?Chapter 1477:


    William sat rigidly on the sofa, his expression carved from stone.


    “Do you think I didn’t notice?” he said. “From the second you walked in, your attention never left Rutherford. What is that about? Are you interested in him?”


    Ste froze. She hadn’t even been aware of it. And yet he had seen it.


    She had assumed he wouldn’t even bother looking at her.


    “He just feels… familiar,” she said after a beat. “Like someone I once knew. That’s it. I swear there’s nothing else.” She paused, then added softly, “Cross my heart and hope to die.”


    Though such vows were childish, William surprisingly bought into them.


    He didn’tsh out again. His face remained closed off, but the sharpness eased.


    She took the opening. Sliding closer, she sat beside him. “I’m starving. Let’s eat first, okay?”


    The food had already beenid out long ago.


    Dinner had simply stalled under the weight of tension.


    William caught the sudden shift immediately. He should’ve been irritated, but surprisingly, he wasn’t.


    Taking that as permission, Ste picked up her fork and tried the eggnt.


    It was delicious. Her eyes lit up before she could stop herself.


    William sat stiffly beside her, his cutlery untouched.


    She pretended to eat calmly, though every nerve in her body was on edge.


    With him so close, breathing felt risky.


    After a few bites, she gave up and set her fork down.


    William raised an eyebrow. “Done already?”


    She grabbed a napkin and nodded. “Pretty much.”


    Gal n o v el s . is your destination for fiction


    As she lifted the napkin to her lips, his hand suddenly caught her jaw. Before she could react, his cool lips pressed against hers.


    Ste’s eyes widened in shock.


    The kiss came fast and unrestrained, leaving her thoughts scattered and dizzy.


    Her fingers found his shoulder without thinking, pushing weakly, clinging at the same time.


    Reality snapped back into ce as footsteps sounded outside the door. She shoved him away, breathless. “Someone’s outside!”


    What if someone came in? What if they saw?


    William released her, her lips flushed and swollen. His voice was low and rough. “Without my permission, no one dares to enter.”


    She didn’t even have time to process that before he leaned in again.


    This time, it was obvious he wasn’t stopping.


    When she felt his fingers working at the buttons of her shirt, Ste reacted without thinking and tried to push him away.


    It didn’t help. William gave her no space to retreat, no opening to escape. His presence pressed in from every direction.


    She shut her eyes tightly, her breath uneven, her body betraying her nerves even as she tried to steady herself.


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