?Chapter 1249:


    The rage hit him hard.


    William’s hand mmed onto the desk with a thunderous crack that made Steven flinch.


    He’d never seen William like this before.


    When William finally looked up, his eyes burned with fury—dark, bloodshot, wild. Each word that followed carried a chilling edge. “What more is there to say about her? Should we talk about how she couldn’t wait to crawl back to Marc’s bed while I was missing? Or how much of her so-called love was nothing but a show?”


    Steven stared, stunned by the venom in his tone.


    “William, calm down,” he said quickly. “There must be some mistake. Ste isn’t like that. Whatever’s going on, there has to be a reason—she truly loved you before.”


    “A mistake?” Williamughed, the sound sharp and bitter. He rose slowly, the light casting his tall figure into shadow.


    “I wish it were that simple,” he said coldly. “But I almost died saving her. And while I was fighting for my life, she was nning a wedding with another man.”


    His voice lowered, each word cutting deeper. “Tell me, Steven—what kind of love does that?”


    Steven opened his mouth, unsure what to say. “Maybe… she has her reasons?”


    Steven had beenpletely taken aback by the venom in William’s voice.


    This wasn’t the William he knew.


    The William he remembered had always beenposed, logical, restrained—even when facing problems. He would never give up on Ste.


    But now, every word that came out of him burned with hatred.


    William had loved Ste deeply. Everyone knew that. He’d pursued her with a quiet persistence that bordered on devotion. So why did the mere mention of her now provoke such fury?


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    Suddenly, Steven understood why Nina had warned him earlier not to bring up Ste in front of William. Now it made perfect sense.


    William’s expression turned darker by the second. He stepped out from behind his desk, closing the distance between them. Each stride was slow but heavy, his presence radiating a cold, suffocating intensity.


    “Her reasons?” he repeated, his tone dripping with mockery. “The only reason is that she never let go of Marc! Everything I believed in—every word, every touch—was nothing but a lie.”


    Heughed bitterly, his voice low and unsteady. “She fooled me, Steven. That woman yed me from the start. The moment I disappeared, she ran straight back to the man she truly wanted. Ste… she’s nothing but a fraud. She never had genuine feelings for me.”


    Thest word came out through gritted teeth. His face was pale, his chest rising and falling sharply, fury and pain twisting together in his eyes.


    Steven could only stare at him, speechless.


    This wasn’t grief anymore. It was something darker—something dangerous.


    He wanted to defend Ste, to say that she couldn’t possibly be the kind of woman William described.


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