Chapter 82 Returning After Plastic Surgery to Look Like Her
[Not the biological father.]
Laid out before William was a large envelope containing documents from several different paternity testing agencies.
William had only opened one of them before seeing a result that disappointed him.
He remained unwilling to believe it, and immediately opened the other documents, but unfortunately, all the answers he received were the same.
William's gaze lingered on these results for a long time.
It was at this moment that he deeply realized just how much he had hoped Emily was his daughter.
Even seeing these test results, he still didn't believe it in his heart.
Suddenly.
Words Sophia had said before flashed through William's mind.
He took a deep breath, trying to shut out the noise on the paper from his heart, and began to calmly analyze all possibilities.
Emily was just over a year old...
If Sophia hadn't remarried, then, given her personality, she would never have gotten involved with another man in such a short time.
So!
As long as Emily was Sophia's daughter, the most likely person to be her father was him!
William's heartbeat gradually quickened.
He wanted to have Tony investigate this matter thoroughly again, but remembering Sophia's previous distrust of people around him, he couldn't help but feel some doubt himself.
He decided to send out another group of people working in the shadows to investigate again.
Two years ago, during the time when Sophia asked him for a divorce, were there any records of her visiting the hospital?
Especially... the obstetrics and gynecology department!
Just thinking that Emily might be his daughter, and that Sophia was very likely already pregnant when she asked for the divorce, made William's heart feel like it was being squeezed.
His gaze focused on Sophia and Emily not far away, dark and unfathomable, making it impossible to read his thoughts.
Noticing William's gaze, Emily, nestled in Sophia's arms, showed him a bright smile as radiant as the sun.
Sophia followed the child's gaze and met William's deep eyes.
They seemed to be tangled with several unclear emotions, burning and churning, as if trying to break free from some restraint and shatter the confinement.
But in just the blink of an eye, they returned to their usual calm.
Sophia told herself she must draw a clear line with this cold-hearted William. Except for matters related to James and Michael, everything else had nothing to do with her.
Firmly putting away the emotions in her eyes, Sophia redirected her attention back to the child.
Thinking about it, in another month it would be time for Emily's physical examination, and she would have to return to the Seraphim laboratory.
Seeing her distance from him, William's heart sank deeper and deeper.
Tony didn't know what the paternity test results in the envelope were.
From taking the envelope containing the samples to several paternity testing agencies, to delivering the results to William, it had only passed through his hands. He was very confident about the authenticity of the contents, but he always felt that William's expression hadn't been good these past few days.
William started getting distracted while signing documents, his gaze occasionally falling on the two family photos on the desk.
Tony coughed to remind him, "Mr. Smith, your signature."
William simply put the contract aside and stared at Tony, asking, "Tony, how's your relationship with your girlfriend?"
Tony was stunned for a moment, "Pretty good, we're getting engaged at the end of the year."
Hearing this, William continued, "When you two have conflicts, how do you..."
He paused here, "comfort her?"
Under William's deep gaze, Tony spoke up: "Buy gifts to comfort her, cook to show my feelings, travel, and... you know, late at night, humble myself to serve my girlfriend."
His voice grew softer and softer. William lowered his eyes in thought, "You can leave now."
The office became quiet again.
William stared at Sophia in the family photo with her perfect and gentle smile, lost in thought.
Seeing the living room full of luxury gift boxes again, Sophia felt like a nerve in her brain was getting tighter and tighter, about to snap!
Learning that they were all gifts sent by William, Sophia just felt he was having another episode.
In the quiet CEO's office, the sound of a pen scratching across paper was clearly audible.
William's phone on the desk vibrated once.
He picked up the phone and immediately saw the text message content.
[Sophia: William, don't force me to completely cut ties with you.]
Just then, Tony knocked on the door, his voice anxious, "Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith has returned everything."
On the huge top floor, it was filled with limited edition dresses, bags, and various jewelry.
William's fingertips holding the phone suddenly tightened, his sculptured handsome face as deep as night.
"Throw them away!"
Tony was frightened by William's bone-chilling cold gaze and didn't dare speak, silently closing the office door.
Looking at the exquisite gift boxes outside the office, he sighed.
With so many valuable things, Tony didn't dare actually throw them away. He had people send them to an apartment under William's name that he rarely lived in, filling up an entire room.
In the quiet office once again, William forced himself to stay calm.
He closed his eyes, wanting to refocus on the documents in front of him, but couldn't read a single sentence.
William got up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking Empire City's most prosperous urban landscape.
His cold, deep eyes carried deep complexity. Previously suppressed emotions suddenly surged up, the layered feelings putting him in a very dangerous and tense state.
After a long while, William regained his rationality and began handling work.
That night, he didn't leave the company and slept directly in the office's restroom.
The next morning.
When Tony came in to get the processed documents, he saw the neat mountain of folders, and his eyes widened in disbelief.
Had William finished a week's worth of work in one night?
Days passed like this in such busyness, and James and Michael's summer vacation was about to end.
On the day they started school, Alice came out of Empire City airport wearing sunglasses and a mask.
The wounds on her face hadn't completely healed yet, but the similarity of those eyes to Sophia's made her very confident.
Alice couldn't wait to come back and find William. This time, she was determined to take back everything she had lost!
While waiting for her car, she accidentally bumped into a handsome man.
The moment Alice saw his gentle features, she was amazed by his good looks.
She quickly removed her sunglasses to apologize.
The man said it was fine, but when he saw her eyes, he froze for a moment, "Sophia?"