Chapter 44
Nina glanced at Emily walking ahead, then at William following behind with a grim face, not knowing what to say for a moment.
She called out softly, "Mommy."
Emily looked at her and forced a slight smile, but said nothing and went straight inside.
Aiden and Nina exchanged glances, clearly sensing something was wrong.
They both looked at William.
"Sir, what happened?" Nina carefully approached and tugged at William's sleeve, asking in a low voice.
William forced a smile and crouched down to pat her head.
"Nothing happened, it's just that your mommy's in a bad mood."
"Why is she in a bad mood?" Aiden caught the key point and pressed on, but William just gave him a brief glance.
That one look was enough to make him hesitate to speak further.
Nina didn't notice Aiden's reaction and pulled at William's hand with a worried face. "What's really wrong with my mommy?"
Seeing her worried expression, William sighed helplessly. "Nina, do you trust me?"
"I do." Facing his question, Nina nodded without hesitation, her eyes full of trust.
"Then you should believe what I'm telling you. Your mommy just ran into some problems and is in a bad mood, that's all." William spoke seriously, his expression showing no flaws.
"But I think you two had a fight." After some hesitation, Nina finally voiced her feelings.
William knew Nina was perceptive, but he didn't expect someone so young to pick up on conflicts between adults.
"Don't worry."
In the end, he couldn't bring himself to lie, so he just patted Nina's head, ruffled Aiden's hair, and went inside.
Both of them had gone straight in, leaving Nina and Aiden standing there, feeling a bit lost.
They hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
"What do you think happened between them?" Nina rubbed her temples with a headache. Usually cheerful, her face was now full of seriousness.
Aiden shook his head, filled with confusion.
He hadn't spent that much time with Emily, so he only knew her somewhat. But Aiden had been with William for so long, and he'd never thought William would have a fight with someone.
Now that this had suddenly happened, he felt at a loss too.
"Mommy wouldn't get angry for no reason. He must have made her angry." Nina made a bold guess, and Aiden nodded in agreement.
He knew William sometimes didn't know how to talk properly, and maybe that was why he'd made Emily angry.
He didn't even consider that Emily might have made William angry.
After all, in Aiden's view, that was completely impossible.
Emily had such a good temper; how could she get angry with anyone?
"We have to help Mommy." Nina made a cheering gesture. "We'll do it like this..."
Before Aiden could respond, she leaned close to his ear and whispered.
After hearing her plan, Aiden hesitated. "Will this really work?"
Facing his doubt, Nina put her hands on her hips and looked at him seriously. "Do you have a better idea?"
Stumped by her question, Aiden shook his head.
"Then we'll do what I said." Nina waved her hand, acting like a little adult, making the final decision.
No one knew about their scheme.
At this moment, William was sitting inside, feeling somewhat regretful.
Although he'd been very worried about Emily earlier, looking back now, what he'd said to her seemed a bit too harsh.
Emily was already having a hard time raising two kids on her own, yet he'd still said those things.
William understood she was doing this for the children's future, but seeing her walk into danger, he couldn't help but worry.
He sighed softly, his brow furrowed.
After thinking for a long time, William got up and went out, walking to Emily's door.
Looking at the tightly closed door, he raised his hand with fingers bent, his fingertips already touching the door panel, but he couldn't bring himself to knock.
This door was just a thin wooden board, yet it seemed to separate two different worlds.
He'd never imagined he'd be so hesitant over a woman one day, especially a single mother with two kids.
He laughed at himself, took a deep breath, and raised his hand again.
But in that instant, Emily's stubborn yet hurt eyes flashed through his mind.
His raised hand dropped powerlessly again.
In the end, William turned and left.
He really couldn't figure out what he could say to Emily if he knocked.
Apologize? Emily didn't seem to need that.
He walked back to his room, his shadow stretched long under the hallway lights, showing an indescribable loneliness.
Around the corner of the hallway, two pairs of eyes were quietly watching this scene.
"See, I told you he made Mommy angry, so he came to apologize." Nina shook her head, lowering her voice with a hint of pride.
Aiden nodded, but his brow was still furrowed. "But he didn't knock."
"That's why we need to help him." Nina's eyes sparkled, her little head already full of plans.
Late into the night, Emily had finally gotten a bit sleepy after tossing and turning.
Just as she was about to doze off, there was a gentle knock on her door.
"Mommy... Mommy, are you asleep?"
Hearing Nina's voice outside, Emily instantly woke up.
Listening carefully, Nina's voice seemed to carry a hint of tears.
Emily immediately sat up, threw off the covers, got out of bed, and opened the door in one swift motion.
"Nina, what's wrong?"
She looked Nina over from head to toe, and only relaxed after confirming she was okay.
"Mommy, that man seems to have a fever. He's really hot. I just went to get some water and saw his room light was still on, so I went to check. His face is really red, and he looks really uncomfortable." Nina tried hard to describe what she'd seen.
At this point, Aiden came over too, nodding seriously. "I just touched his forehead. It's really hot."
The two children played off each other, their expressions so convincing that Emily didn't have time to think it through.
She couldn't care about the awkwardness between her and William anymore and quickly walked toward his room.
"How are you?" Emily knocked on the door, and without waiting for a response, pushed it open directly.
Only a bedside lamp was on in the room, and William was leaning against the headboard reading a book.
Hearing the noise, he looked up, and their eyes met in the air.
Emily looked at him and froze instantly.