Chapter323
"Gabriel was right, though," Liam admitted, his unwanted presence dawning on him. With a bitter smile, he said, "Teresa, since you're feeling better, I'll head out."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and left the room.
Diana glanced after Liam, then quickly assured Teresa, "I'll come to check on you another day. Make sure you rest up."
"Got it," Teresa nodded, releasing Diana's hand.
"Gabriel, I'll be on my way,” Diana said politely, glancing at him before she left with a light laugh, catching up with Liam.
Once in the elevator with Liam, the doors closed, and Diana bravely faced his now darkened expression. "Are you upset, Liam?"
"Do you think there's something I should be happy about?" Liam retorted, his eyes fixed on the descending numbers above the elevator doors.
"Why can't you let go of Teresa? Is it because you never had her?" Diana asked pointedly.
Liam's brows quickly knitted together in frustration, and he turned a cold, piercing gaze toward her.
Diana and Teresa were best friends who shared all their secrets, so Diana was well aware that despite Teresa's long relationship with Liam, they'd never been intimate.
"You slept with me because I remind you of Teresa. You're falling for Lauren because she's not only Teresa's student but also bears a slight resemblance to her," Diana locked eyes with Liam, undaunted by his gaze, and pressed on, "So who's next? Are you going to keep looking for Teresa's stand-in?"
"Diana, that's way beyond your pay grade." Pulling his gaze away, Liam didn't indulge her questions but coldly threw that line at her instead.
At that moment, the elevator arrived at the ground floor. Liam promptly stepped out with determination as soon as the doors opened.
William had traveled to the state, following the photo Teresa had given him of Hayden. He'd searched numerous places without any luck in finding her.
Perhaps Hayden had resolved to remain concealed, erasing every trace of her whereabouts. Despite employing all his resources, William simply couldn't pinpoint where she had settled.
But he hadn’t come this far to give up easily.
Finally, as if rewarded by fate for being persistent, after a week of searching in the state, William got a lead on Hayden's residence.
Without a moment's delay, he hurried to her place.
By the time he arrived, however, Hayden had already left.
Yet, there was a housekeeper who had been looking after the property. She didn't seem the least bit surprised to see William braving the snowstorm, as if she had known him all along.
"Do you know me?" William inquired curiously to the housekeeper he had never met before.
"Yes!" The housekeeper, a woman in her forties, smiled warmly at William, "Indeed, I know you're Hayden's significant other, as well as the father of the twins she's carrying."
Hearing the housekeeper's response, William furrowed his brow, "Did Hayden tell you all this?"
The housekeeper shook her head, "No, Hayden loves to display pictures of you two everywhere, and then she would lovingly tell her belly that you're the daddy. It's quite well-known to us here."
— He was going to be a dad.
The image of Hayden holding his photo and gently speaking to her unborn children flooded William’s mind with an involuntary vision of tenderness.
If she really wanted his child, then why in the world had she been so callous as to terminate the pregnancy in the first place?
William couldn't help but feel a surge of red tinge his vision with suppressed rage.
Still, he managed to compose himself and asked the caretaker, "May I come in for a look?"
"Of course," the caretaker replied without hesitation, gesturing politely, "Please, sir, go ahead."
William nodded in thanks and stepped into the house.
He had thought that inside, he would find traces of Hayden's existence.
However, the place was immaculate and meticulously organized—there was no sign of Hayden whatsoever. Not the photos the caretaker had mentioned, nor any personal belongings, just the furniture and the mansion's structure.
It was clear she knew he would come, and not only had she left before his arrival, but she had also ensured everything was cleared out.
Now, William was left to rely on a single photo that Teresa had sent him to envision Hayden's life there.
Yet what he couldn't figure out was why Hayden avoided him.
She came back into his life, even got pregnant with his child—wasn't it all to reconcile with him?
Hah...
And now she’s deliberately hiding from him again.
William thought to himself, ‘Hayden, if you want to hide, then hide forever. Better still, never show your face around me again.’
In a swirl of anger and pain, William didn’t linger in the mansion. After a brief look around, he left.
Watching William drive away without a moment's pause, the caretaker who had received him dashed down to the basement.
There, in the wine cellar-turned-office, Hayden sat at the bar, her fingers flying over her laptop keyboard. She seemed immersed in work, making pivotal decisions for her company.
But despite the appearance of focus, her heart wasn't really in her work. It was with William.
To calm herself, to muster the restraint not to run to him, she forced herself to dive into her work.
And it worked.
Suddenly, the cellar door creaked open, and the caretaker stepped inside, announcing respectfully, "Hayden, Mr. Donaldson has left."
—He's gone.
Halting her work, Hayden lifted her gaze toward the housekeeper, a fleeting look of confusion washing over her face.
Then came a wave of loss, of bewilderment, of heartache, yet swiftly, in her eyes, a glimmer of relief emerged.
With a slight upturn of her lips, she bowed her head and gently laid her hands upon her swelling belly, a smile breaking forth.
Hayden had all her personal things taken out of the villa to trick William. She told the housekeeper to pass on a message to William and gave the rest of the staff the day off, asking them to come back the next day.
She wondered if her charade was too convincing or if William was simply that easy to fool. Either way, he left.
"All right, I've got it," Hayden responded, coming back to the moment. She nodded, stood up, and left the wine cellar, heading straight for the elevator.
She arrived at the second floor from the sub-basement and eagerly stepped out of the elevator. Moving to the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows, she gazed out at the vast expanse of snow.
