Chapter 664 Shattered
Emelie said softly, “It’s mainly because the arrow that you shot years ago took away almost half of my life. It left me severely weakened, and it’s been hard to recover. If it weren’t for his attentive care, I would be even more haggard right now.”
William swallowed. The warm light didn’t even manage to hide the paleness of his face. They finally brought up their old grudge and mentioned the arrow after all.
Emelie rested her elbow on the table. Her hand supported her chin as she said in a mocking and sarcastic tone, “You said you never really hurt me. So, did you shoot that arrow at me as a joke?”
William remained silent, but he swallowed again.
Emelie pretended to reflect, “It was my fault, Mr. Middleton. I didn’t understand your true intentions. Still, Mr. Middleton, the joke was a bit too much.”
William stared at her as his thin lips pressed together in a line.
Emelie continued, “The arrow missed my heart by just a hair. The operation to remove it took ten hours. It involved three different surgeons and two admissions of critical condition. I was in a coma for half a month after the operation, and I barely made it.”
“Stop!” William suddenly shouted.
Emelie laughed. “Weren’t you the one who insisted on talking about the past? Why can’t you handle it now when I’m talking about it?”
William gripped the empty wine glass. He held it tightly as if he was trying to control his emotions.
The fragile glass couldn’t withstand his force and shattered with a sudden crack. The shards cut his palm, and blood stained the glass.
Emelie watched him mockingly. It was rare to see William so out of control.
She said, “If you can’t handle it, let’s get back to business and stop dragging things out. Mr. Middleton, you used to be the most cold-hearted person. Why are you acting emotional and pitiful now? Isn’t this a bit pathetic?”
William shut his eyes. His eyelid was wrinkled.
He said in a suppressed tone, “Whether you believe it or not, what I did back then was actually…”
However, he stopped talking halfway.
Emelie pressed him and asked, “What?”
He didn’t continue. Instead, he sighed and opened his eyes with a deep, unfathomable gaze. “Nothing. Let’s talk about business.” He took a first-aid kit from the cupboard. He remained expressionless and emotionless as he used tweezers to remove the broken glass from his hand.
He said, “I can return the Pierce family house to you free of charge. You just have to exchange it for one thing.”
It wasn’t hard for Emelie to know what he wanted. “The account book.”
William looked up, not denying it. “You found Ashlyn and the account book, didn’t you? That should be the situation if I’m correct.
“After the Hoven family came under pressure from creditors, and after I took you away, Edward foresaw
that the Middleton, Davis, Swanson, and Collins families might go after him. Thus, he entrusted the account book to Ashlyn and sent her away with it, claiming in public that she had eloped.
“Ashlyn, though clever, was still young at the time. While she was alone in the world, she faced countless dangers. Eventually, she was kidnapped, made mute, sold, and ended up in a human marketplace until you found her.
“Despite all the hardships she has endured over the years, she has kept the account book carefully. Upon reuniting with you, she gave you everything, and you arranged for her to meet the Sorrel couple. Is that right?”
They sat across the table, neither too close or too far, but just enough for them to see each other’s faces. As for the reason why Emelie’s had Ashlyn approach the Sorrel couple? William had a hunch.
It was because the Xanther Group was working with Arsen. She wanted to destroy their partnership and replace Arsen to get closer to the Xanther Group.
As long as Ashlyn was in Arsen’s house, Emelie had a hundred ways to achieve this goal. It didn’t have to be the wedding, it was just one of many ways.
Emelie applauded him. He hadn’t been wrong at all.
William threw away the tweezers, grabbed a piece of gauze, and wrapped it around his hand twice before he thought the bandage was done.
He said calmly, “Give me the account book and the house is yours.”
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