Chapter 242 Mr. Brown's Leg Is Not Clean, What Do You Say?
"Didn't agree?"
"No."
"Forget it, we can only buy time."
"Use the same trick as last time?" Nora pulled down the passenger side mirror to check her makeup.
"What else? Got a better idea?"
"Not safe, don't do it." If rumors about her and William spread again, there'd definitely be one more person in Emerald City who wanted her dead.
William was different from Kurt. Kurt was over fifty, cautious in everything he did, and wouldn't let his career be ruined by a woman. Even if he wanted to deal with her, he'd think through the consequences carefully.
But William was different—powerful background, influential connections, and young people don't care about so many rules when they act.
For once, Linda listened to Nora. She knew William couldn't be messed with—any random person from his company could drag her into endless lawsuits.
"Let's go back first and figure something out. I'll see if I know anyone who knows Kurt."
"Thanks, Linda."
Right after Nora and her team left, gossip news sent her trending.
The source didn't dare mention William's name, but that didn't mean they wouldn't mention Nora.
Within half an hour, everyone in the entertainment industry knew about the actress kneeling in public.
This kind of news was easy to suppress—just say it was for filming.
The scary part was if someone dug deeper.
At Maple Grove Villas, Harper and Fallon were busy in the kitchen, Amara sat in the living room playing games with William's gaming equipment, and shooting sounds blasted from the TV speakers.
Thalia was scrolling through her phone.
When Isla's message came into the group chat, she casually opened it.
Nora was kneeling on the ground, pulling at a man's suit pants. Half of the man's body was visible, his gaze lowered so his face couldn't be seen clearly, but with just one glance, Thalia could tell—if this man wasn't William, who was it?
She'd recognize William's posture even if he turned to ashes.
When Thalia sat up straight, she accidentally kicked the coffee table, and the pain made her immediately pull her foot back.
Amara, who was in the middle of an intense game, stopped and looked at her: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Thalia rubbed her knee. Isla's message came in: "Everyone on set is gossiping. Nora's studio came out to deny it, saying it was for filming. How is that possible?"
"Everyone knows but doesn't say it."
"Who knows where Nora finds all these men."
Layla, always ruthless with few words, threw in a picture—a high-definition image she got from who knows where.
When Isla saw the photo, she instantly went silent.
This was William?
William had actually become one of the men Nora seduced?
Just as Thalia was thinking about how to deal with William, Layla's message came in: "Heard there's a bar association dinner tonight. Mr. Brown reached the top within a few years of starting his career. Probably ran into someone who wants to mess with him, but that person doesn't have the guts to offend William directly, so they paid to buy Nora a trending topic and posted high-definition photos online using a fake account."
Thalia: .........
Layla had hit the nail on the head. Thalia held her phone, fuming, when William came home.
William walked in wearing a suit, carrying famous desserts from North Street in Emerald City. She'd mentioned wanting to eat them before bed last night, and he'd remembered.
Looking at the desserts he brought in, Thalia's anger subsided a bit.
"Eat dinner first or this first?"
Thalia glared at him.
William looked confused. He pulled at his pant legs, about to sit next to Thalia, when she suddenly warned: "If you dare sit down, I'm replacing the sofa tomorrow."
William: ........
William frowned in confusion, looked down at his expensive watch, stood up and looked at Thalia: "Seven fifty-eight. I'm not late."
Thalia shot him a look and opened her phone, showing him the photo.
William understood.
So she thought he was dirty?
"William's back? Wash your hands and get ready for dinner!"
Harper knew William was always punctual. She came out of the kitchen right on time, but saw William carrying his suit jacket upstairs.
"You guys eat first, I'm going to take a shower."
"Be quick then."
As soon as William disappeared around the corner, Amara leaned over to look at Thalia's screen: "Mom........."
Before Amara could finish, Thalia covered her mouth.
"What's wrong?" Harper stopped halfway and looked at Amara.
Thalia let go of Amara's hand and asked innocently: "Right, Amara, what's wrong?"
Amara figured out that Thalia didn't want Harper to know, and shook her head with a pleasing expression.
Harper glanced at her and muttered as she left the living room.
"Why didn't you say anything? Let my mom deal with him."
"If he dares to go find other women, I'll skin him alive and preserve him in formaldehyde."
Thalia: ......"Haven't you thought about the fact that your mom isn't William's real mom? If you say something and it causes conflict, wouldn't that be bad?"
"Wouldn't Vaughn be stuck in the middle?"
Amara was surprised: "You're so considerate?"
"You call this considerate?"
"Isn't it?" Amara asked.
Thalia scratched her head. She finally understood what William meant—chatting with someone on a different wavelength was exhausting.
"It's fine for us to bicker and fight, we don't hold grudges. But the elders are old, they take the little things between younger people to heart. Some things shouldn't be let them know."
As Thalia was explaining this to Amara, William came down after his shower, wearing summer loungewear—shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, the toned muscles of his calves flexing as he moved.
Thalia stared at William for a moment, almost unable to look away. William with a suit on and with it off were completely different.
"Fallon."
"Mr. Brown."
William tossed him a bag containing the suit he'd just worn: "Throw it away."
After dinner, the family sat and chatted for a while. At ten-thirty, William walked Harper and Vaughn out with his arm around Thalia's waist.
As soon as Harper and Vaughn left, Thalia pushed away the hand on her waist and stared at William: "Explain!"
Under the summer moonlight, mosquitoes were attracted. Although Mistwood Hill had good mosquito prevention measures, it couldn't avoid how fast mosquitoes reproduced.
After standing for just a bit, Thalia started shaking her leg.
"Let's talk inside."
"Talk!" In the entryway, Thalia waited for William to speak.
William gave a brief account of the relationship between him, Kurt, and Nora. Thalia's furrowed brow relaxed slightly.
"Is Mr. Brown tired of me and looking for other women?"
"No."
Thalia moved closer. She reached her hand inside William's short sleeve and pinched his waist: "Mr. Brown's legs aren't clean anymore. What do you say we do about that?"