?Chapter 1274:


    William’s gaze swept over the group—Sharon shaking, Josie supporting her, Luca tense but conflicted—before he finally turned and walked toward the study.


    Steven followed. The door shut with a heavy thud.


    Outside, Sharon hovered on the edge of panic. She grabbed Josie’s arm. “Check everywhere for the key. I don’t care where—just look.”


    Luca nodded and rushed off. He didn’t want his boss doing something he couldn’t take back.


    Inside the study, the atmosphere coiled tight. Steven sat. William stayed standing. Silence filled the room.


    After a long moment, Steven finally spoke. “William… what happened to you? You weren’t like this. You cared about Ste more than anyone. And now that you know she didn’t betray you—that she literally forgot everything—why are you still holding on like this?”


    William walked to the liquor cab, poured himself a drink, and downed it. The burn shot through his throat, but he barely felt it.


    Without turning around, he said quietly, “She forgot everything. But I didn’t. I lived through all of it. Losing her. Thinking she threw me away. It doesn’t just disappear because she says she can’t remember.”


    “William,” Steven said, more desperate now, “if she gets her memories back, she’ll remember you. The real you. She didn’t walk away from you willingly. And the wedding—she didn’t evenplete it. There’s still a chance.”


    After all, Ste and Marc hadn’tpleted the ceremony.


    William set the ss down, jaw tight. “I told you,” he said. “I’m done caring about the why.”


    William spun around sharply, his tone clipped with impatience. “Steven, tell me this—are you still my friend or not?”


    Steven froze, startled by the intensity in his voice, but answered without hesitation. “Of course I am. And it’s because I’m your friend that I can’t just stand by while you keep making one mistake after another. You can’t keep Ste locked up like this—it’s madness! You’re only destroying what’s left between you!”


    Read exclusive stories at gα?ησν???s?c?m


    If Ste came to truly hate him after this, every shred of feeling she’d once had would vanish forever.


    “Destroying what’s left between us, am I?” William let out a low, humorlessugh and took a step closer, his towering presence filling the room with tension.


    “So tell me, Steven—helping her run from me, siding with her behind my back—is that what friendship means to you now? If you still think of yourself as my friend, then walk out that door and take everyone else with you. Stay out of this. What happens between Ste and me is our business.”


    His words carried an edge sharp enough to draw blood—a warning that one more word of defiance would shatter their friendshippletely.


    Steven met his gaze, saw the rage burning behind those eyes, and realized nothing he said would reach him anymore.


    He exhaled slowly, fatigue heavy in his voice. “William, you’re going to regret this someday.”


    William’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. “The only thing I regret is ever believing in her!”


    The silence that followed was suffocating.


    .


    .


    .