Chapter 129
William cleared his throat.
"Grandpa, no. You're worrying too much."
"I think you're too overconfident. Just wait until you're in your thirties and see. By then, forget about Ava being disgusted with you—you'll be disgusted with yourself."
A layer of cold sweat broke out on William's forehead. This was really a heavy topic.
"Grandpa, I exercise regularly. Your concern is unnecessary."
"Better hurry up. Don't come crying to me when there's really a problem. I'm warning you now. Your living environment and diet nowadays can't compare to the past. The food you eat isn't pure, natural, organic—how can it not affect your body?"
William vaguely felt as if Howard were brainwashing him. He reminded himself not to listen to Howard's nonsense, but actually still had doubts about Howard's words and half-believed them.
Now wasn't the time to discuss this—so many media people were still eagerly waiting for interviews.
"Grandpa, I got it."
He had to go along with Howard; otherwise, the old man had plenty of ways to deal with him.
On the other end of the phone, Howard heard his tone become obedient and only then hung up, satisfied, immediately instructing the butler Jeremy, "That medicinal diet the doctor prescribed last time didn't work well. Find a new doctor."
Jeremy agreed, but thought of something.
"Mr. Morgan, this matter depends on what the people involved think. If the young couple has been using birth control behind your back, the medicinal diet won't help."
This woke Howard up. "That little punk wouldn't have been using birth control all along, would he?"
Jeremy pondered, "Hard to say. Otherwise, how could these two young people, full of energy, be married for three years with no news? They must be using birth control."
Howard's face filled with worry. He could curse privately, but who could control what the couple did in their bedroom? What could be done?
If this continued, would he be able to hold a great-grandchild before he was buried?
If he couldn't hold a great-grandchild, that would be his lifelong regret.
What would he tell his late wife down below? Tell her that his unfilial grandson didn't want to have children?
The more Howard thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. He needed to think of a solution.
In Emerald City, William was unsettled.
After answering the reporters' questions, he held Ava's hand and exchanged pleasantries with old friends. There was a celebration banquet tonight, and those who could spare time to attend the press conference would also attend the banquet.
"Ava, this is Mr. Joshua Anderson, who does real estate. The house we're living in now was developed by his company. This is Mr. Eric Allen, who owns restaurants. His hotels have expanded abroad."
"Mr. Anderson, Mr. Allen, pleased to meet you."
This was the first time Ava was held by his hand and so openly brought into his circle. She was still happy inside. Among the people around William, she only knew Daniel. She greeted them generously.
The others smiled and teased, "Mr. Morgan is so blessed, marrying such a smart and beautiful wife. You're the ultimate winner in life."
William smiled and exchanged a few pleasantries, greeting each friend who came.
The media dispersed, and employees began cleaning up the hall.
Everyone was waiting for tonight's celebration banquet.
This time, the Morgan Group went all out, booking an entire luxury cruise ship. In the afternoon, everyone would go together to Shadow City to attend the celebration banquet at sea.
Ava was led by William back to the CEO's office. Now he could settle the score with her about the dress.
As soon as they entered, Ava was pressed against the glass door.
Ava panicked for a moment, thinking, 'What's wrong with this jerk?' Every time he pressed her against this door, wasn't he afraid employees will see?
He got straight to the point and asked, "What's the deal with the dress?"
Ava licked her lips and confessed pitifully,
"The dress you had custom-made was maliciously damaged and couldn't be worn. I found this dress at the last minute as a substitute."
William looked down and examined the outfit. She rarely wore black; her wardrobe was mainly light-colored clothes. This black dress on her looked like it was tailor-made for her, with every measurement perfectly fitting.
Beautiful, but not her style.
He frowned and asked, "Where did this dress come from?"
Ava was too timid to say, but looking at his piercing gaze and intimidating presence, she immediately confessed.
"I wanted to go downstairs to find you, but ran into Michael in the elevator. He said he happened to have extra dresses and just grabbed one for the emergency."
William confirmed his suspicion, his face darkening terribly, forming a stark contrast to his warm expression at the press conference.
"You think it was just randomly grabbed?"
It was clearly tailor-made for her. How could a randomly grabbed dress fit so perfectly? She was so slim, and the entire dress had not a bit of extra fabric; even the bust and waist measurements were just right.
Thinking of this, William got even angrier.
"How does he know your measurements?"
Michael knew his wife's measurements inside out, which made him very uncomfortable. He believed Ava didn't have the guts to have any intimate contact with Michael, but even thinking that Michael got her measurements through visual estimation made him feel terrible.
That sneaky coveting really disgusted him.
Ava was pressed against the glass by him, like a timid quail. She could feel the anger in his heart, and at the same time felt so wronged that she was about to cry.
"He doesn't know my measurements."
She explained, then continued,
"I called you but couldn't get through, so I wanted to go downstairs to find you. Then Michael said he had dresses there. In that situation, I could only use it as an emergency substitute."
William looked at the soft and weak person in front of him, his heart softening.
"Are you silly? If my phone wasn't working, why didn't you call James?"
Ava blinked her fox-like eyes, two crystal tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I was too anxious and didn't think of it."
William saw her tears and completely surrendered, reaching out one hand to wipe her face.
"Why are you crying? I didn't do anything to you."
Ava heard his coaxing words, and grievance instantly overwhelmed her. Tears poured down like floodgates had opened, falling fiercely and heavily.
William couldn't stand seeing her look so pitiful—it triggered his protective instincts to the max.
Inexplicably, he thought of when he pressed her beneath him, she cried like a pear blossom in the rain, hooking him, making his brain unable to think.
His Adam's apple rolled lightly. He loosened his tie, inexplicably feeling the air conditioning temperature was a bit high.
"Ava, don't cry. Next time, remember to find me first, no matter what, and stay away from Michael. He's not a good person."
Ava sniffled and nodded. She had already been deliberately keeping her distance from Michael, but Michael always appeared at just the right time, extending a helping hand when she needed it most.
She choked out, "My favorite dress was ruined."
She cried until the corners of her eyes were red, her nose tip also red, like a child who had been wronged outside and came home to complain to a parent.
William's heart melted into a puddle.
He led her to the lounge, kissing her forehead, eyes, nose, all the way down to those fragrant red lips.
Under his gentle assault, Ava's mood gradually calmed down, responding to him bit by bit, entwining with him. At this moment, she put aside those troublesome matters, her heart filled completely with this man she loved so much.
If possible, she hoped time would stop at this moment.
She was the happiest woman in the world.