Chapter 38
"You have a home but won't go back, hiding in a hotel, eating takeout. Am I starving you or something?"
His words were as harsh as always.
Ava was eating and had zero interest in arguing with him. Fighting would only ruin her appetite and lead nowhere, plus she could never win against that sharp-tongued man anyway. Why make herself miserable?
The next second, William casually lay down on the big bed, right where Ava had been sleeping, and picked up her phone to scroll through it.
Ava was eating and enjoying the peace and quiet, but when she turned her head and saw him looking intently at her phone, alarm bells went off in her head.
There were too many secrets on that phone that he couldn't see.
"What are you looking at?"
She dropped her utensils and instinctively lunged onto the bed to grab the phone.
William wasn't about to let her succeed so easily. He reacted quickly, and the moment she lunged at him, he swiftly raised the phone to a height she couldn't reach.
Ava missed and fell directly onto his chest. His loose bathrobe was pulled half open, revealing his muscular chest.
The air in the room was gradually heating up.
William straightened his robe and asked teasingly,
"Had enough of a feel? You're practically drooling on my chest."
Ava froze, then moved her hand away as if shocked.
William's gaze fixed on her pale, white fingers. His first thought was that the hand looked oddly bare, like something was missing.
After a few seconds, it hit him - the wedding ring.
When they got married three years ago, his attitude had been perfunctory. Grandpa, trying to please his grandson's wife, had bought limited edition matching rings. She had worn that ring constantly for three years, while his still lay in a jewelry box.
"Ava, where's your wedding ring?"
"It was stolen."
Ava answered casually, though her heart felt like it was being ground with sandpaper.
The night before he brought up divorce, the day Sarah came back, her wedding ring was stolen.
What a coincidence.
William's eyes grew darker, clearly unsatisfied with this answer.
"Can you come up with a more convincing reason? Even saying you lost it down the drain while washing your hands would be more believable."
Ava tried to push herself up off him with her hands, but the next second, a forceful hand on her back pressed her back down, her chin hitting the small patch of exposed skin on his chest.
"What are you doing?"
Ava glared at him, like a little fox whose tail had been stepped on.
"I'll give you one more chance. Think of a better reason."
He didn't believe for a second that the ring was stolen. He'd caught those thugs and interrogated them thoroughly. They were only after her body - they hadn't touched any of her valuables. Why would they take just a ring?
"Can you stop being such a hypocrite? Have you ever even worn that ring yourself? You don't wear yours, so what right do you have to demand I wear mine?"
Faced with her questions, William showed no guilt whatsoever.
"Not wearing it is one thing, but you still need to explain where the ring is, right? You know those rings are worth a luxury apartment. I need to know what happened to it."
Ava laughed coldly.
"So you think I sold it or pawned it? I actually regret not trading it for an apartment before. At least then I'd have somewhere to go when I want to be alone, instead of staying in hotels."
William flipped over and pinned her beneath him.
"So you're addicted to running away from home now? Why don't you tell me who you're meeting at this hotel?"
When she checked into this hotel, James's list didn't have Ava's name on it at all. She was clearly hiding her tracks from him on purpose, which really pissed him off.
"Don't disappear like this again, understand? You know me - I can track you down to the ends of the earth if I want to. I didn't say you could leave, so you'd better stay put and wait for me to come home."
Ava sneered.
"I thought I didn't need to report my every move to you, since you certainly don't. We've already signed the divorce papers - can't we each do our own thing? You don't seem too eager to go home anyway."
Ava felt that compared to their home, JadeDragon Bay Residences held more appeal for him.
Her words made William feel like he was being made a fool of from head to toe. Where was even a trace of the gentle, obedient woman she used to be?
"Do what? Play around with Joseph? How am I not as good as him? If you're feeling lonely, you can come to me anytime. I can give you money or myself - whatever you want."
He was confident that, whether it came to money or certain male skills, he wouldn't lose to Joseph.
He pinned both her hands above her head, his large, slightly calloused hand roaming over her sensitive spots, lighting fires everywhere.
He knew exactly how to make her surrender.
Ava's mouth went dry, and she swallowed instinctively.
"William, don't..."
Her delicate brows furrowed as she turned her head away from his kisses.
This reaction only inflamed his desire to conquer, making him want to absorb her into his body immediately.
"Am I really that hard for you to accept? Or is it Joseph..."
Ava finally couldn't stand him bringing up Joseph with that sarcastic tone every time.
"William, Joseph is a name my mother mentioned in her dying words. I'm looking for him for that reason only. You really don't need to accuse me of being unfaithful over this."
She would definitely find Joseph, no matter what. She absolutely wouldn't give up because of his sarcastic remarks.
William raised an eyebrow, the gloom in his eyes clearing somewhat. He suggestively scraped his finger across the tip of her nose and threatened in a breathy voice,
"He better not be some childhood fiancé your mother arranged for you, or else you and he both need to watch out."
Ava was alarmed - she'd heard plenty about his ruthless methods.
She didn't know who Joseph was either.
But at least she felt she'd explained herself clearly in this moment.
"So, can you let go now?"
William narrowed his eyes.
"Nice try."
His kisses fell again, urgent and relentless.
The oxygen in the air seemed to thin out, and Ava could barely breathe.
Their bodies pressed tightly together, his heat below impossible to ignore.
Ava knew clearly that this was just a normal physiological reaction for a man. He had this ability to separate sex and love completely. He'd done the "hit it and quit it" thing countless times over these three years.
That walk-in closet stuffed with designer bags was proof of that.
But she couldn't do it.
Women need love to have sex.
Now, she couldn't give herself to him completely anymore, even though her heart still couldn't fully let go.
"William, let go."
"Mmm... that hurts!"
She couldn't help but whimper.
Soon, clothes were scattered all over the floor.
The air in the room heated up rapidly, scorching their bare bodies.
Just then, William's phone rang at the worst possible moment.
Ava trembled beneath him, as if she'd found a lifeline.
"Your phone."
She reminded him.
William glanced at the phone on the table but showed no intention of answering it.
The annoying ringtone lasted less than a minute before starting up again, clearly determined to keep trying until someone answered.
The mood was completely killed.
William looked at her with restrained frustration, threw off the covers, got up to grab his phone, and answered it. Then he simply stepped back onto the bed without avoiding her.
"William, can you please come over? I'm not feeling well right now. The doctor said tonight is critical - if I get through this, I just need a few days of rest before I can leave the hospital. But if I don't make it..."
The person on the phone started crying.
William didn't say yes or no, but you could tell he was worried.
Ava felt a rebellious impulse and was somewhat unwilling to let him go to Sarah. She wanted so badly to ask, "Is Sarah's heart condition really that serious?"
Her pale arm wrapped around his waist, and she looked at him with moist eyes.
"Can you not go?"
She asked tentatively, with some hope in her heart.
He'd just said it himself - he could give her money or himself, whatever she wanted. So asking for him to stay now wasn't too much to ask, was it?