Chapter 474 William Suspected of Secret Marriage
"Won't you come in and see the place you once desperately wanted to escape from?"
When Dione learned that William had asked to meet her here, she'd already prepared herself to be humiliated. She thought it would just be verbal humiliation at most, but she never expected it to be such a naked and cruel fact.
This was indeed the place she once wanted to escape from.
She thought she'd never come back here in this lifetime, but unexpectedly...
"You don't think seeing this place will make me feel guilty, do you?"
"Of course you won't." William knew without even thinking.
He casually pulled over a somewhat dated chair and sat down, taking out a cigarette from his coat pocket and cupping his hands to light it.
The decades-old dormitory building had a bare bulb on the ceiling, and everything in the room exuded an aged, worn feeling.
William took a light drag on his cigarette, his broad back leaning against the chair, emanating a weariness from years of navigating the business world and dealing with people's hearts. "I spent a fortune to buy this building and keep it from being demolished, not to make you feel guilty, but to preserve evidence of your crimes."
Dione's face went pale.
She'd always been competitive and ambitious, fighting her way tooth and nail to her current position, sitting firmly as the number one socialite in Regal City, never allowing any stain on her life.
And today, William saying he kept this building to preserve evidence of her crimes was no different from stabbing a knife straight into her heart.
"Even if they are crimes, I won't repent."
"I don't need your repentance."
"And no one does. Don't think too highly of yourself. To me, you're worth less than a stranger on the street."
"I brought you here just to tell you that some things are preserved not necessarily out of nostalgia—they could very well be out of hatred. You've been so focused on your revenge mission, but have you ever thought that one day you'd be in Steven's position, being hated by someone?"
"Have you ever thought that I might become the next you?"
Dione's heart trembled. She'd never thought about these things.
"From your expression, seems like you haven't." William tapped off some ash, threw the cigarette butt—still more than half unsmoked—on the ground, and lifted his foot to grind it out. His expensive leather shoe crushed the cigarette, instantly extinguishing the ember.
Finally, he stood up.
Walking toward the door, he passed Dione, who had been standing there the whole time. Standing shoulder to shoulder, he warned, "My dad is happy now. Stay away from him, or don't blame me for not being polite."
...
"You're back? How did it go? Did she hit you?"
When the sound of an engine came from the yard, Thalia dropped the cat she was holding and ran out barefoot without even putting on her slippers, pulling the yard gate open. Seeing William get out of the car, she grabbed him and looked him over from left to right, asking questions when she couldn't figure out what happened.
Seeing Thalia rush out in thin pajamas, William's heart tightened, and he quickly took off his coat to wrap it around her.
After wrapping her upper body, he noticed her bare feet. "Where are your shoes?"
"I'm asking you! Did she hit you?"
William's face instantly darkened as he scooped her up and carried her toward the main house. "Where's Fallon? What's she doing?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Fallon came out of the house with a blanket.
Seeing him carry someone in with a furious expression, she quickly stepped aside.
"Go get a basin of hot water!"
"Yes." Fallon was so scared she put down the blanket and immediately headed to the first-floor bathroom.
"Why are you being hard on Fallon?"
William set her down on the sofa, grabbed the blanket to cover her, and wrapped his warm palms around her feet without minding the dirt.
"I'm asking you! Did she hit you or not?"
"No."
"What did you talk about?"
"I took her on a trip down memory lane."
"That's it?" Thalia was a bit skeptical.
William hummed in agreement. "That's it."
Fallon brought over a basin of hot water and placed it by the sofa. William took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and pressed Thalia's feet, preparing to put them in the water.
"I'll do it myself."
"Embarrassed?"
"I may be naturally proud, but I still know my place. How can I let you wash my feet?"
"I've already bathed you, what's left that I can't do?"
"Bathing and washing feet are different."
William nodded, appearing to agree with Thalia on the surface, but actually pressed her feet into the water basin when she wasn't paying attention.
"It's hot! William, why didn't your mom slap you to death?"
"Are you trying to scald me to death?"
"My feet are turning red."
William's hand holding Thalia's feet also got scalded. In an instant, the man's murderous gaze fell on Fallon, the oppressive feeling overwhelming her so much she didn't dare even breathe.
Scared and trembling, she half-knelt on the ground, took away the water basin, and replaced it with warm water.
Being yelled at several times by the master of the house left her brain foggy.
"Go rinse with cold water."
Before Thalia could react, William had her sitting on the bathroom counter. In the dead of winter, while Emerald City's weather wasn't as freezing as Regal City's below-zero temperatures, it was still cold.
The chilly water rushed over her feet.
Thalia's teeth were chattering, her whole body shivering from the cold.
"William, do you want me to die so you can inherit my estate and use my money to visit prostitutes?"
"I worry every day that you'll be wronged and beaten outside, and all you think about is how to kill me off, right?"
"If I die, I'll make sure my mom buries my ashes by your bedside..."
William was speechless.
...
"Dad, still not asleep?"
In the early morning hours, Amara came back from surgery at the hospital, exhausted. She got a glass of water and was about to go upstairs when she saw the light still on in Vaughn's study.
"You're back? Didn't you say you weren't on call tonight?"
"A critical patient came in just before I was getting off work. It's almost one o'clock—why aren't you sleeping yet?"
"Soon."
Amara nodded, said a few words of concern, and while standing at the door, smelled something burning.
As she turned, from the corner of her eye she caught sight of ashes in a basin under the desk.
Burning things late at night? Strange.
When Amara got home, she didn't even shower and just collapsed into bed.
She slept until the next morning when she was woken by a colleague's phone call.
"Amara, William got married?"
"Are you still half asleep this early in the morning?" Amara was drowsy, mumbling out a response.
"Check Facebook yourself."
Amara rolled over, unplugged the charger from her nightstand, grabbed her phone, and opened Facebook.
As soon as she logged in, she saw a prominently displayed post: #William suspected of secret marriage.