Chapter 491 William grabbed her waist and pushed her back.
"Wait." Thalia's hand pressed against the man's pubic bone, forcing him to separate from her slightly.
"Let's talk about it later."
"We need to talk about it now."
"You're killing me here!" William ground his molars, his eyes bloodshot, staring at Thalia.
"What did my mom do to drive you this crazy?"
They were close, their breaths mingling. William gazed at Thalia. Some things couldn't and shouldn't be said. Saying them would make him seem too calculating and would make Thalia think badly of him.
She understood the rules of society but didn't cater to them. Straightforward by nature, she always followed her heart and never suspected those around her.
But he was different. Living in this world, it was hard not to go with the flow.
Compared to Thalia's simple innocence, he was calculating, hypocritical, and cunning, strategic in every step, using dirty tactics with a vicious heart.
"Just talked about some work stuff."
Thalia's fingertips still pushed against him. "Did she make you lose money?"
That shouldn't be it, right? William spent money freely—to him, money was just material possessions. Losing some money wouldn't drive him this crazy.
"Thalia, isn't it a bit much to interrogate me at a time like this? Why don't you touch me first?"
Thalia wanted to say something more.
All words were stopped between William's lips and teeth. As they intertwined, clothes scattered on the floor.
Thalia's room at the Smith Villa was a typical princess room, with white gauze curtains and white lace-trimmed sheets. The two of them entwined had the feel of a wedding night.
.........
"Mr. Ward, as you can see, Mr. Brown really isn't here."
"You've been waiting here for a whole day, and Mr. Brown's car hasn't come up. Why put yourself through this?"
Rainey knew he had offended William. If he didn't resolve this now, he might face a takeover. A few days ago, at a business dinner, he heard someone say William was planning to enter the entertainment industry. He didn't take it seriously, thinking it was nonsense. William's business empire spanned multiple industries—why would he care about the small profits in entertainment?
Now, he suddenly realized something was wrong. If he offended him at this point, wouldn't he be asking for trouble?
"Then can you tell me when Mr. Brown will be back?"
"How would we know Mr. Brown's schedule? Mr. Ward, you should just go back!"
"It's getting late, and the night dew is heavy. It wouldn't be good if you get caught in a cold." The security guard at the gate tried to persuade him a few times, but seeing he wouldn't leave, shook his head and returned to his room.
And Rainey waited all night without seeing anyone.
The next morning, Thalia heard her phone's text notification. She picked it up and looked—it was Serenity's message on the screen. A simple sentence telling her who was behind last night's incident.
Thalia laughed coldly, wrapped herself in the blanket, and sat up, picking up the half glass of water left on the nightstand from last night and drinking it all.
Somewhat more awake, she called Eleanor.
"Are you going to deal with Elowen or should I do it myself?"
In the bedroom at the Mitchell Villa, at six-thirty, Eleanor was already sitting at her vanity doing her makeup. Hearing Thalia's words, she turned on speakerphone and placed the phone on the vanity. "Did she mess with you?"
"Go ask her yourself." Thalia had wanted to argue with her a bit more, but seeing William come out after his morning shower, she hung up. The person who had been sitting on the bed, wrapped in a blanket now lazily leaned against the headboard, looking at him with an appraising smile. That look made William feel like he was her possession.
She had the same look when she brought home something she liked.
"Six-thirty, who are you calling?"
"Eleanor," Thalia said while patting the edge of the bed, signaling him to come sit.
"What did you talk about?"
"Told her to go deal with Elowen."
"Last night was Elowen's doing?"
"Mm-hmm!"
William sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Thalia. "You found out yourself?"
Hearing this, Thalia smiled and brushed the hair from the man's forehead. "William, I'm the daughter of Emerald City's former richest man. If I didn't have these connections, what would I be doing?"
William sat on the bed edge and squeezed Thalia's palm, feeling it was a bit cold, and tucked her hand into the blanket. "I'm going to the Jimenez Mansion tonight. Will you go home for dinner by yourself?"
"What are you going to the Jimenez Mansion for?"
"Dione left but kept Jacob here. Most likely, she wants to monitor our movements. Last night I had someone bring Steven to Emerald City..."
"You want to use someone else's knife?"
"Smart."
"How can I miss a good show?" Thalia perked up at this.
"It's not a good show. Behave yourself," William said, pressing her back down with his hand on her waist.
Thalia pouted and said "oh."
On the other side, Eleanor hung up and called Yosef.
He answered, his voice hoarse, like something that had just been crushed and hadn't had time to come back together. The broken quality made Eleanor's heart tremble.
After two seconds of silence to compose herself, she spoke, "Go check and see what trouble Elowen has caused for me recently."
"Isn't she in Regal City?"
"Raymond doesn't like her, and the Carters can't be much better. Staying in Regal City is far less comfortable than staying in Emerald City. She's not that stupid."
Yosef hummed in acknowledgment. This Elowen was more trouble than she was worth. She was lucky to be living in such a law-abiding society. Otherwise, Eleanor wouldn't have just kicked her out of the Mitchell family.
At eight o'clock, Eleanor had just arrived at the office when Yosef brought Elowen in.
The latter was dressed casually and hadn't even had time to put on makeup.
She looked at Eleanor with resentment, her eyes showing no trace of affection. "What have you been up to lately? Did you provoke Thalia?"
"If I provoked Thalia, isn't it all because of you?"
"Eleanor, you said you wouldn't shortchange me, that you'd give me the best of everything, but in the end? I'm still not as good as Thalia."
Eleanor's hand holding the coffee cup paused. As if she hadn't heard clearly, she frowned and asked, "Not as good as who?"
"Thalia."
Bang! Eleanor slammed her coffee cup on the desk. Some of the dark liquid splashed out. Her eyes widened in anger as she glared at her. "What are you raving about? Compare yourself to Thalia? What do you have to compare with her? Her father was the richest man—even though he's dead, the inheritance he left her is enough for several lifetimes. Your father was an economic fraud who left you nothing but a mess and a pile of debt. What do you have to compare with her?"
"Your surgically altered face?"