Chapter297
In the past month, due to Hayden's pregnancy with twins, William and his family had been in a bit of a standoff. With the end of the year being particularly busy at work, he decided not to go home and stayed in his apartment.
Teresa hadn't seen him for three to four weeks and suddenly missed him a bit. So, she and Sophia brought Croissant to his apartment to see him.
Patrick and Sophia were not entirely against William marrying Michelle, but before he did, he needed to sort out everything with Hayden and the children.
However, William never mentioned Hayden in front of The Bennett family, so the situation remained at a standstill.
Before going, Teresa called William, but upon their arrival, after ringing the doorbell for a while, there was no response.
Indeed, he wasn't home. Sophia had been there several times before and knew the apartment's password, so she entered on her own.
William was indeed not there, but the apartment was neat and clean, showing no signs of a man living in disarray.
William had always been highly disciplined since childhood. What he said and decided to do, he would follow through with.
It was Croissant's first time at William's apartment, and he was thrilled to be in his uncle's home. The curious little boy ran around exploring everything.
"Mom, mom, look, this is uncle, uncle!" As Teresa helped Sophia organize the ingredients in the kitchen, Croissant's clear and tender voice rang out.
Teresa turned to see Croissant holding a photo album, which he must have found somewhere.
Quickly, Teresa walked over and knelt to take the album from Croissant's hands and looked at it.
In an instant, she was stunned.
Flipping through a few more pages, she found that the album was filled with photos of William and Hayden, taken about six or seven years ago when William was studying abroad.
In the photos, the man looked handsome and the woman beautiful, appearing like a profoundly loving couple.
What had happened between them over the years?
"Mom, mom, uncle." As Teresa was lost in thought, Croissant approached her, holding the album.
"What's this? Let me see." Hearing Croissant mention Hayden, Sophia finished organizing the ingredients and walked over.
"So, your brother met Hayden while studying abroad and dated her. I wonder why your dad and I never knew..." Sophia saw the photos and sighed, "Your brother's thoughts. When did he become so deep? For so many years, he never mentioned Hayden to us. If you hadn't told us about Hayden being pregnant with your brother's child, we wouldn't have known anything."
"Grandma, grandma, uncle, and Hayden were together. They were so happy." Pointing at the photos, Croissant was captivated by the scenes in the pictures.
Click!
Just then, there was a light click as the apartment door was pushed open from the outside. Teresa and Sophia turned to see William returning.
"Uncle, uncle." Seeing William, Croissant immediately ran happily toward him.
William looked at them, and upon noticing the photo album in Teresa's hands, his face darkened, completely ignoring Croissant as he rushed over, throwing the album at Teresa, almost growling, "Who told you to go through my things."
Teresa and Sophia looked at him, speechless.
In Teresa's memory, William was always gentle and had a good temper. It seemed like the first time he had shouted at her like this.
Not only did he shout at her, but he also shouted at Sophia and Croissant.
"William, what's wrong? We just looked at your photos. We didn't..." Before Sophia could finish her sentence, William interrupted her, unable to contain his anger.
Sophia looked at him, speechless.
Sophia was surprised by her son's sudden anger over something small. It made her wonder when he had become so upset, yelling at his mother and Teresa, whom he had always cared for.
"Uncle, it was me who looked through it, not Mom and Grandma. Uncle, are you still angry?"
Croissant, who had been happily tidying up, was startled by William's outburst.
William's eyes, now slightly red, glanced at Croissant, then closed his eyes, trying to suppress the surging waves of emotion in his chest. In a hoarse and low voice, he said, "Don't mention Hayden in front of me. What she does is her business, not mine."
"Mom, uncle..."
"Uncle is fine." Seeing Croissant shrink back in fear, William knelt, trying to smile, and lifted his hand to pinch the chubby cheeks, whispering, "Let's clean up together, okay?"
"Okay." Croissant nodded eagerly, and William gently rubbed the top of his head, showing his deep affection, "Come, let's clean up together."
"Okay." Croissant nodded heavily, happily helping William tidy up.
Teresa stood by, watching William struggle to conceal his suppressed pain, and couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
If William was so loving toward Croissant, how could he possibly disregard his own flesh and blood?
What had really happened between him and Hayden?
She had to find a way to resolve the situation between them, unable to bear their torment any longer.
