Chapter 116 Are You Not Afraid That Thalia Will Hate You in the Future?
William walked over to a nearby table to boil some water. While selecting the coffee, he looked at Thalia: "What kind of coffee would Ms. Smith like?"
Thalia smiled and asked back: "What kind of coffee does Mr. Brown think suits me?"
William carefully considered: "Arabica!"
"Arabica tastes a lot like Ms. Smith."
"What? Is Mr. Brown feeling lonely?"
The sound of boiling water filled the space between them. William's cigarette was half-finished, and the steam from the kettle mixed with the thin smoke, blocking their view of each other.
William gazed at Thalia, deep in thought.
Thalia stared at William, sizing him up.
Their eyes met, each lost in their own thoughts.
After a while, the kettle clicked off. William calmly stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, picked up the kettle, and started brewing coffee.
As the hot water poured into the coffee pot, a pleasant aroma filled the air. Thalia looked down, watching William make the coffee. His technique was perfect—clearly someone who loved coffee.
As the water flowed into the pot, William's calm voice followed: "Jasper came to see me last night."
Thalia knew this was just the beginning. She leaned her slender back against the chair, waiting for William to continue.
"He and Wesley are planning to take over Vanguard Innovations Group. They want me as the middleman."
"You agreed?" Thalia's whole body tensed. She sat up straight, her emotions running high as she stared at William.
William put down the coffee pot and looked at her with a slight smile: "I told him I'd give him an answer today."
Thalia laughed bitterly: "William, you're pretty good at burning bridges, aren't you? Have you forgotten how you benefited from the Smith family?"
"Back then, your dad was setting up a scholarship fund at Westbridge University, trying to raise money everywhere. Nobody would invest a dime, and in the end, it was my dad who gave him the funding. Now you want to team up with those two old guys to swallow us up? Isn't that a bit ungrateful?"
William frowned slightly: "So? Did you have something to do with that?"
Thalia realized she'd slipped up. Her expression changed: "What do you mean, something to do with it?"
Back in the day, Thalia's pursuit of William was known to everyone. Throughout high school, people would tease them whenever they saw them together. Thalia tried every trick in the book to win William over, but he remained completely unmoved.
William simply wasn't swayed by emotions.
This frustrated Thalia greatly. One time, a teacher found out she was chasing William. Unable to lecture an excellent student like William, the teacher could only lecture her instead.
Thalia was called into the office by her homeroom teacher for over an hour of counseling. From the teacher, she learned that William's father was a professor at Westbridge University.
So she went back and sweet-talked Hayden's secretary at the time, asking him to look into Vaughn. That investigation led to the discovery of the fund.
Thalia worked hard to convince Hayden to donate to the fund, and that donation has continued ever since.
"Thalia, you always pretend to be calm when you're lying."
Thalia: ........ She was a bit annoyed at being called out.
"Just get to the point. Cut the crap."
"My reason for asking you here today is pretty obvious."
William slowly poured out the brewed coffee.
"Two choices. First, Ms. Smith marries me, two-year term, same conditions..."
"If I don't marry you, you'll take over Vanguard Innovations Group?"
Facing Thalia's anger, William didn't argue. Instead, he nodded: "I'm a businessman."
Putting profit over loyalty, being money-driven, mercenary—all these words describe businessmen.
"William, do you have no shame? I already said no, and you're still forcing me?"
"Thalia, I learned this from you. Have you forgotten?"
William said this while pushing a cup of coffee toward Thalia.
For a moment, Thalia didn't know what to say.
True, compared to William's current tactics, her pursuit of him back in school was known to everyone.
William's approach of at least discussing it was much better than what she did back then.
"Is Mr. Brown getting revenge for me harassing you back then?"
William picked up his cup and took a sip of coffee, looking like he didn't want to say more and was just waiting for her decision. And Thalia naturally believed that William would actually do this.
An ambitious capitalist doesn't care about feelings.
Thalia stared at him, trying to see through William's thoughts.
"William..."
"Once your dad dies, Vanguard Innovations Group is finished. No matter how good a professional manager is, he's not part of the Smith family. If someone offers him a higher price to sabotage things from the inside, do you think you can hold onto Vanguard Innovations Group? Thalia, rather than let someone else swallow it up, better me."
"Stop making it sound so noble."
William put down his coffee cup, poured himself another, then walked to his desk, pulled out a document, and handed it to Thalia.
"I have to go to a chamber of commerce meeting in a bit. Ms. Smith, take your time thinking. When you've decided, sign this agreement. If I come back and see Ms. Smith's signature on it, I'll help you keep Vanguard Innovations Group and help you fight the inheritance lawsuit. If not..." William trailed off: "Ms. Smith understands."
After speaking, William picked up his suit jacket from the chair and left the office.
And Thalia sat there with her back straight, staring at the "Prenuptial Agreement" placed before her.
...
In the elevator, Angelina followed him in.
She asked curiously: "If Thalia doesn't sign this prenup, are you really planning to take over Vanguard Innovations Group?"
"Why not?" William asked.
Angelina thought for a moment: "You can, but have you considered that once you take over Vanguard Innovations Group, you and Thalia probably won't have a chance together for the rest of your lives?"
William lowered his head and laughed coldly: "She's just my best option right now, but not my only option."
Angelina was shocked. She always thought she understood William, but today's words...
Did they really come from William?
"Don't you love her?"
"How much is love worth?"
Angelina froze: .......
"So what are you hoping for today—that Thalia signs or doesn't sign?"
The elevator doors opened. William stepped out: "People are greedy creatures. When you give them hundreds of choices, they don't know what to pick. But if you back them into a corner and give them a choice between life and death, all the hesitation disappears."
"Forcing her like this, aren't you afraid Thalia will hate you later?"