Chapter 65
Ava wasn't scared at all. William had a huge influence. He could shut down those media companies in a heartbeat. These people were filming him so brazenly - they probably hadn't experienced how cruel the world could be yet.
As they talked, they reached the room door. William glanced at the room number - it was the same room where he'd taken Daniel back yesterday. He clearly remembered locking the door for Daniel after settling him in.
Emily shot Ava a hostile look, then called out weakly to William, "William."
William had no time for her right now - those reporters were still shoving cameras in his face.
He grabbed the badge on the nearest person's chest and looked at it. "Funplus Media, right? If even one of the photos you took today gets out, your careers are over."
He curved his lips in a smile that didn't reach his eyes. His powerful presence made the circle of reporters surrounding him lower their equipment.
Everyone looked at each other, and finally, all eyes landed on the green-haired guy.
"Finn, should we keep shooting?"
The green-haired guy cursed, "Shoot what? Let's get out of here now."
He was the most experienced one in the group. He'd only dared to be so bold because he had Emily backing him up, but William's look just now had genuinely scared him.
William's tall figure blocked their way. "Delete them!"
Two cold words, spoken like a command.
No one dared to speak. They all looked at the green-haired guy again. Whether to delete or not - they didn't dare make that call.
The green-haired guy stayed silent for a moment, his expression full of reluctance. You could tell he was having a difficult internal struggle. After a moment, he waved his hand at the group. "Delete them."
Everyone sighed. What a waste.
Only after the photos were completely deleted did William let them go.
The group of reporters went downstairs, dejected and sighing. They only dared to talk once they reached the ground floor.
"Finn, we staked out all night for those shots. How could we just delete them like that?"
The others chimed in, "Exactly, Finn. You don't know how much it hurt to delete those photos. That was money we were deleting! The Emerald City's most eligible bachelor, the nation's husband's scandal - that buzz wouldn't be any less than a celebrity's. We totally threw away a trending topic."
The green-haired guy pulled out a cigarette and held it between his fingers. "What's the rush? Now that we know William Morgan is keeping a woman, are we worried we won't get shots of him? Let's go!"
"Where to?"
"To stake out his place. If we can't shoot openly, we'll shoot secretly."
The group immediately perked up.
Upstairs, William knocked on the door.
"Everyone's gone. You can come out now."
Daniel had been listening at the door crack the whole time. He'd heard those people seem to leave, but didn't dare rashly open the door. William's words were like a reassurance pill.
Finally got rid of those pests.
He first opened the door a crack and scanned outside. Besides William and Ava, he also saw Emily and someone he disliked.
Yesterday's incident was a bit embarrassing - he didn't want too many unrelated people to know about it.
"You come in by yourself."
He said to William.
William glanced sideways at the person beside him, and as he was about to enter, his large hand pulled her along.
Daniel was a bit resistant. This felt like inviting your good friend to catch you in the act, except this friend had a look on his face like he was watching a show, and not satisfied with watching alone, he'd brought his woman along to enjoy the spectacle too.
What kind of good friend was this? More like a terrible friend.
William held Ava's hand tightly and wouldn't budge - both of them had to go in.
"We're all friends here. What's the problem with going in?"
Daniel's fair face turned green, then black, then green again.
The person inside, who'd been quiet all morning, finally spoke up. "Ava's here?"
Daniel looked like he'd been struck by lightning. "You two know each other?"
Lucas nodded calmly. The next second, Daniel started losing it.
"Did you plan this all along? Tell me the truth!"
The room door closed. With four people standing in the room, it felt cramped. Mainly because Daniel kept pacing back and forth, extremely agitated.
Lucas, like someone who'd done something wrong, explained honestly,
"I was set up yesterday. I drank something."
The bedding on the big bed in the room was bunched up in a mess, the pillow still had traces of where he'd slept, and in the trash can on the floor were torn square packets.
The more Daniel thought about it, the more he broke down. Why did he invite these two in? Why didn't they talk outside? This was basically inviting these two to tour his private affairs.
William watched quietly for a while. He didn't think this was a big deal.
"We're all adults. What's the big deal about sleeping together?"
Daniel wanted to cut ties with him. What kind of terrible friend was this? He was just adding fuel to the fire. Was this someone you could just casually sleep with? The two didn't even know each other, and he had emotional cleanliness standards.
Ava nodded and helped clarify, "Lucas really was set up yesterday. I can testify. We were drinking water together, and he accidentally drank the juice someone handed to me."
As soon as she said this, William got anxious.
"Who gave you the juice?"
Ava snorted coldly. "Why don't you take a guess?"
William's body stiffened, and his expression instantly darkened. There was one person in his mind, but after hesitating for a moment, he felt that woman wouldn't be so bold as to test his limits repeatedly.
"Ava, she wouldn't dare!"
They barely needed to mention names - both knew who "she" referred to.
Disappointment instantly covered Ava's eyes. Sarah had done things to that extent, and he still refused to believe that woman would hurt her.
On the scales in his heart, she never had any weight.
"William, the juice was given to me by your dear sister, and you don't know who she's in cahoots with?"
William thought of the phone call Emily had made to him this morning, every word trying to drive a wedge between him and Ava. He knew she'd never liked Ava.
After a moment, he said with certainty, "I'll deal with Emily."
Not a word about Sarah. This was the result Ava had expected all along. She hadn't planned on having him stand up for her anyway. As for his talk of dealing with Emily, it would probably just be a few scolding words and a flick on the forehead.
Right now wasn't the time to discuss this.
Lucas opened his phone and held it out to Daniel, like a scumbag who'd done something wrong.
"Can we add each other as friends?"
Daniel huffed. "Don't talk to me."
Lucas lowered his attitude as much as possible.
"We're all friends. We'll have chances to see each other again."
Daniel was like a ruffled chicken.
"Who's friends with you?"
He grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. When he passed Ava, his steps paused.
"Ava, you're sure that juice was from Emily, right?"
Ava nodded with certainty.
Daniel believed her.
"Ava, the person who tried to harm you is also the person who harmed me. I'll get to the bottom of this and will never let whoever did something so vile get away with it."
Ava couldn't help but look up at William. Even an outsider believed her, but he didn't.
Outside the door, Emily and Sarah had already fled on metaphorical wheels of fire. They weren't going to wait around for a scolding.
Daniel went out, and Lucas hurried after him.
The room was left to the two of them. William's eyes swept over the square packets in the trash can.
"Ava, you're in your safe period, right?"
Ava's body stiffened. With reddened eyes, she asked him,
"Do you really not want to have our baby that badly?"