Chapter 472 William and Hayden （73）
At that point, she would be at her wits' end, with no one to turn to.
"Alright, I will convey Miss's wishes and hope that you can calm down and not further upset the sir," the bodyguard responded.
Having been by Finn's side for years, the bodyguard had grown fond of Hayden. Seeing the swollen cheeks and her pitiful look when she begged softened his heart.
"Okay, okay, sure," Hayden responded eagerly, nodding vigorously. I'll be good. Just please hurry and tell William to go. I'm begging you."
The bodyguard looked at her, furrowed his brow, and nodded, then he turned and left the room, closing the door with a loud thud behind him.
Hayden turned, leaned her back against the door, and slowly slid down to the floor.
She feared it might be a long time before she saw William again.
...
Initially, Finn had forbidden anyone to inform William, preferring to let him wait outside in the freezing conditions just to see how long he could last.
However, out of sympathy for Hayden, his personal bodyguard took the initiative and sent someone to tell William to leave, conveying that she didn't want to see him—she didn't want to see herself.
How could this be?
As the bodyguard turned to leave, William grabbed hold of him and urgently asked, "Is Hayden being confined by CEO Finn?"
Feeling an unexpected pang of sympathy, the bodyguard nodded at William and said, "Yes, she is. So, you better leave quickly and spare yourself the trouble."
After speaking, the bodyguard hurried away, fearing Finn would learn of the exchanges.
Hayden was confined.
Yes, William should've realized that.
Staring at the brightly lit, lavish villa, William opened the car door after what felt like an eternity and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter from the glove compartment that he hadn't used for a long time. He lit up a cigarette and drew on it forcefully.
With each inhale, a sharp pain struck his chest, but he didn't seem to care and kept puffing away.
The night deepened, and everything around became more silent, so quiet that the only sounds seemed to be the cold wind, together with William's own heartbeats and breaths.
Actually, he knew waiting any longer was just in vain.
Yet, he didn't want to leave, not at all.
Even if he were to leave and go back to his apartment, a sleepless night would be unavoidable. Rather than facing the loneliness and unease of home, he opted to stay here.
Here, at least, he was near Hayden.
He had unmistakably heard Hayden's voice just moments ago.
A steady stream of "William" echoed again and again.
How could it be that she didn't wish to see him?
She was just confined, unable to help it, not wanting him to wait here, enduring the chilling winds.
One cigarette after another, he smoked until the pain in his chest dulled, the warm breath and pale smoke blending together, indistinguishable.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he reached for another cigarette, only to find he had smoked the entire pack.
Looking down, the snow was quietly littered with over a dozen cigarette butts.
Suddenly, the sound of an engine approached from behind. William glanced up, and to his surprise, it was Jasper. Checking the time, it was already past two in the morning.
"I knew you'd be here," Jasper said as his car pulled up and stopped. He opened the door and, stepping onto the snow, crunched his way over to William. "You must've been here for a good four or five hours, huh?"
William squinted at him, his voice hoarse with a barely masked rasp, "Got a cigarette?"
"Uh-huh." Jasper didn't beat around the bush. He pulled out a pack and tossed it to him.
William caught it, drew one out, placed it between his lips, lit it, and resumed his heavy smoking.
Jasper stood by, observing how William had appeared even more mature and reserved in just half a day, his brows furrowing with concern.
...
It was as if the heavens were playing a trick. Just then, a heavy snowfall started to blanket everything again.
It had been years since Southern had seen such heavy snow.
The snowflakes steadily fell, quickly covering William and Jasper's heads and shoulders and then slowly melting.
"Looks like the snow is getting heavier, let's go back, it's freezing," Jasper said, frowning as he saw William finishing one cigarette and reaching for another despite the heap of butts in the snow by his feet.
Standing amidst the blizzard, William appeared as though he hadn't heard Jasper at all, cupping his hands to shield his lighter as he ignited yet another cigarette.
"If you won't go back, at least sit in the car," Jasper suggested, half-joking. "If you collapse here, I might not be able to carry you. Plus, if Hayden somehow gets out, you won't even have the strength to elope with her." Watching him, Jasper chuckled.
Narrowing his intense gaze, William exhaled a plume of smoke and lapsed into a contemplative silence. Jasper hovered on the precipice of uncertainty, pondering if a response would be forthcoming. Then, with a subtle "Hmm," William shattered the silence, pivoted, and jerked the car door open, sliding into the driver's seat with practiced ease.
Jasper mirrored the action with a knowing smile, sliding into the passenger seat beside him.
Once in the car, William started the engine and turned on the heat. Soon, the interior warmed up.
But whether it was cold or warm, William couldn't feel a thing.
Right now, he was nearly numb, with only the clarity of suppressed anguish and pain in his heart.
