Chapter 75
She stood up to go back to her room, but William grabbed her and said with difficulty, "It's not that I don't want to tell you."
Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Emily's heart suddenly tightened, then she smiled and said, "Forget it, I won't push you. I just want to know one thing - who is Aiden's biological mother?"
This was what Emily cared about most. Every time she saw Aiden, she had a strange feeling in her heart that she couldn't quite explain.
She had thought countless times that if Aiden and Oscar were actually brothers, how wonderful that would be.
The first time she had this thought, Emily herself was startled.
She tried hard not to think about this possibility, but when emotions took over, she couldn't help it.
If her eldest son were still alive, he would be the same age as Aiden. With three children around her, even if life was hard, Emily would feel very happy.
Now she was asking William with a bit of hope, wanting to see if things were really as coincidental as she imagined.
William looked at Emily, seeming to know what she was thinking.
After a long while, he said nothing but turned to look at the scenery outside. Now Emily couldn't even see his expression.
"Can't you tell me?"
Emily carefully looked at him sideways. "Can't I promise not to tell anyone else?"
She had to admit her curiosity about this matter was really strong. At the end of the day, she just wanted to know the answer.
William sighed quietly to himself.
Emily's question pulled his thoughts back to several years ago. Back then, he never imagined he would have a child, much less that years later someone would ask him such a question.
He didn't know how to answer and was afraid that a poor answer would create distance between him and Emily.
These past few days, thanks to that variety show, his relationship with Emily had finally gotten a bit closer. He couldn't mess it up again.
"I guess you really can't say."
Emily was a bit disappointed, but quickly perked up. "If you can't say, forget it. I don't really need to know that badly. But can you at least tell me if Aiden is your biological child?"
Emily watched William's expression closely.
William didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "How is that question any different from the last one?"
"Of course it's different."
Emily glared at him. She was about to explain when William interrupted her. "I promise I'll tell you everything you want to know when the time is right, but now isn't the time."
Emily was stunned and frowned slightly. "You're putting it off again? That's not what you said on the phone last time."
William looked helpless, not knowing how to respond.
He didn't want to delay either, but who knew what the result would be after telling her?
He cared too much about Emily's feelings and about how she would react after knowing the truth.
Although they were pretty close now, William still didn't dare take that risk. Besides, he hadn't returned to the Brown family yet, so what was the point of saying so much? It wouldn't bring Emily any benefits, and if it brought her trouble instead, that would be counterproductive.
"Don't be angry."
William tried to comfort her. "This time I'm serious. Before long, I'll tell you everything you want to know."
"Oh, there's something else I want to talk to you about."
He quickly changed the subject, pulling Emily out to the small courtyard.
These days were the hottest part of summer, but fortunately, there was a very lush tree in the yard that provided excellent shade.
A few days ago, Nina wanted a swing, so William had built one in the yard. William pulled Emily to sit on the swing, swinging his legs idly as he mentioned something very important.
"I might be going back to the Brown family."
Emily's swinging feet immediately stopped. She was a bit surprised.
She had wanted to ask William before - since he was part of the Brown family, why didn't he go back? She had never heard William mention anything about the Brown family either.
Whether it was his immediate or extended family, William acted as if they didn't exist, never mentioning them once. Now he suddenly said he was going back to the Brown family.
Emily thought for a moment and said softly, "If I'm not wrong, there must be a lot of scheming within your Brown family, right? Did you run away from home?"
"Were you injured at my place a while back because someone from the Brown family hurt you? Now that you've recovered, you have to go back, is that it?"
"More or less."
William's answer was vague.
He had been thinking about returning to the Brown family for several days now. These past few months, he had experienced too much. Although he hadn't gone home openly, he had been keeping a close eye on the Brown family's movements.
Clarence's nerve was getting bigger and bigger. While his parents were immersed in the pain of losing their son and unable to pull themselves together or manage the Brown Group's affairs, Clarence actually wanted to take over the Brown Group for himself.
Having ambition was good, but when someone's wild ambitions were so obvious, like his, that might not be a good thing.
Some time ago, William left Emily and returned to the organization specifically to investigate what dirty deeds Clarence had done during his absence.
By now, he had figured it out - not a penny of Clarence's money was clean.
If Clarence continued like this, before long the Brown family would be like a tree eaten by insects from the inside out - looking strong on the surface but rotten inside.
If Raymond knew about this, he would be furious. William didn't know if Raymond was aware of what Clarence had been doing.
Raymond had been retired for so long and no longer concerned himself with the Brown Group's affairs, big or small. So William had been worried about this matter these past few days and had no choice but to go back.
When he returned, his parents would definitely be overjoyed. Everyone in the Brown family, except Raymond, thought William was dead, including his parents. This return would surely give them a big surprise.
William didn't tell Emily these things - not because he was guarding against her, but because he felt it wasn't necessary. If Emily really had the chance to be part of his life in the future, she would naturally need to know these things. There was no difference between telling her sooner or later.
"When are you planning to go back?"
Emily asked softly. "Or maybe I should ask - after you return to the Brown family, will we have a chance to see each other again?"
William froze, looked up in surprise, a glimmer of joy flashing in his eyes.
"You don't want me to leave, do you?"
"Don't get the wrong idea."
Emily quickly explained. "I just think you've been really good to Oscar and Nina. Oscar is a pretty quiet kid, but since I gave birth to him, I understand his thoughts well. He's the typical type who's cold on the outside but warm on the inside."
"Last time we went out to eat, he still remembered what you like. That shows Oscar has you in his heart."
"As for Nina, needless to say, she's always happy whenever you come. I think if they couldn't see you anymore in the future, they would be really disappointed."