Chapter 6
The tiny bit of guilt William had just felt for her vanished completely.
He angrily let go of her hand and walked straight toward the dining room, leaving her behind.
Emily had wanted to bump into Ava to vent her anger, but after walking a few steps, she looked back and saw her brother holding that annoying Ava, gazing at each other affectionately. Furious, she snapped a photo and immediately sent it to Sarah.
A table full of exquisite dishes was neatly arranged, and the housekeeper, Veda Martinez, called everyone to come eat.
The lobster Emily had been craving was finally brought to the table, placed right next to Ava's hand. When Howard wasn't looking, she moved the plate of shrimp in front of herself and put a dish of pickles in its original spot.
After Howard picked up his chopsticks, everyone else started eating.
Ava was eating with her head down when suddenly a peeled shrimp appeared in her bowl.
Looking up, she saw her uncle-in-law, Michael Morgan, sitting across from her, smiling at her kindly.
Michael was Howard's late-in-life son, and since William's parents had married and had children late, despite his senior position in the family, Michael was only four years older than William—practically the same age.
Michael had been in poor health since childhood and had spent years recovering abroad, only recently returning home. He was refined and polite, unlike William's sharp tongue.
Ava returned a polite smile.
"Thanks, Michael, I can reach it myself."
"You're welcome. I'll peel more for you when you finish."
Ava vaguely sensed something odd in the atmosphere. She glanced sideways to see William staring at her with a dark look, his eyes seeming to warn: "You dare eat even one?"
Suddenly, the shrimp in her bowl didn't seem so appealing anymore.
Eating it wasn't right, leaving it wasn't right either—she was stuck.
Howard noticed the commotion and called toward the kitchen,
"We had a whole box of shrimp, why'd you only bring out this little bit? Where's the rest?"
Hearing this, Veda quickly brought out a large plate of prepared shrimp and placed it directly in front of Ava, explaining, "The table was too full earlier, there wasn't enough room."
Emily looked at the heaping plate of lobster and pursed her lips, stubbornly reaching across to grab some. Just as she raised her hand, Isabella tapped it with her chopsticks.
"Don't you have some right in front of you?"
Howard glanced at William, who was only focused on his own food, and scolded him again,
"Peel shrimp for your wife! With such poor awareness, I don't know what Ava saw in you."
Ava's palms were sweating. William hated peeling shrimp, crabs, and things like that. He found them too much trouble and usually didn't eat them. At home, she would peel them and put them in his bowl before he'd eat them.
To her surprise, he actually picked up a shrimp and started peeling it. Soon, a small pile formed in Ava's bowl. Thanks to Howard, for the first time in her life, she got to eat shrimp peeled by William.
Halfway through the meal, William's phone rang again. He pulled out a tissue to wipe his hands, grabbed his phone, and walked toward the living room balcony.
Ava watched his back as he made the call with a bad feeling.
Sure enough, about two minutes later, he grabbed his suit jacket and headed for the door, looking extremely anxious.
Howard was angry. "You're leaving in the middle of dinner? What are you doing?"
By the time he spoke, William had already changed his shoes and had his hand on the doorknob, about to leave.
Since Howard had asked, he didn't dare ignore him.
"A friend's having a heart attack. I need to go check on them."
Ava's heart sank. A heart attack!
Howard saw right through it.
"Don't give me that 'friend' excuse. It's that Sarah, isn't it? Let me warn you—I only recognize Ava as my granddaughter-in-law. You stay away from that Sarah. What kind of heart attack happens every day without killing her? If she's having an attack, call 911. Are you a doctor? I think she should get her brain checked first, always chasing after a married man."
William was too anxious to argue with Howard. He just opened the door and left.
Howard lost his appetite, and the atmosphere grew tense. Everyone else didn't dare pick up their chopsticks.
"Idiot. The Morgan Group will be ruined by him and that woman sooner or later."
What should have been a nice family dinner was ruined.
Emily seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire—she wouldn't miss this chance to humiliate Ava.
"William probably won't be back tonight. Sarah just got back yesterday; they must have so much to talk about. You guys don't know this, but my brother threw her a welcome-back party yesterday. Three years apart, and they still love each other so deeply—I'm so moved."
Thrilled at the thought of upsetting Ava, she couldn't control her mouth and embellished the story.
Isabella tried to stop her but couldn't.
Howard slammed down his chopsticks, so angry his breathing became unsteady. He pointed at Emily and scolded her.
"You stay away from Sarah, too. Don't go out for a while—stay home and learn how to speak properly."
That finally shut Emily up.
The dinner ended on a sour note.
Ava wanted to sneak away while William was gone—her luggage was still in Lucas's car. But just as she had this thought and before she could act on it, Isabella pulled her aside to chat.
Isabella was the gentle, refined type, soft-spoken in her manner.
Ava couldn't understand how such an easy-going person like Isabella could have raised a cold, unapproachable son like William and a spoiled, domineering daughter like Emily.
Ava and Isabella didn't normally interact much, so there was no conflict between them. Isabella rarely visited SilkGrove Estates to disturb the young couple's life.
Isabella's sudden warmth caught Ava off guard.
"Ava, don't leave tonight. Last time I went shopping, I bought pajamas for both you and Emily. Let me get yours so you can try it on."
"Thank you."
The mention of gifts reminded Ava of the ruby necklace William had given her in the car. Knowing Isabella liked red, she took the box out of her bag.
"Isabella, this is a new piece William's releasing next season. I think it would suit your style better."
Isabella's eyes lit up with delight—she loved it at first sight.
"This pendant's style is quite different from the Morgan Group's previous designs, but it's even more stunning."
Ava smiled helplessly. "It's from a new designer William brought in from abroad."
Not knowing the full story, Isabella praised the necklace and went on about how the designer was absolutely brilliant.
That night, back in her room, Ava stared at the period-tracking app on her phone. Her period was over two weeks late, and she hadn't even noticed.
She touched her lower abdomen, feeling anxious.
Thinking of the pregnancy test Sarah had sent, the tiny spark of hope in her heart vanished completely.
Even if she was pregnant, so what? He wouldn't care. He'd only look forward to a child with Sarah.
William most likely wouldn't be coming back tonight.
Feeling restless, Ava went up to the rooftop terrace alone to get some air.
In the northern May weather, the nights were still a bit cold. Ava pulled her shirt tighter around herself.
The night was like a curtain, with a crescent moon hanging in the sky and a few scattered stars visible.
The quiet environment made her think of her deceased mother and that mysterious car accident that still had no leads.
The police concluded it was a brake failure, but Ava firmly believed it wasn't that simple.
The car her mother was driving when the accident happened was newly purchased—it was almost impossible for such a serious malfunction to occur unless someone had tampered with it.
Ava was lost in thought when the sound of a key locking a door pulled her back. She turned to see Emily dangling keys and making faces at her.
Suddenly realizing what had happened, she pushed the terrace door. It wouldn't budge.