Chapter 45 The Truth About That Meal
Sophia was so shocked by his words that she couldn't react for a moment.
Seeing the stuff had been delivered, Tony turned and ran off faster than a rabbit.
God knows when Michael called him to ask for leave, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest!
The boss and secretary both taking leave.
Tony: First time in my life, I can brag about this forever!
William calmly carried his luggage into the guest room, and before closing the door, he nodded to Sophia in greeting.
Sophia was speechless.
Coming out of the bathroom, when William went to get his pajamas, he discovered that Tony had brought him the black pajamas Sophia had bought for him before.
His hand paused for quite a while before he finally unwrapped the towel and changed into them. Just then, Sophia came to knock on the door, and he opened it directly.
Sophia looked at his bathrobe suspiciously, feeling like it looked familiar.
Wasn't this...
The one she had bought for him before, which he never wore, and that ended up on Alice?
Although she didn't care about pajamas she'd given away, just thinking about something she paid for being worn by Alice... made her feel disgusted!
This man was living with his current girlfriend and gave her the bathrobe his ex-wife bought him—that was really annoying.
William saw her eyes focused on his clothes, going from initial daze and surprise to later mockery and ridicule. The rapid emotional shift left him confused, his deep eyes flowing with puzzlement.
"Is there something wrong with my bathrobe?"
As he asked this question.
His deep gaze watched her eyes.
Catching the increasingly thick mockery in her eyes, William's confusion grew even more, and he couldn't help but look down to check his clothing.
"The bathrobe is fine, it's just..."
"The great Mr. Smith, when did you run out of money to buy your current girlfriend a bathrobe, that you have to wear one from your ex-wife?"
"Or is switching bathrobes Mr. Smith's idea of fun?"
William stood in the doorway, not understanding what she meant.
"Sophia, I haven't offended you today."
"Whatever's bothering you about me, you can say it directly."
"What are you getting at?"
From waking up this morning until now, William hadn't had any direct conversation with Sophia, and was puzzled by her sudden disgust.
William's superior height and build made the black silk bathrobe look even more elegant on him.
You could faintly see the outline of his abs, and his whole body was full of fatal attraction.
He blocked Sophia's movement to turn around.
"What do you mean by giving the ex-wife's bathrobe to the current girlfriend?"
William's dark eyes held only her reflection. He looked down at her delicate features, finally settling on her eyes.
"Sophia, don't leave things half-said."
"Even though we're divorced, we're connected by the children, and we'll definitely have many interactions in the future. You can't glare at me every time without telling me why."
"If you don't explain yourself today, don't think about leaving here."
William had always been the epitome of silence, but with Sophia, his emotions were always led by her.
His heart, because of what she just said, surged with strong emotional waves, like a fishbone stuck in his throat—couldn't go up, couldn't go down.
William's oppressive closeness made Sophia uncomfortable.
Her nose was filled with the scent of William's body wash after his shower. Even though it was a brand she had personally chosen, it now felt strange.
"Want to know? Go watch Alice's livestream."
Sophia really didn't want to waste more words with him. Since she couldn't drive him away, she'd just ignore him.
After saying this, she tried to leave.
As she passed by William, he grabbed her wrist.
His eyes were deep, his nose bridge high, his thin lips pressed tightly together, showing his current inner turmoil and some anger.
"You won't tell me directly, but make me go watch another woman's livestream. When did you become so roundabout, saying half and leaving half unsaid?"
Sophia tried to shake off his hand but didn't have enough strength.
William clearly wasn't using force, but her wrist still turned red in a circle.
He frowned at her fragility and loosened his grip a bit.
Sophia took the opportunity to shake off his hand directly.
"Yes! I like being roundabout, but I'm not when cursing people. If you want to try it, I don't mind obliging you!"
She grabbed William's bathrobe collar and yanked it to the side. She had already noticed when giving him the injection earlier.
Under William's bathrobe collar, there were small clusters of red marks.
Sophia hadn't ruled out the possibility... that these were allergy marks.
But during the five years married to William, his annual physical reports always showed he was healthy. Not to mention major illnesses, he didn't even have minor ailments.
He never had any allergens either, but unexpectedly, his health had weakened quite a bit now.
She pointed at the red marks on William's body and said, "What kind of hobby is this, Mr. Smith?"
William didn't like looking in mirrors when showering, so naturally, he didn't know what was under his bathrobe.
He asked her to wait at the door for a moment.
Sophia didn't respond.
Silence, in William's view, meant agreement.
When he quickly checked the mirror and came out with a dark expression, where was Sophia's shadow at the door?
He wanted to go find her, but the elevator on the third floor had restrictions.
He looked at the four bodyguards who had just entered through the stairwell. With his handsome face darkening, Sophia was guarding against him to this extent—there really was... no chance to go upstairs.
William returned to the guest room.
He agreed to stay to keep James and Michael from worrying.
At the same time, he wanted to witness firsthand whether the two children's lives at the Johnson Villa were happier than at the Smith Mansion.
As for Alice... his relationship with her wasn't about romantic feelings.
His work phone on the nightstand vibrated.
The call was from Alice.
William frowned and answered the phone.
On the other end, Alice's sweet voice carried some hesitation as she asked, "William, why didn't you come home last night?"
William's tone was flat: "What is it?"
Hearing the obvious indifference and distance in William's voice, Alice felt uneasy, but quickly adjusted her emotions and said gently, "Will you come home tonight? I learned some new dishes and want James, Michael, and you to try them."
William walked to the guest room balcony with his phone; the coldness on him dispelled by the outside sunlight. There were many children's play facilities in the yard.
His voice was low: "Alice, you don't need to do these things."
Alice's hand tightened on the phone, "William, I'm doing these things for you and the children willingly. After your divorce, the two children lost their mother, and these past two years I..."
William interrupted her, "Ms. Rivera!"
Alice was frightened by his cold voice, her heart skipping a beat.
He reminded her again, "James and Michael have a mother."
"I let you move into the Smith Mansion because you saved Michael two years ago. As long as it doesn't harm my family, because the Smith family made you a promise, I'll help you with whatever I can."
"But anything else, I can't give you, and I won't give you."
William's almost heartless words made Alice's eyes instantly red.
Her face twisted, but her voice through the phone was choked and delicate, "After nearly two years together, don't you have even a little..."
William firmly replied: "No."
Afraid she would harbor illusions and develop other expectations.
William added another sentence, "I've never had any romantic thoughts about you, not in the past, and not in the future."
Alice wouldn't give up: "But two years ago, when that meal made the trending searches, you didn't have it taken down! Doesn't that show you have feelings for me? William, I don't believe you have any feelings for me at all!"
Bringing up that candlelit dinner from two years ago again.
William's heart instantly sank to the bottom, his expression gloomy.
So the consequences of that meal... were too severe.
With the conversation reaching this point, Alice had to give up.
Sensing the coldness in William's words, she temporarily changed tactics, deliberately acting relieved.
"William, it's great that you don't have romantic feelings for me!"
"I've always considered you my best friend, but netizens all said you took such good care of me because you liked me, and I almost believed it."
"I was too impulsive just now and used the wrong approach. We'll still be friends from now on, right? You won't kick me out, will you?"