Chapter 93 But He Doesn't Understand Either, Does He
When Alice saw Melinda Smith, her scalp tingled.
Melinda didn't recognize her. But the moment she saw William, she immediately cowered and weakly called out his name.
Tony handed the same documents to Melinda.
Her pupils widened in shock, her face turned deathly pale, and she shrank into herself like a quail.
The next evening.
Sophia went to the kindergarten to pick up James and Michael.
Worried about threats lurking in the shadows, she had been having Emily wait at home recently when picking up James and Michael.
However, Emily hadn't seen James and Michael come home yesterday, so today she insisted on going with Sophia to pick them up. She even grabbed a container of her favorite ice cream from the fridge.
She skipped over to Sophia happily, holding up the ice cream and saying, "Mommy, to share with James and Michael."
Seeing Emily's hands red from the cold ice cream, Sophia quickly took it from her and had someone bring an insulated bag.
She smiled and stroked Emily's hair, "Okay, we'll share it with James and Michael."
Emily insisted on carrying the insulated bag herself. She put on her candy backpack, took Sophia's hand, and couldn't wait to head out.
"Mommy, hurry! James and Michael are getting out of school soon."
When Sophia got out of the car with Emily in her arms, Emily was still holding the ice cream bag, her clear, bright eyes full of anticipation to see James and Michael.
But before they could see James and Michael, they first encountered a woman with a deathly pale face.
Melinda was still wearing the same outfit from yesterday. She spoke shakily, "Sister-in-law."
Sophia frowned, "Don't call me that."
Seeing her reaction, Melinda panicked even more.
She hurriedly explained, "Sophia, Alice's feed has nothing to do with William. I took all those photos!"
"William wasn't making hot cocoa for Alice. He was heating up medicine for me."
"He didn't drive Alice to the set either. I was painting nearby and hitched a ride with him back to the mansion."
"I had no idea entertainment reporters would make up such nonsense!"
Melinda spoke very quickly, as if something terrible would happen to her if Sophia didn't forgive her.
Sophia's gaze swept over Melinda's tightly gripped phone, which was showing an active call screen.
"Sophia, believe me! Everything I'm saying is true!"
When Sophia remained silent, Melinda paced anxiously, her eyes repeatedly stealing glances at the black car by the roadside.
William sat in the back seat with a stern expression, like a perfect sculpture. Watching Sophia and the child, his entire presence radiated an overwhelming pressure that made people afraid to approach.
That car... had followed her from the Johnson family home to the kindergarten.
Sophia had assumed it was a bodyguard William had arranged to protect James and Michael, but now it seemed the person inside was most likely William himself.
She withdrew her gaze and said indifferently, "I believe you."
Though William's sister had the airs of a spoiled rich girl, she didn't dare lie.
Especially not about William.
Melinda had been most afraid of her half-brother William since childhood. Hearing this, her tense body relaxed slightly, and only then did she have the presence of mind to observe Sophia and the daughter in her arms.
"Sophia, this child is..."
Sophia patted Emily's back and looked at her coldly, "None of your business."
During those five years at the Smith family, Melinda had never shown a kind face. Now she suddenly appeared—who knew what her agenda was.
Melinda knew she wouldn't get a warm reception, but thinking of the cold, hungry night she'd spent in the darkroom, her body involuntarily shuddered.
She smiled awkwardly, "Sophia, so have you forgiven William?"
In the back seat of the low-key black car, William had a phone on speaker in front of him.
The moment Melinda's words fell, William's heart leapt, his whole body tensed, his face cold as ink, his deep eyes brewing an unfathomable darkness.
Sophia laughed mockingly, "Forgive him? Impossible!"
Her smile was so inappropriate that it made both Smith family siblings tense up.
Melinda wanted to explain further, but then she saw a man in a black suit get out of the car, his powerful presence making it hard to look directly at him.
Emily, with her chin resting on Sophia's shoulder, was the first to spot William.
She patted Sophia's shoulder, "Mommy, it's William."
Sophia turned around and met his cold gaze.
Melinda quickly hung up the phone, "William, you heard everything. I've explained what I needed to explain. If Sophia won't forgive you, it's really not... my fault."
Her voice grew softer toward the end.
Seeing that William had gotten out of the car, she quickly found an excuse to escape.
When she saw the Smith family's bodyguards weren't chasing her, Melinda hurried to hail a cab back to the mansion.
There were five minutes left until the kindergarten let out, and the entrance was packed with parents and servants waiting for their children.
Sophia stood with Emily in a shaded area outside where there were fewer people. William's appearance immediately drew everyone's attention.
Some recognized him and watched them with a mixture of fear and curiosity.
William stared at her for a long time with pursed lips, wanting to ask but afraid of getting a negative answer, his dark eyes filled with an indescribable emotion.
He kept his voice very low, "Does it have to be this way?"
"What way?" Sophia asked him back.
William's face was so cold it seemed like ice could fall from it, but Sophia's voice didn't stop.
Sophia wasn't afraid of the frost in his eyes and asked seriously, "Forgive you? Tell me, how should I forgive you?"
"Remember the first time I came to pick up James and Michael? Alice was standing right next to you, talking to me like she was the kids' stepmother. What were you doing then?"
William wanted to tell her that he hadn't brought Alice there, but Sophia clearly wouldn't believe him.
After experiencing William's behavior during this time, she knew that if she didn't make things clear today, tomorrow, the day after, or perhaps for many days to come, he would keep pursuing the past.
"William, I believe your sister's explanation. I also believe you didn't cheat. But that's all in the past."
"Being a poor judge of character was your mistake."
"Being too slow to realize things was also your mistake."
She smiled slightly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, "So, let's end it here, William."
Such a refined and elegant man, yet now the veins in his neck bulged from suppression, and his handsome, striking features took on a hint of restrained wildness.
William forced himself to close his eyes and suppress the impulse in his heart.
He acknowledged everything Sophia said.
But back then, he hadn't understood either, had he?
Emily didn't know what had happened between them. When she saw James and Michael coming out of the school gate together, her eyes lit up like brilliant stars.
She struggled to get down from Sophia's arms, pointing at the kindergarten entrance, "Mommy, James, Michael."
James and Michael spotted her right away and waved, shouting, "Emily!"
After dinner at the mansion last night, they had waited for William to pick them up and take them to the Johnson Mansion, only to be told at the last minute that Sophia had something to do and they should stay at the mansion for the night.
Emily, clutching the insulated ice cream bag, threw herself into James and Michael's arms. The two boys caught her clumsily.
She said proudly, "James, Michael, ice cream."
Michael's eyes lit up, and he helped her open the insulated bag.
Meanwhile, James steadied Emily and looked curiously at Sophia, "Mommy, you're back from your business trip."
Sophia glanced coolly at William, "Yes, just got back."
William's ears burned red as he turned his face away to hide his embarrassment at being caught in a lie.