Chapter 8
It really was him!
“Are you feeling unwell?” I asked, returning his wallet to his pocket while examining him. He was tall and lean; if he weren’t so weak, his height alone would mean I’d only be able to see his chin from this close. His pale skin and high nose bridge gave him a unique blend of Eastern and Western beauty.
“No, just got set up,” he replied.
“Huh?” I paused in my steps as I helped him toward the bed. Could I still make a run for it?
Sensing my hesitation, he suddenly grabbed my arm, took a quick step and threw me onto the soft mattress.
“Too late for that,” he said.
I bounced up slightly from the mattress, only to be pinned down by him again.
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“If you‘ re not planning to break off the engagement, could you at least help me out?” he asked.
How was I supposed to respond to that? I didn’t intend to call off the engagement, but being this close with someone I’d only just met…
“Good, you‘ re not leaving,” he said, as if my silence had confirmed my intentions, then leaned in to kiss me.
Two hours later, I rubbed my wrist, my eyes slightly flushed from irritation. Meanwhile, the culprit was already fast asleep. Beast!
I reached for a pillow, ready to hit him, but a knock on the door stopped me. My brother’s voice came from the other side.
“William?”
Caught off guard, William, still weary, stretched over me, cracked the door open and pulled my brother inside.
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My brother looked at the two of us, his eyes wide as saucers.
“I wanted you two to get to know each other, not get this close!” he sputtered.
“Shut up!” William mumbled weakly, collapsing back onto the bed.
My brother clenched his fists.
“Damn, you‘ re snapping at me? Just what have you done to my sister? Even if you two are engaged, you don‘ t have to be so… beastly!”
Seeing my brother was about to throw a punch, I quickly stopped him.
“Brother, it’s not what you think.”
“Then what is it?” he demanded, his face flushed.
I coughed awkwardly. We hadn’t gone that far, but we had done things you‘ d never do with just a friend. How was I supposed to explain that?
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While I fumbled for words, William finally
spoke up.
“You know about my family situation. I got caught up in their schemes this time and I had no other choice.”
Although my brother’s brows were still furrowed, he finally let it go.
On the way back, I curiously asked my brother about William’s family situation.
He sighed and laid it all out.
Apparently, the William’s family patriarch planned to hand over the company to William once he secured a marriage alliance. However, William‘ s second aunt wasn‘ t one to take things lying down. She believed the company should be split equally between her husband and William’s father.
But her husband and William’s father… well, neither was the sharpest tool in the shed. William‘ s second uncle, in particular, had been manipulated in the
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past and lost a lot of money. If not for William stepping in to salvage things, the William’s family could‘ ve been severely damaged.
There was no way the old man would entrust the family’s legacy to him.
Unable to sway the patriarch, William‘ s second aunt turned her efforts to sabotaging his marriage. She’d gone to great lengths to disrupt this union, using her own freshly adult son as a pawn in her schemes to destroy the engagement.
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