?Chapter 442:


    With not much to work with, she decided to keep it simple and go with egg pasta.


    She moved with quiet efficiency. In under twenty minutes, she had two tes of pasta ready and ced them on the table.


    When she set one in front of William, he fixed her with a pointed look. “I can’t eat on my own.”


    Ste blinked. Oh—right. She had totally forgotten about that. “You want me to feed you?” she asked, already calcting.


    That had gotta cost extra.


    As if reading her mind, William said, “I’ll add another hundred grand.” Maybe money couldn’t buy happiness, but it could definitely buy her time, patience, and, apparently, a pasta-feeding service.


    Without missing a beat, Ste pulled out her phone. “Send the payment.”


    William let out a long sigh butplied.


    A few secondster, her phone pinged with the notification.


    Grinning, Ste grabbed a fork, scooted in beside him, and held out a bite. “Alright, open wide.”


    Halfway through the meal, as she twirled another forkful, William looked at her with a rare seriousness. “Ste… have you honestly never thought about settling down?”


    She blinked, thrown off by the unexpected question. Was he seriously asking that?


    “I just escaped a bad marriage. You think I’m in a rush to jump into another one? Or are you just allergic to seeing me happy and stress-free?”


    William raised an eyebrow, undeterred. “Fine. What about dating then?”


    That question didn’t get the same sharp reply. Ste hesitated for a moment. Dating? She hadn’t exactly ruled it out. Sharon’s words still echoed in the back of her mind, nudging her toward trying again.


    Then William pressed on. “So, what kind of guy are you into? Someone like Shaun, that smooth-talking golden boy?”


    Fresh updates loaded gα?ησν????s?c?m


    Ste paused mid-motion, cooling the pasta on her fork. “Wow, you really don’t like Shaun, huh? What did he do—trick you in some deal?”


    William looked like he swallowed something bitter. “You seriously think I’d let someone like Shaun take advantage of me?”


    Ste gave it a second’s thought. Knowing how stingy William could be, he probably wouldn’t lose a cent. If anything, Shaun would be the one regretting the deal.


    But William wasn’t letting this slide. “You still haven’t answered my question.”


    She looked up, distracted. “What question?”


    Seeing that she wasn’t taking him seriously at all, William felt a twinge of irritation prickling under his calm surface.


    “If I were to marry Willow, what would you think?”


    Without missing a beat, Ste offered him another bite of pasta. “I’d wish you both well. Just don’t expect me to splurge on a fancy wedding gift, alright?” She figured someone like William would probably expect guests to bring diamonds instead of toasters.


    The answer hit harder than William expected. He stared at her. She was keeping her tone light, her walls high. And suddenly, the pasta didn’t taste like much anymore.


    He turned his head and wiped his mouth with a napkin in silence.


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