Chapter 182: When She Cried in My Arms, You Were Still at Sea
William felt like he was going crazy.
He couldn't understand why things had turned out this way.
He remembered that just a few days ago, Harold had sent him some gossip, saying York was madly pursuing some mysterious woman.
Harold said the woman had a kid with her.
A little girl.
A few days ago, he had even run into York at a toy store.
York said the kid raised by the woman he liked was into that big-eared dog character.
And those things York had said to him...
Now thinking back, everything seemed to be connected to her.
Why?
Why did it have to be like this!
When did she even start having contact with York?
Was it during The Sound of Heaven?
He also remembered those things the Jenkins family members had muttered around him before, and the way York had looked at him then.
All of this... was driving him insane.
"Amelia, you're doing this to get back at me, aren't you?" His hand gripping her shoulder tore open his wound, and blood stained her shoulder. "Is it because of what happened between me and Isabella that made you..."
Before William could finish, he was yanked away by a strong force.
"You!" William turned around furiously, and saw York standing in front of Amelia.
"York!"
Just from that one look, William was nearly mad with rage.
But York ignored him completely, looking at Amelia instead and saying, "I hadn't heard from you in a while, so I came up to check on the situation."
When he hadn't received any message from her, he had circled the area and spotted William's car hidden nearby.
After seeing that Maybach, he knew, and immediately came upstairs.
"York, we've always stayed out of each other's way, you..."
"Amelia, you go back inside first. I'll handle things here." York completely ignored the furious William beside him, positioning himself between her and William, protecting her.
Amelia looked at William, then at York.
After seeing York nod, she turned and opened the door to go inside.
She had already made things clear enough to William.
York said he could handle it, and she trusted him.
With a soft sound, Amelia's front door closed before William's eyes.
Now only William and York remained in the hallway.
The two men faced each other, one calm, one with bloodshot eyes.
"Don't make a scene here. Let's talk in the stairwell over there." York said, walking toward the stairwell first.
William's lips were pressed tightly together. His eyes stared hard at Amelia's door, as if trying to bore a hole through it.
But he knew she wouldn't open the door.
And York was still standing not far away, watching in his direction.
Taking a deep breath, William forcibly suppressed the fire in his heart and followed York to the stairwell.
The green emergency exit sign gave off a dim glow, illuminating the two men facing off.
William looked at York before him. He had only ever seen him as a business rival before, but this was the first time he realized just how much he hated York.
"What did you two go out and do today?" William demanded.
York answered with a light laugh, "A date."
Just those light words sent William's blood rushing to his head.
Anger mixed with blood surged through his veins, making it almost impossible for him to control himself.
"A date?" He repeated York's words.
"Yeah." York still smiled. "Pretty obvious, isn't it? It's all over the internet."
William laughed bitterly. He said, "York, don't think I don't know what you're up to."
"The Jenkins family has always been beneath the Brown family. You want to use this kind of dirty trick to take down the Brown Group?"
But York just smiled without responding.
"Stay away from Amelia, got it!" William took a step forward, warning him.
But York just lowered his eyes slightly.
He didn't look at William, the smile still on his face.
He said, "You and Isabella have been out to eat together countless times. I've only had one meal with Amelia, and you can't handle it?"
"You!"
York didn't retreat but advanced, also taking a step forward.
He looked up at William and said, "It's true I want the Jenkins family to prosper, but it's also true that I like Amelia."
"I have other ways to take down the Brown Group. I'm not as sleazy as you think."
William acted like he'd heard the funniest joke in the world.
"You?" He scoffed. "Like Amelia?"
"Are you kidding me?"
"Yes, I like her." York's smile took on a hint of coldness. "It's not a joke. I'm serious."
"I told you that day, I like her. I've liked her for a very long time, day and night, tossing and turning."
"You're not the only person in this world who deserves her."
York looked into William's eyes and said seriously:
"I've seen how good she is. I like her personality, admire how she handles things, respect her abilities."
"Everything about her, good and bad, I like it all."
"Compared to your shallow, half-hearted attitude toward her, I think I understand and respect her more than you do."
The smile slowly disappeared from William's face.
He didn't speak for a long time, studying York in the dim light.
As if trying to judge whether York's words were true or false.
York didn't avoid it, calmly meeting William's gaze.
The two were silent for a long while.
"Did she send you to say all this to me?" Finally, William spoke.
But the only response he got was a cold laugh from York.
Finally, William seemed to accept that York was telling the truth.
"She was with me for seven years." William said.
"I know." York answered calmly.
"We had a child together." William clenched his fists.
York's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm aware."
William's chest heaved violently as his bloodshot eyes locked onto York.
Malice rising, he stared at York and said, "We lived together for seven years, day and night. What makes you think you understand her better than I do!"
"She's mine. I've seen every side of her. I've seen more of her emotions than you have."
William kept talking, one sentence after another, as if this would make York back down.
"When she was crying in my arms, York, you were still out at sea!"
York stopped smiling.
The stairwell lighting was dim, and the green emergency light made him look dangerous.
He took two steps forward, grabbed William by the collar, and slammed him hard against the wall.
"What? Can't take it anymore?" William laughed like a madman, his eyes bloodshot as he said seriously, "She's mine, mine for life!"
York looked at William, and suddenly, he smiled again, a deep smile, but his eyes were ice cold.