Chapter 74 Apology

Chapter 74 Apology

Lily shook her head, and David, seeing her expression, knew she finally wouldn't ask any more questions. He let out a small sigh of relief.

He'd take whatever break he could get.

Talking to Lily was somehow more exhausting than negotiating with the Chamber of Commerce.

The car drove all the way back to the Jones Villa.

As soon as they entered, Lily shook off David's hand and ran upstairs.

David followed behind, his expression growing darker and darker.

At the bedroom door, Lily turned to face him, blocking the entrance: "You're not allowed in."

"Lily. Are you sure about this?"

Lily lifted her chin, "Positive. If you won't tell me the truth, don't even think about entering my room."

"This is our room," David emphasized.

"Well, starting now, it's my room," Lily said and moved to close the door.

David quickly blocked it with his hand: "Lily, stop this."

"I'm not doing anything!" Lily glared at him, her eyes reddening again. "You're the one causing trouble! You won't tell me anything, but you expect me to trust you unconditionally. Why should I?"

"We're married. You should trust me," David said.

"Married?" Lily laughed coldly. "Shouldn't married couples be honest with each other? But have you been honest with me? You won't even show me your face, and you talk about marriage?"

David was stunned by her words.

Lily took the opportunity to push him away forcefully, slamming the door shut with a bang and locking it from inside.

David stood outside, looking at the closed door, a wave of defeat washing over him.

He raised his hand to knock, but it froze in mid-air.

Lily's voice came from inside, "Don't bother knocking! I won't open it! From now on, whenever Mom's not around, we don't need to pretend to be a loving couple. Go sleep in another room!"

David slowly lowered his hand.

He knew Lily was truly angry.

And all of this was because he couldn't tell her the truth.

But now really wasn't the right time...

David sighed and turned toward the study.

After a few steps, he stopped and looked back at the closed door.

The door remained firmly shut.

He smiled bitterly and finally left.

Inside the room, Lily leaned against the door as tears silently streamed down her face.

She actually wanted to open the door, but she couldn't. She didn't want to be a fool, didn't want to be kept in the dark, didn't want to know nothing. She was his wife—she had the right to know everything.

If he wouldn't even give her this basic trust, what was left between them?

Oh, right, they still had that divorce agreement.

Lily slowly slid down to the floor, hugging her knees as she cried.

She didn't know when she'd started caring about him so much—caring to the point where his attitude alone could hurt her like this.

At the beginning, she'd had no expectations for this marriage at all.

But now...

She touched her belly, choking out, "Baby, am I useless? I know I shouldn't have expectations, but I still can't help it..."

The baby in her belly couldn't answer, of course, but Lily felt a warm force coming from there, as if comforting her.

She took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and slowly stood up.

Whatever. She was used to being alone anyway.

Having the baby with her was enough.

As for Samuel...

When he was willing to be honest with her, she'd consider forgiving him.

In the study, David sat on the sofa, irritably loosening his tie.

He took out his phone, looking at Lily's photo on the screen, his expression complicated.

How did it come to this?

He'd clearly wanted to make her happy—how did he end up making her cry instead?

And getting kicked out of the room...

David rubbed his temples, feeling powerless like never before.

He dominated in the business world and could handle any opponent, but facing Lily, he was always helpless.

Especially when she cried, he completely lost it.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath, glancing at his phone again.

Should he go try to comfort her?

But she said not to let him in...

And he really couldn't tell her the truth right now...

After struggling for a while, David finally sent Lily a message.

[Good night, get some rest.]

After a long time, his phone buzzed.

David immediately opened the message, only to see:

[Hmph.]

Seeing this, David couldn't help but smile.

His wife was really adorable.

Even when angry, she was so cute.

He sent another message.

[I'm sorry for hurting you.]

This time, the reply came quickly.

[Good that you know!]

David smiled and shook his head, continuing to text.

[What do you want to eat tomorrow? I'll have the kitchen prepare it.]

[Don't want to talk to you.]

[Be good, don't be angry anymore.]

[I don't want to talk to you, you liar!]

Seeing "liar," David's smile faded.

He was indeed hiding many things from her. From that perspective, he really was a liar.

But he had no choice...

He sighed and continued texting.

[I'm sorry.]

This time, Lily didn't reply.

David looked at his phone screen, feeling helpless and guilty.

He set the phone aside, leaned back on the sofa, and closed his eyes.

All he could see was Lily crying. He murmured, "Maybe someday, I'll definitely tell you everything. But not now."

Night deepened, and the villa fell quiet.

But this night was destined to be another sleepless one.

In the room, Lily sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the messages David had sent, her feelings mixed.

She sighed, tossed her phone aside, and began recalling what had happened during the day.

Scenes from the award ceremony replayed in her mind like a movie.

Haven's accusations, everyone's doubts, her helplessness...

And David's appearance.

Right, David.

Lily suddenly sat up straight.

David said she had sent her design drafts to his email, which was proof she hadn't plagiarized.

But... she clearly hadn't sent anything.

She'd never sent anything to the Jones Group's email, let alone design drafts.

But emails couldn't be faked—the sending time, IP address, and email content were all recorded.

If she didn't send it, then who did?

Who would help her? And without her knowing?

Lily frowned, thinking.

Not many people had access to her design drafts. Besides herself, there was only...

She suddenly remembered that those drafts were all saved on her computer. And her computer was usually on the desk in the bedroom.

People who could access her computer...

Lily's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

Could it be Samuel?

But why would he do that? And if it really was him, why didn't he tell her?

The more Lily thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

She stood up and paced around the room.

Her mind was a mess—she couldn't make sense of anything.

Whatever, she'd take a bath first and calm down.

She walked into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and filled the bathtub with hot water. Just as she was about to drop a bath bomb into the tub, she found an elegant perfume bottle in the bathroom cabinet.

The bottle was made of deep blue frosted glass and looked very high-end, but there was no brand name or logo on it.

Lily paused. She'd never seen this perfume before.

She picked up the bottle and noticed the perfume inside was about half used.

Out of curiosity, she opened the cap and leaned in to smell it.

A crisp and unique scent hit her nose—the coolness of cedar mixed with a hint of ocean breeze and a subtle leather note. Overall, it gave off a mature, steady, yet mysterious feeling.

This scent—Lily froze.

She felt like she'd smelled it somewhere before.

And more than once.

She closed her eyes, trying hard to remember.

Where was it?

Suddenly, an image flashed through her mind—

This afternoon at the award ceremony, when David stood beside her, defending her...

It was this scent!