?Chapter 1388:


    Her brows furrowed in confusion.


    William actually asked her to join him for breakfast?


    Confused, anxious, and stiff as a board, she slowly cracked open the door and stepped out.


    Downstairs, William was already seated, back to her, quietly eating.


    William heard her footsteps and instinctively held his breath, every sound sharpening his focus. He didn’t look up—just waited.


    Only when she sat across from him did he finally lift his gaze and wave the servants away, clearing the room with a single gesture.


    Ste noticed, her pulse picking up.


    “I—” she started.


    “Ste, we need to talk.”


    They spoke at the same time. She lifted her head in surprise, met his steady gaze for a second, then immediately looked away.


    “I shouldn’t have done that yesterday,” she murmured. “But you… you shouldn’t have… Anyway, I’m sorry.”


    Her apology caught him off guard. Something shifted in his chest.


    Yes, he’d lost control yesterday. He knew that. Yet she was still sitting here, apologizing to him.


    Maybe Jewell was right. Maybe it was time to talk. Really talk about everything.


    William rose from his chair, set his napkin down, and said quietly, “Finish your breakfast. Meet me in the study.”


    His study. The word alone tightened her throat. She wanted to ask him if they could talk there instead, out in the open, but he was already walking upstairs.


    More to discover gα?ησνe?s?c?m


    Her courage fizzled out before it even formed.


    She tried to eat, but breakfast tasted like nothing. After pushing the food around for half an hour, she finally forced herself up and headed toward the study.


    When she stepped inside, sunlight poured through the open curtains, warming the room. She’d never seen it look so bright.


    She took the seat across from him. “What do you want to talk about?” she asked quietly.


    William rested his hands on the desk. “When I was missing for a month… what were you doing during that time?”


    Ste’s hands trembled on herp as she struggled to find words.


    When she didn’t respond, his voice dropped. “Ste, speak.”


    Realizing she couldn’t evade the question, she finally whispered, “I woke up in the hospital and saw Marc next to me. He told me I’d been in aa for two years. That it was a miracle I woke up.”


    William let out a low, humorlessugh. “And you actually believe that?”


    The instinctive retort rose in her throat, but she swallowed it down. “I don’t remember anything from those two years. It feels like they never existed. When I woke up, the only thing I knew was that I was engaged to marry him. So tell me… who else was I supposed to trust?”


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