?Chapter 246:


    Ste rolled her eyes and tried to step around him, but he blocked her path—again.


    He just didn’t get it.


    Before she could say something sharp, another voice cut through the tension—calm, cool, unmistakably in control. “Mr. Walsh. Harassing women again?”


    Marc turned and saw William approaching, the sunlight catching the edge of his zer. His face flushed with irritation. “This is between me and Stel. It doesn’t concern you.”


    William stopped a few feet away, casually slipping his hands into his pockets. “This is my research institute,” he said mildly. “Everything that happens here concerns me.”


    Marc had no response to that. He tried again, desperate now. “William, you don’t understand. Stel still cares about me. The only reason she’s with you is because she thinks she doesn’t deserve me.”


    William arched an eyebrow and looked down at Ste beside him. His voice was smooth, a little amused. “That true, Ms. Gilbert? You’re only with me because you think you’re not good enough for him?”


    His voice rose slightly at the end, teasing but not mocking. It made Ste’s throat tighten for a second.


    “No,” she said firmly. “I never said anything like that.”


    William nodded, then turned back to Marc with a knowing smile. “Did you hear that, Mr. Walsh? She didn’t choose me because of you. So how much longer are you nning to tter yourself?”


    Marc’s jaw tensed. “Stel, seriously—are you choosing him over me?”


    His voice cracked at the edges, eyes searching her face for some sign—any sign—that she still wanted him.


    Ste honestly didn’t understand where he got this absurd confidence from. It was like he lived in a world where he was never wrong.


    Stories live now on g?lnσν???s.cοm


    She opened her mouth to give him the answer he deserved—but before she could speak, William’s hand came to rest gently on her shoulder.


    “Marc,” William said, his voice steady but edged with steel, “do yourself a favor. Walk away with some dignity. The more you push this, the more pathetic you look.”


    Marc stared at the two of them standing there—so close, sofortable—and for the first time, he seemed to truly see it. They fit.


    It gnawed at him. “William, I’m still talking to Ste,” Marc snapped.


    William raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? And does it look like she wants to talk to you?”


    He didn’t need to raise his voice. The condescension in his tone cut deep enough.


    Marc, shorter and cornered, red up at William, feeling small. Helpless. Foolish.


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