Chapter 198 Meeting the Parents
The black Maybach drove smoothly, and the three cars drew quite a bit of attention as they left the parking lot.
In the trunk of the Maybach behind them were the gifts they'd picked out today.
Thalia wore light, delicate makeup. The simple foundation softened her facial features, lacking the refined elegance she usually had at parties. In William's words, today's makeup made her look especially sweet and obedient.
Thalia was on pins and needles, absolutely tormented.
She'd already drunk two bottles of water, and the closer they got to the Brown Villa, the more anxious she became.
To make matters worse, William was in a meeting right now, and she didn't want to disturb him.
William sat across from her, his Bluetooth earpiece carrying someone's methodical work report. The meeting PPT was synced on his iPad, and William listened carefully, his lowered gaze following the slides as they moved down.
Something was said on the other end that seemed to irritate William. He pulled out a cigarette pack from the Maybach's center drawer, took out a cigarette with one hand, and was about to reach for his lighter when a slender hand holding a lighter appeared, flicking it open and bringing the flame to him.
Only then did William shift his gaze to Thalia's face. She held the lighter with both hands, her starry eyes bright and pitiful in the firelight, naturally evoking sympathy.
Seeing William look at her without lighting his cigarette, Thalia moved the lighter forward, right up to the cigarette between his lips. William took a drag, and the flame slowly brightened.
Thalia watched him mute the microphone on his iPad, rest the tablet on his lap, take a drag, and gaze at her through the thin veil of smoke.
"Being so sweet—you need something from me?"
"Will your dad scold me?" She was very nervous. The last time she'd been this nervous was back in school, when she'd done something wrong and been called to the teacher's office.
The teacher had given her a harsh scolding. Good students liked teachers, bad students feared them, and she was the latter.
She wasn't afraid of anything except being scolded by teachers, but both Vaughn and Harper happened to be teachers.
"Scared now?" William raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, I'm scared," Thalia nodded. "Should we go another day?"
William was amused by her words. "Would that be appropriate?"
Thalia thought about it. "No, it wouldn't."
"How about we have Finn crash the car? Stage an accident?"
William's hand holding the cigarette paused, his breath stopping for a moment. Now that was actually a good idea.
"There's a river up ahead. How about I stop the car and you jump in?"
Thalia: "I'm a celebrity. If I really jumped in the river, I'd be tomorrow's headline."
"I'm Emerald City's new elite. If we really crashed the car, we wouldn't have to wait until tomorrow—the underground romance between a celebrity and a business tycoon would be exposed."
Thalia couldn't outwit William. She wasn't stupid—she'd known all along that William had been holding back around her.
William's heart was as black as coal.
"Mr. Brown..." The person on the earpiece, having finished their report without hearing William respond, called out nervously.
Thalia watched William unmute the microphone on his iPad, the conversation peppered with technical terms she couldn't understand.
As the car passed over a river, Thalia gazed at the shimmering water surface, reflecting the high-rise buildings on both sides of the riverbank.
As the car approached Westbridge University, there was a dedicated road through the nearby luxury residential area leading to the Brown villa. The closer they got, the more nervous Thalia became, and the more nervous she got, the more she wanted to grab onto something to distract herself.
Until William's cold voice sounded beside her: "Thalia, murdering your husband means you can't inherit the estate, legally speaking."
Thalia suddenly realized and let go, only to discover William's hand was bleeding: "I'm sorry."
"Tissue..."
She quickly pulled out a tissue and handed it over: "If your dad asks later, you won't say I did this, will you?"
William didn't need to think hard to know what she was thinking.
He tossed aside the tissue and got out of the car without waiting for Finn to open the door. The evening sun hung half-fallen in the sky, its broken rays spilling into the courtyard. William got out and looked at Thalia still in the car.
Thalia looked up at him. William stood with his back to the setting sun, forming a sharp contrast with the dusky yellow sky, his handsome features made even more tempting in the sunset's glow.
"Want me to carry you?"
"I'm not ready yet."
William smiled knowingly, not calling out Thalia's little scheme, instead nodding: "No rush, I'll wait until you're ready."
Thalia: ......... Standing so openly at the courtyard gate waiting—anyone home would come out to check. William was being inhuman again.
"Why don't you come in and wait? Standing must be tiring!"
William smiled and shook his head, not taking Thalia's bait: "Not tired."
Thalia continued making excuses: "There are mosquitoes."
William spoke again: "No problem."
"Mr. Brown," Thalia called through gritted teeth.
William responded, following her lead and nodding: "Mrs. Brown."
"Why aren't you going in?" Amara had spotted William standing by the car from afar as she rode up on her black motorcycle, only discovering someone in the car as she got closer.
She raised an eyebrow. Interesting.
"Mr. Brown, this won't work! They say love grows over time—it's been this long and you still haven't won her over?"
William's dark gaze swept over to Amara, who just shook her head nonchalantly, completely unfazed.
"Go get your dad, tell him Thalia says he has to come out to get her himself."
Thalia startled. That bastard...
"I didn't say that, don't listen to his nonsense," she quickly got out of the car, not even closing the door behind her. The Brown Villa's gate opened, first the housekeeper came out, then Vaughn.
When Thalia saw Harper, she became unsettled: "Who's that woman behind your dad?"
Amara held her helmet, following Thalia's gaze: "The one in back or the one in front?"
"The back."