?Chapter 993:


    So it wasn’t that she was miserable all the time. She just didn’t smile like that around him.


    The realization hit hard. The longer he watched, the more it stung. Every little thing lined up—her distance, her coldness—it all made sense now. Maybe… maybe she was only like that when she was with him.


    William didn’t want to believe it. He refused to believe it. But the more he tried to convince himself otherwise, the more the truth stared him in the face. His jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing as he watched them disappear around the corner. His whole expression darkened—it was the calm before a storm.


    From the front seat, Luca had seen the same thing. He nced nervously at the rearview mirror, debating whether he should say something to ease the tension. But before he could open his mouth, William’s voice came—low and cold.


    “Back to the office.”


    He didn’t get out. Didn’t confront them. He just leaned back, eyes closed, throat tight with emotion.


    Luca’s hands tensed on the steering wheel. He stayed silent, pressed the gas, and drove back to the Briggs Group.


    In the back seat, William kept his eyes shut, his thoughts spinning.


    So that was it. That was why she kept turning down his dinner invites. All those little moments when she seemed distant or distracted—they weren’t random. They meant something.


    Had she been holding back for someone else this whole time?


    He had wanted to ask more, to make her tell him what was bothering her. He wanted her to be happy.


    But now… it felt like he had just been fooling himself.


    Meanwhile, Ste waspletely oblivious to what William had witnessed, nor did she realize his office was just across the street.


    She reached for the jacket tied around her waist, about to give it back to Jeff, but he gently ced his hand over hers. “No rush,” he said with a small smile. “Keep it on until you get home. Don’t want some creep trailing you.”


    The warning in his tone made her stomach tighten. She wasn’t used to thinking like that, but he had a point.


    g?lnσν???s．c????, a world of tales


    “Alright,” she said softly. She decided she would wash it and return itter. After saying goodbye and promising to help him out if he ever had questions about his studies, she watched as the elevator doors closed behind him.


    By the time she got home, the sky had already gone dark. She stepped inside, expecting the warm glow of the living room lights—but instead, everything was in shadow. Only the dim neon lights from the city outside spilled faint colors through the windows.


    Then she saw him. William was sitting on the sofa,pletely still. His figure was barely visible, just a silhouette against the ss—handsome, yes, but cold. Lifeless.


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