Chapter 115
William remained completely unmoved by Sarah's accusations.
"Sarah, before you question me, you should ask yourself first - did you work so hard to get where you are today just to plagiarize a design and give it to me? The Morgan Group doesn't need plagiarism, and we don't stoop to such despicable methods. Ask yourself honestly - how would you feel if your own design was published under someone else's name before you could release it?"
Sarah cried even harder. She didn't think she'd done anything wrong.
"William, why are you taking someone else's side? We've known each other for over ten years - we're childhood friends!"
"Sarah, be reasonable. Right now I'm discussing the plagiarism with you. This crosses my bottom line. Why did you plagiarize?"
"So you're disgusted with me now? I've brought shame to the Morgan Group, I'm sorry..."
William: "..."
They were completely on different wavelengths.
Sarah's face was a mess from crying, her eyeliner smudged everywhere, making her look like a panda.
William didn't dare be harsh with her. He kept trying to reason with her calmly, worried she might pull the same stunt again - jumping off a building or having a heart attack.
"Go wash your face first. I'll have James take you home. Don't go online for the next few days, and try not to go out. Wait until things blow over before you start moving around again."
Given how crazy netizens were right now, with Sarah's plagiarism confirmed, William couldn't imagine what she was about to face. All he could do was advise her to stay home, stay offline, and sleep more.
Sarah was still stuck in her grief and anger about William abandoning her.
"I'm not leaving. I want an explanation from you."
William was quite speechless.
"Sarah, think clearly about what started all this. My trust in you was built on your loyalty to me. You plagiarized first, which already betrayed the Morgan Group. The entire company won't go crazy with you. This is the result of your own actions - you can't push the responsibility onto others."
Sarah stared at him with her red, swollen eyes.
"So you don't actually accept and tolerate everything about me, do you?"
For the first time, William felt their values were completely misaligned. Even now, she was looking for reasons in others, blaming everyone and everything except herself. There was simply no way to communicate.
"Sarah, just go home. I'm very busy here."
He'd lost the patience to continue. She needed time to think this through. You can never wake someone who's pretending to be asleep.
Seeing William bury himself back in his documents, treating her like air, Sarah calmed down a bit and realized William was truly disgusted with her - he couldn't even be bothered to say a comforting word.
She placed the lunchbox she'd been holding on his desk.
"William, have this lunch at noon. If you like it, I'll make it again."
William's hand holding the pen paused. He lifted his eyes to glance at the pink box on the desk.
"Take it with you. I have lunch plans with shareholders. Don't go out for a while. Order food and daily necessities through phone apps. If you really need something else, I'll have my assistant deliver it to you."
Sarah's fingers curled up. She took back the rejected lunchbox, her heart desolate.
She went to the restroom and looked at her tear-stained face in the mirror with deep sorrow. However beautiful she'd been when she left home this morning, that's how disheveled she looked now.
Walking through this building, she'd once been praised by colleagues everywhere. Now she'd become the focus of everyone's contempt.
Hostile looks came at her from all directions. She didn't even dare go back to the design department to collect her things from the drawer. She could only leave with whatever dignity remained - she couldn't accept being like a rat chased by everyone.
People who used to follow her around and do her bidding now spoke coldly to her, wanting nothing more than to kick her while she was down.
This huge psychological gap left her feeling suffocated. What hurt most was that the person she relied on most had the power to help her escape this difficulty, to pull her out of that whirlpool, but he didn't do it. He let her be gossiped about by colleagues and cursed by netizens.
She didn't listen to William's suggestion to let James drive her. She felt James wouldn't even look at her properly now, so why go humiliate herself with an assistant? James was just William's little assistant - he didn't have the right to give her attitude.
Besides, she had her own car.
Sarah arrived at the underground parking garage. Just as she stepped out of the elevator, someone splashed an unknown liquid all over her.
"Ahh..."
She let out a scream, then was met with a barrage of punches and kicks.
Ava had been living peacefully in Shadow City these past few days. This morning, she'd accompanied Howard to see a musical. At noon, back at the villa, she planned to make cheese seafood soup.
Howard really loved her cooking. She wanted to take this opportunity to spend more time with him. She remembered all the good things Howard had done for her.
As for the future, who could say?
By the time Howard came back from changing clothes, Ava already had her hair tied in a ponytail, was wearing an apron, and was bustling around the kitchen, with several servants helping her.
Howard watched Ava's busy figure, feeling incredibly pleased. Thinking of his grandson, who only knew how to yell at people in the office, he felt it was such a waste - how did such a wonderful granddaughter-in-law end up with that bastard?
That's what he thought, but he still wanted that little punk to come get his wife. They were newlyweds of only three years, supposed to be in their honeymoon phase. What kind of situation was it for her to keep an old man like him company every day? At this rate, would he get to hold a great-grandchild before he kicked the bucket? That would hurt more than the company going bankrupt.
Just as he was pondering this, that punk's call came through.
Once connected, William got straight to the point.
"Grandpa, when are you coming back to Emerald City?"
Howard figured this grandson was being passive-aggressive. Why not just call his wife directly and ask when she's coming back? Was that bit of pride worth more than holding his wife?
Still too young.
"I'm not planning to go back for now. I'm doing great here - I wake up to see the ocean, eat fresh seafood, blow in the sea breeze, and play chess every day. Oh, right, let Ava stay here and keep me company. I'm just a lonely old man, pretty bored. With her here, she can chat with me and walk on the beach."
William was silent for a long time before finally asking,
"Grandpa, could I borrow your granddaughter-in-law for a few days? The company needs her for something."
Howard snorted, thinking to himself: Is it that hard to admit you miss your wife?
"Is it you who needs her or the company that needs her?"
"The company."
Howard wasn't pleased with that answer.
"When I wanted Ava to join the Morgan Group, you were the first one to oppose it. Who was it that said her professional abilities weren't up to par?"
Ava came out of the kitchen carrying the food she'd prepared, just in time to hear that last sentence.
"Grandpa, whose abilities aren't good enough?"
Howard quickly explained, "It's nothing, I'm on the phone."
Ava said "oh" and went back to the kitchen.
On the other end, William knew Howard was holding a grudge.
"Grandpa, I'm not joking. Please have her come back."
"Ava is your properly married wife, not an object. If you want her to come back, ask her opinion. What's the point of asking this old man? I bet you did something stupid again to upset Ava. If she wanted to live happily with you, would she follow me to a strange city? Think about how to coax her back. Don't expect me to help you. You two need to work on your marriage yourselves. How many more years can I be around for you?"
In Emerald City, William hung up and leaned back in his leather chair, looking helpless.
He'd tried to get some information from Howard, only to be completely shut down. Howard wasn't taking his actual grandson's side at all.
That woman left home without even telling him, and now she was in the right at Howard's place. He was baffled - why was everyone so difficult to communicate with today, completely unreasonable?
James pushed the door open.
"Mr. Morgan, what are we going to do about next week's quarterly new product press conference? We urgently need new designs to fill the gap."