Chapter 508: William Lowered His Head to Kiss Her
"Mr. Jimenez, this is just the beginning. If you want to play with me, I don't mind making things a lot bigger."
"Thalia, aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
On the other end, Thalia stood in the hall holding her phone and a glass of red wine, gently swirling it. "Of course I'm afraid! I'm afraid you'll die before you get the chance to kill me."
"After all, everything you have now wasn't exactly easy to get, was it?"
Thalia said mockingly and hung up.
Sean glanced at Bella lying on the bed, suddenly realizing what Thalia meant. He threw down his phone, walked over, and yanked her up from the bed. "Did you tell Thalia something?"
"Are you crazy?" Bella shook off Sean's hand.
"If I wanted to tell someone something, the first person I'd tell would be Michael, not Thalia."
"Don't touch me. You disgust me."
All Bella could think about was the image of Sean in bed with another woman.
Every pore of her body showed her revulsion.
"If I were you, I'd go deal with the woman you slept with right now. Don't wait until she gets off the ship and uses evidence to sue you."
"Once you're caught up in a scandal, all the status you've worked so hard to gain over the years will turn to nothing."
"Instead of giving me a hard time here, you should fight for your future."
"Bella, remember this—no matter what, I won't let you go..."
Sean had always known Bella wanted to leave. From the beginning, she liked Michael. If it weren't for that accident, she wouldn't have been tied to him.
He didn't deny that he had ulterior motives from the start, but he'd been patient about it. Between marrying an ordinary person and marrying someone who could help him, he would choose the latter without hesitation. But the problem was Bella herself—she discovered his secret.
Forcing him to drag her down with him.
If only she didn't like Michael, it would be fine. But she did, so what could he do?
He couldn't just watch his weakness become his opponent's weapon.
Upstairs, Thalia tossed her phone aside and reached back to pull up her dress zipper.
A large hand reached from behind to help her finish the task.
Thalia looked through the mirror at William standing behind her, her eyes curving seductively. "William, if I help you get rid of Sean, what's my reward?"
"I can handle it myself."
Thalia turned around, hooked her arms around William's neck, tilted her head to look at him, charming and captivating. "Losing to you and losing to me are different."
"With the former, people will think it's natural. But with the latter, people will say he's not even as good as a woman."
William gripped Thalia's waist and sat her on the counter, leaning in close with steady breathing. "That would be his honor."
With that, William lowered his head to kiss her.
But Thalia dodged. "My lipstick is expensive!"
William was speechless.
As the ship approached the dock, Thalia came down the stairs in a deep green dress. The dress highlighted her fair skin and beauty—she was breathtakingly gorgeous without any extra embellishment.
As soon as she went down, she saw the Jimenezes attacking Michael, who was standing downstairs.
Thalia glanced at Nicholas, who reluctantly walked over and stood beside Michael, facing Eileen's tirade. "Since when does Mr. Brown need to consider your feelings when inviting someone?"
"Are you saying Mr. Brown can't invite anyone you don't like?"
Michael had expected Thalia to come smooth things over, so he was a bit surprised to see Nicholas.
"I didn't know Michael had gotten so close with people from Emerald City."
Nicholas smiled, not rushing to respond to Eileen's question. He called over a waiter with a tray, took two glasses of wine, and handed one to the person beside him.
He mocked, "That's funny. I didn't know you were so unpopular in Emerald City."
"How interesting. Sean's out there messing around with dirty business, and you don't educate him, but instead you're lecturing Michael, who doesn't know anything. Can't even tell right from wrong!"
"Got dementia?"
"If you're getting old, just stay home. Don't come out and embarrass yourself."
"Mr. Brown might give you face, but I won't. You should find out who I am."
"Let's go." Nicholas glanced at Michael and led him to find Thalia.
Walking along the corridor to the deck, Michael couldn't help but ask, "Did you learn your sharp tongue from Ms. Smith, too?"
"Sort of!"
Nicholas looked down on Michael. A man who'd ended up like this really didn't have much going for him.
Standing at the door, he jerked his chin, signaling him to go in.
Michael pushed open the deck door. The moment he stepped one foot inside, he saw Bella standing on the deck.
She heard the sound and turned around.
The words about to leave her mouth stopped.
After choking up for a moment, she called out, "Michael."
"What are you doing here?"
"Ms. Smith told me to come."
Instantly, alarm bells went off in Michael's mind. Knowing Thalia as he did, this was definitely a trap.
In almost a second, Michael turned around, pulled the door open, and tried to leave.
"It's locked."
"Ms. Smith, this isn't right, is it? Playing with me is one thing, but dragging Bella into it—what's that about?"
"Why do women have to make things hard for other women?"
Michael called Thalia, and she answered quickly.
Hearing this, Thalia laughed. "How do you know she's not doing this willingly?"
Michael was slightly stunned!
When did Bella join forces with Thalia?
"What do you want?"
"Nothing much. Just want to test whether Sean likes Bella or not."
Michael held his phone with one hand and gripped the door frame with the other, letting out a heavy sigh. "Stop testing. He likes her."
"I can be your weapon, but don't drag Bella into this. Open the door."
"Give me a reason." On the other end of the phone, Thalia was like a ruler, her attitude superior and dismissive.
"She saved my life. Is that enough?"
Thalia's smile slightly faded. She flicked her nails. "I'm very reasonable. As long as you have a proper reason, I basically don't make things difficult for people."
"The door's open. Come out!"
Michael heard the unlocking sound. Holding his disconnected phone, before leaving, he looked back at Bella. That glance contained countless emotions.
A thousand words condensed into one sentence. "Don't play games with Ms. Smith. You can't beat her."
"Michael..."
Michael ignored Bella's call, pulled open the door, and left. Just as he stepped out and walked no more than 10 feet, someone kicked him back inside.