?Chapter 1446:


    She wanted desperately to push away from him and stand on her own, but her body tly refused to cooperate, trembling and weak.


    William raised an eyebrow slightly, studying her pale face. “Can you walk on your own?”


    After several unsessful attempts to regain her footing andposure, she finally surrendered to the reality of her situation. Hanging her head in reluctant defeat, she managed, “Could you help me over to that chair? I’ll be fine in just a minute or two.”


    William could tell Ste was putting on a brave front. Without wasting another word on debate, he simply scooped her up into his arms in one fluid motion.


    Ste stared at him inplete disbelief, her arms wrapping instinctively around his neck for stability even as protest formed on her lips.


    “What are you doing? Put me down this instant!”


    He frowned slightly, his tone matter-of-fact. “I don’t have time to stand around here arguing with you.”


    With steady, confident strides, he carried her down the corridor and toward the exit, drawing the attention of countless onlookers who paused mid-step to watch them pass.


    Ste, burning with embarrassment and shame under so many curious stares, could only bury her face against his chest and pray for the ground to swallow her whole.


    As he nced down at her clinging so tightly to him, seeking refuge in his shoulder, a faint smile touched the corners of his lips—so subtle it was nearly imperceptible.


    Once they were safely back in the car and away from prying eyes, Ste’s face remained flushed red. She settled into her seat and took several long moments to calm her racing heart and scattered emotions before finally regaining some semnce ofposure.


    During the drive back, she found herself tempted to ask him about the project oue but hesitated, fearing that such a question might arouse his suspicion.


    Observing his rxed demeanor and the ease in his posture, he didn’t carry himself like someone who had just faced a significant business setback.


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    Could it possibly be that Marc had failed? Even armed with the confidential information she had risked everything to obtain, they still couldn’t beat William?


    This thought kept expanding in her mind, growingrger and heavier with each passing second, weighing on her like a stone pressing against her chest.


    She felt desperate to call Josie the moment they returned, needing to hear the oue directly from someone who would know the truth.


    William appearedpletely oblivious to her inner turmoil, driving with his eyes fixed steadily on the road ahead, his expression giving nothing away.


    The moment they returned to the vi and William parked the car, she quickly announced, “I need to use the bathroom!”


    She hurried upstairs to her room, locked the door firmly behind her, and waited nervously for Josie’s call, her nerves stretched taut as wire.


    They had established a pattern of talking on the phone at three in the afternoon, a time when William would typically still be upied at work and unlikely to overhear.


    As the clock crept closer to 2:57 PM, Ste felt her anxiety spike, each passing minute stretching impossibly long. At precisely three o’clock, as though choreographed, her phone buzzed to life in her palm.


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