Chapter 291 Only Shows Some Emotions to Thalia in Private
"Mrs. Lowe, should we have someone keep an eye on Ms. Smith?" the secretary asked.
Zephyrine thought for a moment. If Thalia really knew what she'd done, she wouldn't go spreading it around—after all, there was no benefit in it for her.
"No need. Now's not the time to tip our hand. Go send her a gift." Zephyrine pulled an envelope from her bag and handed it to him. The secretary understood, took the item, and went back upstairs, finding a waiter to handle it.
"Do you think Zephyrine figured out it was you that day?" Evelyn asked.
Thalia replied, "So what if she did? All she can do is test the waters."
Given their current situation, Zephyrine wasn't stupid enough to offend Thalia and stir up trouble. That would do her no good and might even bring disaster. Her probing was just to put her mind at ease.
If Zephyrine wanted peace of mind, Thalia would give it to her. Only by keeping Zephyrine calm could William proceed with his plans. Otherwise, if they alarmed Zephyrine, wouldn't all their planning be for nothing?
People in business had sharp instincts, and Zephyrine was no exception.
If she sensed even a hint of crisis right now, tonight's operation might fall apart.
"You stay, I'll go out and call William." Thalia started to get up.
"Wait, you should make the call in here. I'll go out and keep watch," Evelyn said, knowing what they were planning. At a time like this, the bigger picture mattered most.
She'd just gotten up to open the door when a waiter came in, holding a sealed envelope. "Excuse me, someone asked me to give this envelope to Ms. Smith."
Evelyn didn't need to think twice—she knew it was Zephyrine's doing. She took it, closed the door, and handed it to Thalia.
Thalia opened it and glanced inside. There were several photos.
Taken from tricky angles, showing her sitting in the audience watching the male models, with no one beside her, as if the whole event had been prepared just for her.
Evelyn said, "If these photos get out, you can kiss your wholesome celebrity image goodbye!"
Thalia nodded. "That's exactly why Zephyrine put them in my hands."
"It's a warning."
"No wonder Zephyrine gets to be Kurt's wife," Evelyn sighed.
"Take a picture of these photos and send them to me. I'll have someone check if they're edited." Evelyn opened the door and left. Thalia picked up her phone and called William.
He answered, but there was silence for a long time. Thalia could only faintly hear someone reporting work in the background.
She paused, hesitating to speak. "Is this a bad time?"
"Just say it," William said briefly.
At those words, the conference room instantly fell silent.
William frowned and glanced at the person presenting up front. "Continue."
Thalia told him about Zephyrine coming to find her and warning her. He listened on the other end.
William only replied, "Got it."
Just as he was about to hang up, noticing Thalia hadn't said anything, worried about making her angry, he added, "I'm in a meeting. I'll call you back later."
Thalia held the disconnected phone, taking a moment to process.
Just as she was about to put her phone down, a message came through.
William: [Where are you?]
Thalia: [Near the office, meeting my mom for dinner]
Learning Thalia's schedule, William didn't ask more questions and replied simply: [Okay!]
Someone so meticulous at work, never showing much emotion, only revealed a bit of feeling to Thalia in private.
Harper and Vaughn had lived together for years. In private, Amara was afraid of William. His cold, emotionless demeanor was one thing, but worse was that he'd shown her his ruthless methods firsthand.
During her first internship, Amara didn't use William's connections and found a hospital on her own. Shortly after starting, being bullied was common. Eventually, for the sake of her career, she swallowed her pride, until a supervisor sexually harassed her.
When Amara came home crying and told Vaughn, William said nothing and dragged her out to confront the person.
He brought a group of men in black, walked into the room, and threw a stack of documents in the man's face.
The man was so scared he knelt on the ground, begging for mercy repeatedly.
From start to finish, William didn't say a word, until the next day when the man left a suicide note and jumped to his death.
Vaughn was a warm, responsible father. Even though William lacked a mother's love growing up, he shouldn't have turned out this way.
William became what he did not because society forced him, but because of his own choice—for the sake of dignity from his youth. And that dignity was given to him by Thalia.
And Thalia?
In public, she was calculating, highly intelligent, and strategic. But only in front of William did she have no defenses, because she knew that of everyone in the world who might harm her, William never would.
What did she have that William would want?
Family background? William didn't care about that.
Money? William didn't care about that.
Looks? Growing old and losing beauty was inevitable.
"Done talking? That was quick," Evelyn asked.
Thalia replied, "He's in a meeting."
"Mr. Brown's so busy, it's rare he can even spare time to have sex with you."
Thalia shot her a look. Evelyn was about to continue when Grace came in.
The meal was peaceful, chatting about recent events, including telling her about Zephyrine.
Grace listened, casually taking a sip of water. "Zephyrine has always been proud. The Lowe Group going bankrupt would be like death to her. She absolutely won't let that happen. This battle is a sure loss for her."
"Even if they go bankrupt, they've made enough money to last a lifetime. Why is she so obsessed?" Thalia asked.
"The Carter family values family background. Zephyrine was the one they threw away. When Kurt came to marry her, he was just starting to make a name for himself. It was Zephyrine who, to prove something to the Carters, worked alongside Kurt to build up the Lowe Group. Only after Kurt became Emerald City's top industrialist did Zephyrine gain any standing in the Carter family. A girl who lived in the shadow of gender discrimination as a child, then was thrown away by her family as an adult—she'll live in that cage her whole life."
"Of course, you can't understand how Zephyrine feels, because your cage is dead, while Zephyrine's cage is still alive."
Grace's brief statement struck at Thalia's soul.
Her hand holding the fork trembled. Yes! If Hayden were still alive, she might have been pushed into an arranged marriage someday too, and it would have been for Chase's sake.
"Everyone has their own struggles, but when someone stands against us, their struggles become our leverage."
"Mr. Brown, it's confirmed—Zephyrine hasn't canceled tonight's event." In the conference room, Finn quietly pushed the door open and leaned down to whisper in William's ear. The latter said nothing, just slightly raised the finger resting on the table, signaling him to leave.
Finn understood, turned, and left the conference room to continue with arrangements.