Chapter 33
Ava almost thought she'd misheard.
"How can we not divorce? The three of us—you, me, and Sarah—living together?"
This question hit William right in the soul, leaving him speechless.
Ava asked again, "Can you let go of Sarah? Or can she let go of you?"
Clearly, neither could.
Just then, his phone rang at the worst possible moment.
It was Sarah calling.
"William, my heart condition is acting up. Am I going to die? I'm so scared I won't see you when I open my eyes."
Ava scoffed. She'd heard that sweet voice on the phone loud and clear.
"See? She can't live without you. Go on, hurry. Any later and she'll be dead."
William paused, straightened his clothes, and got out of bed. As he left, he threw out one line:
"She and I aren't what you think."
The movie never got finished after all.
The door closed, and Ava suddenly realized something.
When he said he didn't want a divorce, for that brief moment, her heart had warmed.
See that? No matter when, Sarah could summon him with just one phone call.
Stop fooling yourself.
Ava went back to the guest bedroom and locked the door.
It was actually better that he left—at least she didn't have to figure out how to get away from him.
William didn't come home all night, which was exactly what Ava had expected.
The next day at work, she noticed Sarah hadn't come in. She wondered if her heart condition had really acted up.
Around noon, Jeremy called again.
"Mrs. Ava Morgan, come have lunch in the CEO's office."
Ava nervously went to the CEO's office, but he wasn't there either.
Both he and Sarah were absent.
Jeremy looked a bit regretful watching Ava eat alone. He took away two dishes, kindly explaining:
"Mrs. Ava Morgan, these two dishes were specially made for the young master. They're not suitable for women."
Ava looked up, puzzled. "Does he have some health issue?"
Jeremy laughed and patted his mouth.
"Look at me and my big mouth. It's just that Howard wants a great-grandchild."
Ava instantly understood why he'd been so passionate with her yesterday—he'd eaten the food sent from the Morgan Mansion.
A couple not even thirty years old needing special foods to help with intimacy—clearly there wasn't much hope left between them.
Sarah didn't come to work for three days straight, and William disappeared for three days too.
That day, his assistant James called Ava's extension.
"Mrs. Ava Morgan, Mr. Morgan needs a document from his study at home. Could you possibly go get it and bring it to the hospital?"
Ava hesitated. "Could you get it yourself?"
Delivering a document was fine, but she didn't want to see them being intimate—that would be torture for her.
"Mrs. Ava Morgan, I'm really sorry. I'm dealing with something tricky right now and can't get away. As you know, Mr. Morgan hasn't been at the company these past few days, and many things are hard to handle."
"Alright then."
Ava reluctantly agreed. This really wasn't a pleasant task.
She shut down her computer and left the office. At the door, she ran into Ella coming back from outside.
"What time is it? You're leaving already?"
Ella glared at her angrily. A few days ago, Ava had been leaving right at quitting time, and now she was leaving early. Was there no order anymore?
In the design department, with Sarah absent, Ella was in charge.
She'd had her eye on Ava for a while now.
"Did you copy those previous Morgan Group designs I told you to? Early birds catch worms. Just because Ms. Brown isn't here doesn't mean you can leave early."
Ava licked her lips, thinking to herself that bullies exist everywhere.
She couldn't exactly say she was getting documents for William—that would expose their relationship.
"I have something urgent to handle right now. When I'm done, I'll come back and make up the time."
Ella snorted.
"The company isn't your family business, where you can come and go as you please. People might think you're Mrs. Morgan, being so casual about work."
Just then, Ava's phone rang again. It was James.
Ava held her phone and smiled apologetically. "I really do have something urgent. If necessary, dock my pay."
As she walked away, she could still hear Ella shouting behind her:
"Is your salary even enough to dock? Your whole month's pay wouldn't buy half of Ms. Brown's handbag."
Ava ignored her and got in the elevator.
William's document was right on his study desk. When he wasn't home, Ava used to use this desk often.
Walking into this office again, Ava still couldn't figure out how her design ended up in Sarah's hands. Could she have been to the house?
The thought was terrifying.
James was pushing her, so Ava grabbed the document and rushed to the hospital.
She'd come in such a hurry that only when she entered the hospital building did she start wondering how she'd face those two.
Just put down the document and leave, she thought. She'd just pretend to be blind.
Sarah's hospital room door was slightly ajar.
The moment Ava's hand touched the door handle, she lost her nerve.
She could see inside through the glass.
Sarah was wearing a hospital gown, leaning against the headboard, her almond eyes gazing lovingly at the man by the bed.
William was peeling a pomegranate with his head down.
He hated peeling things the most, which was why he never ate shrimp, crab, or anything troublesome to eat. Yet now, he was patiently peeling a pomegranate for the woman he loved.
The room was quiet and beautiful, making her presence seem intrusive.
The scene made Ava envious. She was so envious of Sarah, who had all of his love.
"What are you doing here?"
A voice behind her pulled Ava back. It was Nola Skye, Sarah's mother and Steven's second wife.
Steven and Nola were walking over carrying food containers.
"Isn't it enough that you've hurt Sarah like this? What will it take for you to leave these lovers alone?"
Nola shoved her thermos into Steven's arms, looking ready to get physical.
Ava was confused. Sarah's heart condition was congenital—how could that be blamed on her?
"How did I hurt her?"
"You shameless girl, how dare you ask? My poor innocent daughter and my kind son-in-law, torn apart by you, unable to be together."
Hearing her call Sarah innocent and William kind, Ava almost couldn't help laughing.
This was the first time she'd heard anyone describe William that way.
What had happened to everyone who'd crossed him in business? There was no way the word "kind" applied to him.
Compared to Nola, Steven was calmer.
"You take the soup in for Sarah first, before it gets cold. I'll talk to her."
Nola reluctantly took the thermos, shooting Ava a vicious look before entering the room, as if she wanted to kill her with her eyes.
"My dear daughter, come chat with Dad."
"If you want to talk, talk. Don't call me that. It's disgusting."
Steven nearly choked.
"How is calling me Dad disgusting? You changed your name, but you're still Steven's child. You can't escape that fact for the rest of your life."
"Get to the point. Don't bring up all that stuff. You know I'm still investigating my mother's car accident. We're not done with that, so what's this talk about father-daughter feelings? Don't you think that's pointless?"
Steven held back. After all, he needed something from her.
"Fine, let's talk business. Can you divorce William immediately? Today would be best. I'm begging you. Sarah had an episode because she saw you and William being intimate. I don't want to lose her."
Ava looked at him coldly, somewhat surprised. Steven was actually lowering himself to beg her for this. Three years ago, when Grandma was dying, she'd knelt at his door all night, begging him to find an expert for her.
He'd just watched coldly, showing no human warmth toward his own mother.
Such a cold-blooded person was now lowering himself for Sarah.
Both his daughters, yet Sarah was the treasure he held in his palm.
"I'll divorce him, but I want the EastLake Villa."
Ava said.
Hearing this, Steven was so angry his beard practically exploded.
"You're just like your mother! What's wrong with giving in to your sister a little? You want a house just for getting divorced? You can remarry after a divorce, but Sarah can't live without William. You're pushing your own sister to death."
"That's my only condition. You don't have to agree. If not, then let her die."
Ava now thought that not divorcing might be fine, too. At least Sarah would suffer as well. Why should she make it easy for those two? If Sarah wanted to be the other woman, they might as well drag this out.
Steven paced in circles, as if struggling internally. After a moment, he walked over with his hands behind his back.
"Fine, I agree. But that house is currently under Sarah's name. You'll have to wait until she's better to transfer it together. But let me be clear—you and William need to divorce. Can you do it today?"