalia and Jane had already torn into each other in public at City Hall, exposing all the hidden scandals. Word had long since spread.

The office was thick with smoke. William hesitated for a moment, then nodded heavily.

I wasn't all that familiar with William's past, but after watching him for a long time, I'd gotten a rough sense of his real feelings for Thalia.

Outsiders all assumed he was simply dutiful, that he truly respected Thalia like a close family member. But that wasn't the case. To him, Thalia was the only emotional anchor and source of comfort he'd had throughout his whole upbringing.

Later, when Thalia was badly hurt and left bedridden for years after saving him, that experience only deepened his dependence on and trust in her.

The day Thalia woke up, William was overjoyed, and immediately dropped his original plan to send Jane away.

That alone was enough to prove that after Madison passed away, Thalia was the only family member he truly trusted and relied on in his heart.

But now that the truth about Thalia being the other woman had completely come out, every illusion he'd held about family, about the people closest to him, had collapsed entirely.

The understanding of family and the emotional anchor he'd clung to for over twenty years had shattered in this one moment.

While Madison was alive, she felt for him and deliberately kept the truth from him, unwilling to break the belief he held onto so tightly.

But I've always felt that a short, sharp pain is far better than being kept in the dark for a long time.

He was nearly thirty. If he kept refusing to face human nature and reality head-on, it would eventually limit his judgment and hold the Spencer family back.

"Fine."

I looked straight at William and asked calmly, "But are you really willing to believe the truth I'm about to tell you?"

He nodded slightly, his answer clean and decisive. "I believe you."

His tone was firm, without a trace of hesitation.

Clearly he'd already weighed everything over and over in private and made up his mind, which was why he'd come to me on his own to get to the bottom of it.

I finally let go of the doubts I'd been holding onto.

I took a sip of the water beside me and was about to speak, ready to repeat the key things I'd said in the hospital room the day Thalia woke up.

"William!"

The office door was pushed open without any warning, no knock at all.

A clear, domineering female voice rang out, cutting off what I was about to say.

Jade walked straight into the office in a limited-edition designer outfit and white high heels.

Her makeup was flawless, her features striking, and her smile looked harmless enough. She really did have the confidence to back up that arrogance.

"I brought you your work materials."

She never once looked at me the whole time, her innate sense of entitlement on full display, clearly used to being the center of attention.

Seeing William stay silent, her gaze finally drifted over carelessly, a flash of displeasure in her eyes, and she asked in a petulant tone.

"William, who is this?"

"She's my wife."

William's brow creased slightly, his tone steady and certain.

"What?" Jade's eyes went wide, and only then did she actually look me over properly, sizing me up bluntly like she was appraising an object.

"Isn't your wife the one who was trending online a while back? The plainer-looking one!"

"The one who was trending is my stepmother's daughter."

William snuffed out his cigarette, his tone flat and distant, calmly clearing up the confusion and breaking her mistaken assumption.

At that moment I fully confirmed what Alvin had said about her—Jade was simple-minded and didn't think things through.

She immediately gritted her teeth in anger. "Damn Alvin! He knew I had the wrong person and didn't even bother to correct me on purpose!"

I couldn't help feeling a quiet sense of helplessness.

Alvin had already clearly corrected her mistake before. Aside from Jane, the only other person was me.

That air of looking down on everyone was really just blind arrogance born from shallow understanding.

"The documents."

William held out his hand, gesturing for her to hand them over.

"Oh, right."

Jade finally remembered why she'd come, handed him the materials, then sat down right next to him without a shred of hesitation, her tone light and breezy.

"William, I heard you're getting a divorce. Is it because things aren't good between you two?"

William leaned away to avoid her closeness, standing with his back against the desk, his tone cool.

"Anything else?"

"Yes!"

"Go on."

"It's a huge deal!"

"Say it."

"I want to marry you. Doesn't that count as a huge deal?"

Jade was bold and blunt by nature, making no effort to hide what she wanted.

"The Marie family's upbringing really does need some work."

William gave a short, sharp comment, quickly flipped through the materials, and called Andrew over.

"Have the project team double-check the documents. Once they're confirmed, have legal draft the contract together with them. And see her out."

He didn't give Jade the slightest bit of face.

No matter how simple-minded she was, Jade still felt publicly embarrassed and shot up from her seat.

"The colder you act, the more determined I am to marry you! There's no way you're getting out of this!"

With that, she turned and walked off with a flourish, shooting me a pointed glare on her way out.

Her declaration wasn't really confidence—more like a one-sided announcement delivered with full force.

That's the kind of nerve only someone from a top-tier family could have.

Jane at least knew how to put on an image, curry favor deliberately, and keep up appearances.

But Jade didn't bother with any of that. She just openly showed exactly what she wanted.

Looking at it practically, the logic behind it was pretty clear.

Deliberately building an image and putting on a personality takes time and emotional effort—it's essentially a social transaction.

Jane had nothing, so pretending was the only way she could get what she wanted.

Jade had top-tier resources already, so she never needed to put in that kind of effort.

Her being well-mannered was simply a natural advantage.

And even when she acted recklessly and made mistakes, her family would always cover for her, so she never had to pay any price for it.

That kind of carefree, unrestrained way of living genuinely made me envious.

After Jade left, William got back to the point. "Sorry, we got interrupted. Go on."

"Right."

Just as I was about to speak, William's phone suddenly rang, interrupting us again.

The instant he glanced at the caller ID, I saw pure disgust in his eyes, and I could roughly guess who it was.

He hung up without a second thought.

The other side kept calling back, three or four times in a row, refusing to give up.

The ringing finally stopped, and a text message popped up instead.

William glanced at the message and his expression changed instantly. He called back right away.

He kept responding into the phone, his tone urgent. "Okay, I'm on my way."

He hung up and told me in a grave voice. "Thalia tried to kill herself."

I felt a wave of weary exasperation inside.

This mother and daughter pair only ever knew how to grab attention through extreme means. Nothing new there.

Almost without thinking, I spoke up, and immediately regretted it the second the words left my mouth.

"Do you need me to come with you?"

It had become an instinct at this point—whenever he ran into an emergency, I'd automatically offer to go with him.

But on second thought, going along wasn't actually a bad idea.

I could see for myself whether this was even real, and I could help keep things steady if it came down to it.

Right now, William didn't have a single person around him he could fully trust.

And I, at least for the moment, was willing to trust him and stand on his side.

William looked at me, clearly caught off guard. "You'll really come with me?"

"Let's go."

I grabbed my bag and got into Andrew's car, heading to the hospital with William.

Along the way, William started to speak several times but stopped himself.

I could see it clearly in his eyes—the tension, the unease, and underneath it all, a deep anxiety and loneliness.

I thought it over for a moment, then spoke softly to reassure him. "I trust you."