Chapter 63

Chapter 63

William's gaze was unusually serious as he spoke word by word, saying he liked her and wanted her to be his girlfriend.

But she turned him down.

Perhaps in that moment, she didn't want to refuse, but she had no choice. William was the powerful head of the Brown Group, born into an elite family, wielding great authority, and never lacking excellent women around him.

As for her, she was just from an ordinary family, with no one to rely on, a small secretary who could only work desperately to gain a foothold.

The gap in their status and position was like a chasm between her and William.

She was afraid to start a relationship with William, and even more afraid of ending up completely hurt, so it was better to cut off all possibilities from the very beginning.

The car slowly pulled into the residential complex. Isabella paid and got out, walking along the lamp-lit path toward her building.

At her front door, Isabella took out her key, inserted it into the lock, and gently turned it.

The next second, the door suddenly opened from inside, and a familiar tall figure appeared in the light of the entryway.

After seeing who it was, Isabella froze completely in place, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"Mr. Brown?"

At this moment, William wore a perfectly tailored black suit, standing tall with a cold, noble air, his features deep and defined. Even standing in her simply decorated small apartment, he still radiated presence.

Isabella's heart skipped a beat inexplicably, but she quickly calmed down, her face returning to its usual eager-to-please expression.

"Mr. Brown, what's going on? How did you get here?"

William's gaze fell on her face, carefully examining her—from her slightly tense jawline to the barely noticeable fatigue in her eyes. His cold eyes narrowed slightly.

"You dropped this."

He extended his hand; in his palm lay a delicate silver bracelet, simple in style and not worth much, but it was something Isabella had worn for many years because it was a gift from Nora.

That day, she had rested in the break room, and when she woke up, it was gone. She had been upset about it for a while but hadn't made a fuss. She never expected William to find it.

Isabella reached out to take it, her fingertips accidentally brushing his warm palm, and she quickly pulled back as if she had been electrocuted.

"Thank you, Mr. Brown, for making a special trip."

She thanked him politely, but her tone carried an obvious hint of dismissal.

"So... Mr. Brown, I've received it. It's getting late. Why don't you head home and rest?"

William's brow furrowed slightly.

Ever since his confession was rejected, Isabella's attitude toward him has been very distant.

She remained professional and efficient at work, leaving no room for criticism, but in private, she seemed desperate to draw clear boundaries with him, avoiding him at all costs.

This feeling was really uncomfortable.

"Isabella, are you going to avoid me for the rest of your life? I told you before I'd give you time to think, so you don't need to feel burdened or pressured. But the way you are now, don't you think all the pressure is coming from yourself?"

Isabella froze, looking at William, her heart involuntarily tightening.

Yes, William was right. Actually, William hadn't put any pressure on her—all the pressure was in her imagination.

If she didn't care about this matter, then naturally she wouldn't feel pressured. But the problem was, she cared deeply.

Precisely because she realized she had feelings for William, too, she couldn't help but care.

If she didn't control her heart properly and did something inappropriate, it would only bring trouble to both her and William.

Isabella bit her lip, her eyes reddening slightly, but she quickly held it back.

"Mr. Brown, I understand what you mean. Don't worry, I'll be more careful from now on."

William stepped forward and grasped her hand, complex emotions flashing through his deep, cold eyes.

"What I want isn't for you to be careful, but for you not to feel pressured around me. I hope our interactions can be pleasant. If you feel very pressured, then I'd rather not let you see me anymore."

Isabella's breathing stopped, moved by his words.

How lucky was she to receive William's attention? And William was so good to her—even now, she felt like all of this was a dream. What if she woke up and it was all fake?

Isabella took a deep breath, shook her head to clear her mind of negative thoughts, then smiled.

"Thank you for talking to me, Mr. Brown. Please rest assured, I'll adjust my emotions as soon as possible."

Seeing this, William's tense features finally relaxed, but afraid Isabella might feel resistant, he didn't stay long and left early.

William had barely left when Saskia came home.

Saskia looked happy, hugging Isabella.

"Isabella, I've successfully become Stanley's personal assistant! Although this happened suddenly, I'm really happy."

Isabella was stunned for a long time.

"Assistant? Saskia, what happened?"

"I was being bullied by other colleagues at work today, and Stanley happened to see it, so he helped me out. After that, he transferred me to be his personal assistant. I guess it's a blessing in disguise."

Isabella nodded thoughtfully, but felt something wasn't quite right about this.

She had met Stanley before—with his cold personality, how could he suddenly make Saskia his personal assistant?

However, Isabella couldn't figure it out for the moment, so she didn't think about it further and specially made a meal to celebrate with Saskia.

Early the next morning, Isabella went to work as usual, planning to optimize the details of the strategic cooperation proposal she was working on. But when she got to her desk, she found an exquisite box sitting there.

Isabella opened the box and saw a jewelry necklace inside, clearly quite valuable.

Without much thought, Isabella guessed this necklace was from William.

But William had just said last night that he wouldn't pressure her—why was he sending her gifts again today?

Isabella sighed, closed the box, and walked toward the office.

There weren't many people in the department yet, so that she could return the gift.

After all, she really didn't want to owe William too much.

At that moment, William was reviewing employee proposals when Isabella suddenly knocked on the door, surprising him.

After all, this was the first time Isabella had come to see him since the confession.

After Isabella entered, she placed the box in front of him.

"Mr. Brown, thank you for your kindness, but I really have no use for this kind of thing. Please take it back, and you don't need to send me things in the future either."

William opened the box and glanced at it, then stared at the necklace for a long time before speaking coolly.

"This necklace isn't from me. No wonder Ms. Taylor rejected my confession—turns out you have other admirers."