Chapter 60 Sophia, I Can't Sleep
The trending topic exploded again!
A trending airport photo of Peace Group's CEO William taking actress Alice abroad for "treatment" quickly shot to the top of the entertainment charts.
By the time Sophia saw the news, the two were already at the world's most famous plastic surgery hospital.
Alice wore a hat, mask, and sunglasses, not an inch of skin exposed, tightly guarded in the middle by the Smith family's bodyguards.
William spent a fortune to book the entire medical team, dedicated solely to serving Alice, just to heal the scars on her face.
The news heavily played up William's concern for Alice - how he accompanied her to appointments, stayed overnight with her, and comforted her extreme emotions.
Their long-lasting relationship was envied by netizens and made Alice's popularity soar higher and higher.
Many directors reached out to her with offers.
But...
The trending topic had just started gaining traction when it was suppressed by the Peace Group.
The speed was jaw-dropping.
If Rat hadn't specifically sent it to her, she might not have even known about the photos from their appearance to their disappearance.
Just like... those five years of secret marriage.
Sophia wasn't entirely clear about William's true power and how formidable it really was.
But she knew that besides the Peace Group and the Smith family, he had another force hidden in the shadows that was equally powerful.
Whatever he didn't want to happen would absolutely never occur.
Similarly, whatever he didn't want her to know about, he could always control perfectly, just like during those years of their marriage.
Sophia swallowed the bitterness in her mouth and continued her busy work in the lab.
She saw William again a week later.
She was making a recovery plan for Raymond, whose legs had been crushed for too long in the car accident and still couldn't walk normally.
Just as she finished analyzing his first phase of training, Amelia rushed in, knocking on the door to tell her William was back again.
Sophia frowned in confusion. Why wasn't he staying with Alice for her facial treatment? What was he doing at Seraphim?
She knew exactly what drug she had used.
No matter how much plastic surgery Alice got, it would be useless. That drug would seep through the skin into the bones!
The itching coming from the bones would make her unable to resist scratching until the skin broke and bled, barely providing relief.
Even if it healed this time, there would be a next time.
Over and over again, until she couldn't take it anymore.
This was one reason she wasn't in a hurry to send Alice to join the Rivera family - keeping her enemy under her control gave her better leverage.
Alice had sent James and Michael to the hospital twice, and she'd only drugged her once - she was already going easy on her.
But William didn't seem to see it that way?
Outside the ZN laboratory.
William sat in the back seat of a black Maybach, resting with his eyes closed.
He'd flown to several countries recently, and to facilitate cooperation on international projects, he'd been working nonstop for a week without proper rest.
Most importantly, he couldn't sleep.
Without Sophia by his side, without her scent.
He found himself completely unable to sleep. Even if he took medication to fall asleep, he would wake up quickly.
Yet none of this happened when he stayed with her in the children's hospital room.
Even lying on the uncomfortable sofa, he could sleep soundly - it was a long-lost sense of comfort and pleasure.
So William came back.
Seeing Sophia get out of the lab's shuttle, Tony immediately opened the back door and quietly reminded William, who was resting with his eyes closed.
"Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith is here."
His long lashes trembled slightly, and his eyes, brilliant as black obsidian, looked through the car window at the woman in the distance.
Today she wore a light blue long-sleeved dress, her long hair pinned up, her round earlobes adorned with pearl earrings, her rosy lips pressed into a displeased line after seeing him.
William pinched his tense brow and stepped out of the car.
His strong, powerful, long legs wrapped in black dress pants entered her line of sight first, walking step by step toward her.
Sophia's tone was somewhat impatient. "Why are you here again?"
William calmly stated his reason for returning.
"Sophia, I can't sleep."
"If you can't sleep, go take medicine. Coming here will help you sleep?"
Sophia found his reason too ridiculous. Even if he said he came to see the children, she might have softened and let him see them.
But can't sleep?
What kind of strange reason was that?
Not getting proper rest for so long, William's temples throbbed with pain.
He'd always had trouble sleeping, and after marrying Sophia, this condition improved a lot. He couldn't explain why himself.
After the divorce, the headaches came back.
He endured it all.
When he really couldn't sleep, William could only take medication.
Over time, his dependence on the drugs grew heavier, and the dosage kept increasing.
The family doctor had long suggested he try to quit the sleep medication.
But he couldn't do it.
Until... he met Sophia again.
No medication needed - as long as she was by his side, the insomnia problem didn't exist.
After tasting a full night's sleep, William even developed a craving, which he ultimately suppressed with reason into the darkest depths of his heart.
Understanding why he came.
Sophia didn't plan to take him back to the lab.
Just as she was about to get back in the car, William grabbed her wrist.
This time he controlled his strength, not hurting her but making it impossible for her to break free.
He looked steadily into her eyes. "Name your price, whatever you want."
Sophia frowned. "What do you mean?"
"If you want to treat insomnia, aren't there plenty of doctors at home and abroad who can't cure it? It's not some rare disease, you..."
William looked at her intently. "They can't cure it."
The disbelief in her eyes was so undisguised.
He only felt his temples hurt and throb more, his lips pale, his brain aching in waves.
"Those five years we were married were when I slept best."
"Second to that was last week when I stayed with you."
William was being honest, but it scared Sophia enough to quickly cut off his words, stopping what he was about to say next.
"Who stayed with you!"
"We were looking after the children. You need to be clear when you speak."
"What if people misunderstand?"
Hearing this, William's expression suddenly changed, his refined jawline tensed sharply, his eyes full of deep scrutiny as he looked at her.
Suddenly, he laughed coldly.
"Afraid of who misunderstanding?"
"Lucas, or Raymond?"
Sophia felt William's emotions had been very off lately, and his words gave her the illusion of jealousy.
Thinking it over, she felt it was impossible.
William's fingers gripping her wrist tightened slightly; his domineering and forceful presence invaded her space, making her uncomfortably retreat.
Noticing her resistance and evasion, William's heart sank deeper and deeper.
"You're afraid of me?"
"Shouldn't I be? You're even protecting the person who hurt your own son. What if you decide to kill your ex-wife?"
William found her words unreasonable.
"This is a society ruled by law. I won't and couldn't do anything illegal."
Sophia gave a cold laugh, mocking him.
"Last time you bailed Alice out, this time you're keeping her at the Smith Mansion despite having evidence..."
William's brows furrowed coldly, staring at her meaningfully.
"My people found out that none of those things were done by Alice. I know you're worried about James and Michael, but we can't wrongly accuse good people either."
Tony's ability to stay by his side for so long spoke for itself.
A key point suddenly flashed through Sophia's mind. Her almond eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at him seriously. "This matter... Tony is investigating it?"
"No, another secretary."
Mentioning this secretary, he specifically glanced at Sophia, the depth in his eyes seeming to tell her...
That person was someone she knew and trusted!