Chapter 143
Daniel was still standing up for Ava,
"A good woman ruined by a jerk. If you really divorce Ava, then we shouldn't hang out anymore. I can't stand that angelic bitch Sarah. We're on different paths - let's just pretend we don't know each other when we meet."
Daniel's expression was dead serious as he said this, not joking at all.
He truly hated cheating men.
Terry tried to play peacemaker,
"Come on, guys, let's not argue about this pointless stuff. We finally get together, and once we dock this afternoon, we'll be buried in work again, barely seeing each other a few times a month."
He raised his glass and downed it in one gulp, only to look up and see both men across from him with dark expressions, neither touching their drinks.
He changed the subject,
"William, about that Lolly you asked me to look into - I've got a lead. A few days ago, I caught an email sent by Lolly overseas. After tracing the IP address, guess what?"
At the mention of Lolly, William perked up a bit,
"Get to the point."
Terry continued,
"That IP address points to the Morgan Group building. In other words, the person you've been searching high and low for is right under your nose."
Terry couldn't help but laugh a few times, his eyes gleaming with amusement at the drama.
William looked shocked,
"You're saying Lolly is hiding in the Morgan Group?"
He didn't believe it.
Terry said, "You can doubt your own judgment, but don't doubt my technical skills. Go check it out yourself - I guarantee you'll be surprised."
Terry had that knowing look, keeping some mystery in his words. With William's intelligence, as long as he paid attention, it wouldn't be hard to find Lolly's secret. His thinking had just been stuck in a rut, not considering that possibility. Terry wanted him to discover this secret himself.
William fell into deep thought. In just a few minutes, after mentally going through everyone in the design department whose name he knew, he suddenly thought of something. He immediately called James,
"Where's the original design draft of that bracelet Ava designed?"
James had collected it,
"Mr. Morgan, it's in the archives."
"Get it to my office as soon as we're back."
William's suspicion filled him with mixed emotions - happy that the person he'd been searching for finally had a lead, but angry that if Lolly really was the woman beside him, he'd been played for a fool. She'd known all along that he was looking for the famous designer Lolly, just watching him search in vain. And there were multiple times when he'd come so close to the truth - she must have thought he was an idiot, right?
That woman wasn't as simple as she appeared. She'd been hiding in plain sight all along.
His phone vibrated frantically in his pocket, interrupting his thoughts.
William answered,
"Sarah, what's wrong?"
On the other end, Sarah was crying,
"William, I feel terrible. I threw up everything I ate for breakfast. My throat is burning. Your son is really putting me through hell."
William paused, "I'll be right there."
Daniel leaned back on the sofa. From William's tone, he didn't need to ask - it was Sarah calling, and that woman was definitely up to something again.
He stood up and left before William, walking out with the air of someone cutting ties.
In Sarah's room, half a bowl of plain porridge and half a boiled egg sat on the table. The curtains were half-drawn, with light falling on the bed.
Sarah looked awful - her morning sickness was real.
If William hadn't claimed this child, she would have gone to the hospital for an abortion as soon as they docked. She'd always been delicate and couldn't handle this kind of suffering.
William pushed open the door just as Sarah finished throwing up and was rinsing her mouth.
Seeing him holding a food container, looking at her with concern, tears immediately rolled down Sarah's cheeks.
"William, I feel so awful."
William understood something about the hardships of pregnancy.
When Isabella gave birth to Emily, William was seven and had learned quite a bit. He clearly remembered that Isabella's morning sickness was extremely severe - she'd gotten so dehydrated from vomiting that she had to go to the hospital for IV nutrition.
Most people only have morning sickness for the first few months, but Isabella had vomited throughout her entire pregnancy before giving birth to Emily. Because of this, the whole family doted on this hard-won daughter, which shaped her current arrogant and domineering personality.
William's thoughts returned. He placed the food container on the table,
"Sarah, come eat something. If you keep vomiting without getting nutrition, your body will break down."
Sarah pouted, looking wronged,
"I really can't eat. I'll just throw it up anyway. Might as well not eat and save my stomach the trouble."
William didn't know what to do with her,
"Sarah, be good. Don't be difficult."
Seeing him get serious, Sarah obediently sat down beside him.
William opened the container - it held various delicate snacks. They say pregnant women's tastes change, and he wasn't sure what she'd like now.
He'd brought a variety of flavors - surely one or two would appeal to her.
"Sarah, try some. See which ones you like, and I'll have more sent over."
Sarah glanced at the plate and said coyly, "I want that one."
William's eyes fell on the tamarind cake, mentally noting - sour.
Unfortunately, he'd only brought one piece.
He called James, "Go to the restaurant and get more tamarind cakes."
At that moment, James was eating in the restaurant. By sheer coincidence, he saw Ava take the last few pieces from that tray.
He sighed inwardly - what kind of twisted fate was this? Ava and that woman liked the same foods.
"Mr. Morgan, that snack is gone. The last few pieces were taken by... Mrs. Morgan."
Sarah was leaning against William's arm when he made the call, and she vaguely heard some of it.
William paused and hung up.
"Sarah, look at the others and see if there's anything else you like. We're out of that one, but I'll buy you some when we dock."
Sarah's eyes reddened, "William, that's the only thing I can keep down. If there isn't any, forget it. I'll just throw it up anyway. I might as well wait until we dock to buy some."
William saw her throwing another childish tantrum. Considering she was pregnant and feeling unwell, he was more patient with her. He told her honestly,
"Ava took all of those snacks."
Sarah's mouth turned down again,
"I knew you'd side with Ava and not care about me."
William thought to himself, 'Ava usually hates sour foods. Why did she take all of these today?' Sarah's nagging was giving him a headache, so he had no choice but to call Ava.
"Save a few pieces of the snacks you took."
Ava was confused. When she got his call, she thought he wanted to change the divorce agreement, but he just wanted a few snacks? Before she could respond, she heard Sarah's sweet voice on the other end,
"I knew you'd be a good father."
Ava immediately understood what was going on. She looked at her plate and lost her appetite.
"I already finished them. There are just some crumbs left. If you don't mind, come get them yourself."
William got rejected and hung up with a snap.
Sarah stopped making a fuss. Whether she ate or not didn't matter - she just wanted his attitude, wanted to make Ava uncomfortable.
She wanted to prove it to Ava herself, to make Ava understand her place. What good was being married? After three years as husband and wife, he was still doting on another woman.
If he could ask her for a few snacks today, tomorrow he could take away everything she had now, including her marriage.