Chapter 195 I Am Your Wife, Not Your Subordinate
Thalia had seen through William's hypocritical facade long ago.
William had two completely different faces when dealing with her versus others. That whole "refined businessman" and "Emerald City's rising elite" act was just to fool naive girls.
When anger turned into lust and rushed to his head, he was nothing but a beast.
All that gentleness and refinement just vanished.
On the couch, Thalia lay half-collapsed, too exhausted to even curse. She watched William pick up his suit pants from the floor and put them on, his back to her as he fastened his belt.
William's lower back dimples were captivating, stirring the imagination.
"Take them off."
William turned to look at her: "There are cameras in the hallway. You want me to streak in front of my staff?"
"You know what I want to do right now?" Thalia asked breathlessly.
William grabbed a nearby blanket to wrap around her and carried her back to the bedroom: "Cut off my dick."
"At least you're self-aware."
"Ms. Smith's preferences have always been simple and brutal."
"Shower or bath?" William asked, holding her at the bedroom door.
"Bath."
Thalia had noticed that William was always in a good mood after sex. Forget just running the bath - he was willing to help her through the entire bathing process.
"What's your relationship with that Kurt guy who was next to you today?"
"Why?"
"I saw Nora trying to butter him up yesterday, but Kurt threw her out."
William's hand paused while bathing her: "You saw that?"
"Yeah, Evelyn and I ran into them while drinking at the club."
"Kurt is the chairman of the Lowe Group. His company recently had internal problems and needed cash flow, so he came to me. Nora probably wanted to cozy up to him at first, but Kurt seems to think I'm interested in her and keeps trying to set us up."
"I see," Thalia responded lazily. "Why does Kurt think you're interested in Nora? Could it be..."
Thalia's words trailed off under William's half-smiling gaze, which seemed to say bluntly: Go on, keep making stuff up.
"Don't think I don't know - last time you came back from eating out, your clothes smelled like her perfume."
William knelt on one knee by the bathtub, looking at Thalia: "Would you be jealous?"
Thalia shot back: "Do you want me to be jealous?"
"Would you be jealous if I wanted you to?"
"If you want me to, I can consider it." What Thalia was really saying was: if you beg me to like you, I might consider it.
..........
"That's Thalia for you! Not surprising she'd say something like that," Daniel said after hearing William's words, then launched into an objective assessment of Thalia.
"Think about it - when Thalia was born, her dad was just hitting his stride. I remember my dad saying back then that Hayden had a lucky star, that right after Thalia was born, his career took off like crazy. When Chase was born, Hayden only had a bit of money, but by the time Thalia came along, he was already on the national rich list."
"Thalia's reputation as Emerald City's princess isn't for nothing," Nicholas chimed in.
"That's so Thalia."
William listened to them going back and forth, his head buzzing. He raised his hand to take a drag: "How's that thing I asked you to look into?"
"We followed him. Real nutcase. His family's so broke they only have one room left, just him and his old mother. They've been depending on each other for decades. Everyone in the neighborhood knows he's an idiot."
"Got it."
In his study, William turned off his computer, leaned back in his chair to smoke a cigarette, then went to the bedroom.
Meanwhile, Nora got into Kurt's car. The black Mercedes drove along Emerald City's most bustling main street.
She listened to Kurt take a call from his son. Their warm father-son conversation made her envious, perfectly illustrating that saying - some people are born at the finish line others spend their lives trying to reach.
A life where birth is the destination - how could she not be envious?
"Nora, what do you want?"
"I want opportunities."
"Sure. Figure out which production you want to be in, then contact my secretary Isia."
Isia tactfully handed over a business card.
"Nora, call me whenever you've decided."
"Thanks. You can drop me off at the roadside."
After spending time with Kurt a few times, Nora had figured out his personality. She knew he didn't like people clinging to him, so this time she learned her lesson.
She got out as soon as they reached the roadside.
After Nora left, Isia turned to Kurt: "Kurt, there's something I don't know if I should mention."
"Go ahead."
"That necklace on Hayden's daughter Thalia's neck tonight - it's the one Mr. Brown bought at the auction we ran into him at last month."
Kurt's eyes, which had been closed in rest, snapped open, suddenly alert: "Are you sure?"
"Ninety percent. Didn't dare get too close to check, since the Smith family seems to be rising again under Grace's leadership."
In other words, she was afraid of offending them.
Thalia's position as Emerald City's princess still held.
"If that's true, we need to be careful. I looked into Nora's recent entertainment industry affairs. Apparently things aren't going well between her and Ms. Smith. I'm worried that if Ms. Smith really has a relationship with Mr. Brown, we'll offend them."
"Look into it more," Kurt said, alarmed. If Thalia really had a relationship with William, then sending Nora to William in front of Thalia today had already been offensive.
........
On Sunday, Thalia was still half-asleep when someone half-dragged, half-carried her out of bed.
"What are you doing?"
"It's noon."
"I haven't had a good night's sleep since filming on set. Finally get to sleep in at home, can't you show some mercy? I'm your wife, not your employee."
"Let me sleep a bit more. I was fighting someone in my dream and about to win. So annoying..."
William: ......
"Want to buy bags?"
Thalia's drowsy eyes instantly cleared. She didn't need William to pull her anymore - she sat up straight on her own: "You're paying?"
"I'm paying. Get up."
"Right away."
She wasn't short on money, but spending someone else's money was way more fun.
"Wash up first, then come down for breakfast."
Normally when she wasn't attending events, Thalia was too lazy to even wash her face.
Not a trace of a celebrity's refinement. Sitting in William's Maybach, she pulled out a cushion to lean against her back and looked at William's profile as he read documents: "Why is Mr. Brown being so nice today?"
"Am I not usually good enough to you?" William's tone was lazy, not looking up.
Thalia shook her head: "Hard to say."
Seeing William had no time for her, Thalia didn't bother chatting anymore. She pulled out her phone and opened Facebook to admire her stunning beauty. When she saw the necklace around her neck, something suddenly occurred to her.
"Is that necklace the one you paid a fortune for at the auction?"