Chapter 41
Sarah let out a light snort,
"Don't worry, I'll give it back to you. It's just a broken chain that nobody would even pick up off the street. Only you treat it like treasure."
"Sarah, I'm warning you once - my mother is my bottom line. If you dare say one more bad word about her or her things, don't blame me for not being nice."
Sarah acted like she'd heard a joke and couldn't help laughing. In her mind, Ava was just a pushover she could manipulate however she wanted.
"Listen to yourself. You think I'm scared of you?"
Ava looked up to see William walking out of the hall. Sarah noticed him approaching, too, and immediately put on a bright smile, intimately wrapping both hands around Ava's arm.
"Ava, my birthday wish this year is for you to celebrate my birthday with me. Just do this one thing for me!"
William walked over with long strides,
"What are you doing here? It's time to cut the cake."
Sarah freed one hand to wrap around William's arm, clinging to one person on each side. From a distance, the three of them looked like a close-knit family.
"William, help me talk to Ava. She wants to leave without even eating my birthday cake."
Ava looked up. William stared at her coldly,
"What's so urgent that you have to leave? Is eating a piece of cake really that difficult?"
Sarah shot Ava a triumphant look, even a threatening one.
Ava understood her meaning - if she didn't eat the cake today, she could forget about getting that necklace back.
"Fine, I'll eat it."
Ava pulled her arm free and turned toward the hall, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
Sarah and William followed behind. Ava could clearly hear the alternating light and heavy footsteps behind her and their intimate conversation.
"William, I want Japanese food. Will you take me out for Japanese later?"
"What can't the TranquilJoy Hotel restaurant make? Just tell them and they'll prepare it and send it up."
"But I have something I want to talk to you about privately. You know what you told me the other day - it's not convenient to talk about here, right?"
"Alright then, wrap things up quickly on your end."
"I finally came back to celebrate my birthday, don't rush me."
Ava quickened her pace, leaving the two behind. She really didn't have the courage to keep listening to them flirt in her ear - for her, it was mental torture.
In the hall, everyone gathered around the five-tier birthday cake, taking photos, waiting for the guest of honor to cut it.
Ava found an inconspicuous spot and stood there stiffly, her mind full of Sarah and William's conversation just now, even imagining scenes of her affectionately leaning against his arm while he looked at her lovingly.
Sarah and William were still discussing something, the two of them outside the crowd, chatting back and forth intimately, looking exactly like a couple in love.
They finally finished talking and walked over under everyone's gaze. The crowd immediately parted to make way.
Sarah was the birthday girl, and a colleague helped put a birthday hat on her.
With a snap, someone turned off the lights.
The candles were lit, and the birthday song started in the hall, the cheerful atmosphere reaching its peak.
Sarah made a wish amid the well-wishes. The flames of twenty-three candles flickered in her eyes, reflecting a happy glow - the kind of glow Ava had always longed for.
Someone asked curiously,
"What did Ms. Brown wish for?"
Sarah looked at William with a shy expression,
"My wish is to have a grand wedding this year, wear a wedding ring I designed myself, and marry the person I've loved for over ten years."
Everyone knowingly said "ooh" and looked at Sarah and William with suggestive eyes. Out of respect for William's usual cold demeanor, serious expression, and noble status, nobody dared joke with him, only quietly enjoying the gossip in their minds.
From the corner of her eye, Ava stole a glance at William. He still showed no expression, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Sarah's words, which basically meant he accepted it, right?
After cutting the cake, everyone started lining up to toast William and Sarah.
Ella seemed to have nothing else to do all evening and kept watching Ava.
"Ava, you haven't made a toast yet."
Ava paused, then went to the bar to get a glass of juice. She kept reminding herself that no matter what happened today, she had to get her mother's necklace back.
"Mr. Morgan, Ms. Brown, I wish you a hundred years of happiness together."
After speaking, she drained the entire glass of juice in one go.
The sweet and sour passion fruit lemonade went down her throat, but Ava tasted bitterness. Wishing the person she loved a hundred years of happiness with another woman - she spoke words against her heart, and her heart ached.
These words hit Sarah's sweet spot. She gently pressed her face against William's arm with a bright smile. Combined with that white dress, she looked like a delicate white pear blossom.
William seemed quite dissatisfied with this blessing. His originally noble and proud face visibly darkened.
"What did you say?"
His presence was overwhelmingly strong, his tone clearly angry. One sentence made the hearts of those nearby skip a beat.
People waiting in line to toast and flatter quietly lowered their heads and stepped aside. Who would dare approach now? That would just be asking for trouble.
Ava was used to seeing him angry. This was nothing - not even the tip of the iceberg. She curved her lips and got another glass of juice,
"If Mr. Morgan isn't satisfied, I'll say it again."
She carefully held her broken heart, but her surface remained exceptionally calm. Her eyes swept over William and Sarah's faces, her red lips parting,
"I wish Ms. Brown and Mr. Morgan a baby soon."
William's gaze toward her deepened. He set his crystal glass on the bar with a crisp sound, his voice filled with fury.
The surroundings instantly quieted. Some timid colleagues didn't even dare look in that direction, afraid their gossiping eyes would be caught by William and they'd lose their jobs the next second.
"Mr. Morgan, I need to talk to Ms. Brown. Let me borrow your girlfriend for a moment."
She repeatedly provoked William's sore spot. Without waiting for William to speak, she pulled Sarah away like she was escaping, leaving him alone to stew in his anger.
In the stairwell, Sarah shook off Ava's hand, glaring angrily,
"Ava, what are you pulling me for? Didn't you see everyone was toasting me?"
Ava had no patience left to deal with her. She just wanted to get her mother's things back. She'd said what needed to be said, done what needed to be done - what more did they want?
"Give me my mother's necklace back now, or I'll post our marriage certificate in the department group chat right away. Worst case, William can kill me - we'll both go down together."
Sarah panicked. She'd been in the spotlight all day. She hadn't officially become Mrs. Morgan yet, and she didn't want Morgan Group employees pointing fingers at her and calling her the other woman at her future wedding.
"Ava, you're crazy!"
She cursed with a twisted expression, "The necklace is in my desk drawer. Go get it yourself."
Ava felt relieved. As long as she was willing to give in, that was enough.
"You could have just said so earlier. If you want to hear me call you Mrs. Morgan, just say it directly. As long as he's willing, I can call you that at the company too, as long as you don't find it awkward. Anyway, I'm tired of being Mrs. Morgan. I don't mind giving it to you."
After Ava finished speaking, she entered the elevator. Just as she got in, William followed out.
This commotion made the relationship between the three of them somewhat unclear.
Anyone with eyes could see that Ava and Mr. Morgan weren't just meeting for the first time, and they'd witnessed Sarah competing with Ava. The relationship between these three wasn't simple.
It must be said, women have gossip coded into their DNA. As soon as the three parties left, everyone quickly formed small groups to discuss.
"Ms. Brown and Mr. Morgan are such a perfect match. Could Ava be the other woman?"
"Remove the 'could' - I think she definitely is. Didn't you notice Mr. Morgan looks at Ava and Ms. Brown differently? He's so gentle when he looks at Ms. Brown, but when he looks at Ava, he's completely cold."
"Just saying quietly, although I'm on Ms. Brown's side, don't you think in terms of temperament, Ava and Mr. Morgan are actually a better match?"
At the elevator entrance, William's face was dark.
Sarah carefully moved closer, acting cute and testing the waters,
"William, shall we sing a bit more? Everyone hasn't heard you sing yet."
William's patience was limited, and what little he had was already exhausted. He'd been in a decent mood, but that woman, Ava, had stirred up his emotions with just a few words.
Look at what she said today! That attitude of not caring about anything made him extremely irritated.
He stepped back, leaving enough safe distance between them,
"Come find me when you're done. I'm going back to the office. From now on, call me Mr. Morgan in front of colleagues."
Sarah knew when to stop and didn't try to keep him. She knew very well in her heart that his restraint from saying anything harsh to her was already giving her face.
Today was her birthday. In the past, when she was in Lumaria, no matter how busy the company was, William would fly over to spend two days with her. She was counting on him not losing his temper with her today, so she'd gone a bit overboard, directly coaxing him into making this relationship official in front of Morgan Group employees.
"I just forgot to change how I address you since we're not at the company. How about I just don't change it at all and keep calling you William? They all know now anyway."
Since the last drunk incident when he promised to give her an explanation, he hadn't shown any sign of it. Sarah desperately wanted a commitment. Since he wouldn't give it, she could only fight for it herself.