?Chapter 421:


    Realization dawned on her, and she gave a small nod, understanding his angle. As they started eating, Ste’s thoughts kept drifting back to William and Willow. After a long pause and a bit of hesitation, she finally looked up and asked,


    “When are you going to tell your fiancée the truth?”


    William paused, fork mid-air. “What truth?”


    Ste narrowed her eyes slightly. He was still ying dumb? “It’s a business marriage, right? So what’s the big deal about telling her the truth? Pretending you have feelings when you don’t—isn’t that kind of cruel?”


    She had a feeling Willow wasn’t treating this like just a business deal. The way she looked at William—there was real affection there.


    If it were purely transactional for both sides, great. But if Willow was actually falling for him and he kept letting her believe there was something more, while in reality, there wasn’t? That wasn’t just careless—it was heartless.


    William squinted at her. “You think she believes I love her?”


    That caught Ste off guard. So… he knew Willow was into him, and just assumed she didn’t care whether or not he returned it?


    The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Willow really did seem like she lived in her own little world. Maybe she was too sheltered to see things for what they were.


    “She definitely has feelings for you,” Ste said. “Wouldn’t it be better for both of you if you just cleared things up now? At least she won’t keep hoping for something that’ll never happen.”


    William thought her logic was odd. Willow knew better than anyone where he stood—did he really need to spell it out? Some things didn’t need to be said out loud. They were adults. Surely Willow understood that much.


    “So what—when you don’t like someone, you just tell them straight to their face?” he asked.


    “Of course,” Ste said, without skipping a beat. “If I had an unusual preference, I’d say it. I wouldn’t string anyone along.”


    If she were into women, she’d be honest. Basic decency.


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    William didn’t respond right away. Instead, a strange sense of relief crept over him. If she was that straightforward—and she’d never once said she didn’t like him—did that mean she might actually feel something?


    While he mulled that over, Ste kept eating like nothing had happened. The food here really was good.


    Halfway through, as she wiped her mouth and nced toward the entrance, her brows lifted in surprise.


    Haley had just walked in.


    And judging by the fire in her eyes, she wasn’t here to catch up. She looked ready to throw hands.


    “Well, well, Ste,” Haley said, striding over. “Is this how you’re getting by these days? Clinging to a man for survival?” Her gaze flicked to William, then lingered, clearly trying to stir something up.


    Ste didn’t respond. She had no energy for petty drama. But Haley wasn’t about to back off. She pulled out a chair and sat down beside her like she owned the ce.


    “I heard you’ve been sniffing around for Nixontely?” she said.


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