Chapter 553 William and Hayden
William glanced at Michelle's hands and smiled ambiguously. Then, withdrawing his own hand, his deep and mellow voice remained warm and serene, void of any emotion as he stated, "You're misunderstanding. In the future, do not mention Hayden in front of me."
With those words, William turned around and walked away without another word.
"William, does this mean you're no longer angry with me?" Michelle immediately followed his departing figure with her gaze, questioning.
William's steps halted briefly. He turned back, gave her a fleeting glance, said nothing, and then redirected his gaze, continuing his brisk departure.
Meeting his gaze, Michelle was suddenly delighted. She realized that William genuinely detested Hayden now.
Despite Hayden and William breaking up over five years ago and having had no contact since, especially with Hayden having completely moved on from William, how could any connection still exist between them?
"Hayden, Mr. Wills has checked into Sunset Haven Resort. His secretary confirmed that he sometimes has dinner with you between 7 to 8 in the evening."
Inside the Executive Director's office of the Bush Smith Group in Imperial Capital, Hayden attentively reviewed documents while listening to her secretary Chloe's report.
After hearing the update, Hayden nodded and instructed, "Then, please arrange for dinner at the Sunset Haven Resort restaurant from 7 to 8 in the evening."
Wills' visit was primarily for discussing cooperation with the Bush Smith Group, a matter which Hayden couldn't neglect.
"Yes, Hayden," Chloe nodded, swiftly leaving to make the arrangements.
Time flies when you're busy. Unbeknownst to her, it was already half past six in the afternoon. Chloe approached Hayden's office door, respectfully reminding her, "Hayden, it's almost time for you to depart for Sunset Haven Resort to have dinner with Mr. Wills."
Hayden had not forgotten this engagement. Glancing at her watch, she promptly tidied up her documents, shut down her computer, retouched her makeup in the restroom, and then headed straight to Sunset Haven Resort.
Wills was staying in the presidential suite on the top floor of the Sunset Haven Resort. Upon arriving at the hotel, Wills was still in his suite and personally called Hayden, mentioning that he had a gift for her.
With this information, Hayden decided to go to the top floor first.
Having met William abroad three years ago, they had transitioned from business partners to good friends. Upon reaching the hotel, after Chloe explained the situation to the concierge, a waiter guided Hayden to take a private elevator to the top floor.
Unexpectedly, as they arrived at the private elevator shaft, another elevator promptly reached the first floor. The doors slid open, revealing a familiar face that caught Hayden's eye in an instant.
Over the past four years, Hayden had been keeping tabs on Aurora Global Networks, no, the Bennett Group's developments and William's personal information. However, William seemed particularly discreet; aside from basic online profiles, little more could be unearthed about him.
Three years later, to suddenly encounter William at Sunset Haven Resort in Imperial Capital left Hayden taken aback.
As she gazed at William's increasingly mature, enigmatic, and remarkably handsome face, Hayden found herself momentarily lost in thought.
Since their brief encounter four years ago in Viva City, Hayden had always felt she knew William from before.
Exiting the elevator, William glanced up, locking eyes with Hayden standing outside. The warmth in his expression almost imperceptibly turned chilly in an instant.
After that brief moment, William withdrew his gaze, turned around, and left without delay.
Jeffrey followed closely behind William. Upon seeing Hayden, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes before he proceeded to depart alongside William.
Observing William, Hayden reacted impulsively and chased after him, intercepting him, and looking up at him asked, "William, do we know each other, and is there a misunderstanding between us?"
Accompanied by Chloe, who watched her actions with concern, Hayden's intense gaze upon William was met with his deep, unreadable eyes and a hint of coldness and mockery in his faint smile as he bluntly remarked, "Ms. Hayden, is this how you seduce men?"
"Seduce men?"
As Hayden watched him, her brow furrowed slightly. "William, I believe you..."
However, before she could finish expressing her belief of a misunderstanding, William moved past her swiftly, leaving without a pause.
Turning around, Hayden's eyes followed his dignified figure, and in the depths of her mind, vague images suddenly flashed.
Although the contents were unclear, the figure therein seemed to merge with William's silhouette before her.
"This William is quite arrogant, isn't he!" Chloe couldn't help but murmur, watching William depart.
Having been by Hayden's side for several years, Chloe had never witnessed a man, especially one, speaking to Hayden with such an attitude.
Unperturbed by Chloe's comment, Hayden raised a hand to her forehead, closed her eyes, and attempted to sharpen the blurred images in her mind.
Seeing her distress, Chloe hurried over to support her, anxiously asking, "Hayden, what's wrong?"
Despite her efforts, the images in Hayden's mind grew increasingly indistinct and eventually faded away entirely.
"I'm fine." Failing to conjure the memories, Hayden gave up, opened her eyes, glanced at Chloe, and then headed towards the open elevator.
Assured of Hayden's well-being, Chloe breathed a sigh of relief and quickly followed her into the elevator.
Soon, the elevator doors closed and ascended swiftly to the top floor.
**Crash!**
**Crash!**
**Ah!**
Midway through the ascent, the elevator suddenly jolted to a stop, followed by a descending motion. Startled, Chloe let out a scream, and in an instant, the lights inside the elevator went out, shrouding it in complete darkness.
The unexpected halt and subsequent descent disconcerted Hayden as well, although she reacted differently from Chloe. Instead of screaming, she instinctively pressed against the elevator wall for safety.
As the elevator plunged into darkness, Hayden's mind was suddenly filled with unfamiliar images. People in the scenes were none other than Hayden and William.
Initially, an image of William being struck by several bodyguards flashed before her, with Hayden rushing forward, shielding him and tearfully pleading, "Stop! I'll go with you, I'll go with you!"
In a blink, the scene transitioned to another familiar room, where William pinned Hayden on a couch, and they engaged in a fervent and passionate embrace.
Abruptly, the scene shifted to a snowy landscape; sitting in a car, Hayden gazed through the window at a man standing amidst the snowy expanse.
It was William, unmistakably William!
"Hayden, Hayden, are you alright?" Suddenly, Chloe rushed over, clutching Hayden's arm, dispersing the images from her mind.
"Get off!" Those images were too crucial for Hayden at that moment, and she desperately wanted to recall more. Therefore, when Chloe rushed over and disrupted the memories in her mind, the next second Hayden, frustrated, pushed Chloe away.
"Ah!"
After a sharp cry, followed by a muted thud, Chloe fell in the elevator, and groans of discomfort filled the air.
"Chloe, are you okay?"
Upon hearing the sound, Hayden belatedly realized her recent actions and immediately reached for her phone, using its light to see.
Witnessing Chloe lying on the floor, visibly in pain, Hayden hurried to help her up.
"Ladies, don't be afraid, and don't worry. I'll notify someone right away, and everything will be fine," reassured the waiter, having encountered elevator malfunctions before. Calmly, he comforted Hayden and Chloe before promptly making a call.
Hayden nodded at the waiter's response.
"Hayden, I'm fine, how about you?" Steadying herself, Chloe inquired about Hayden's well-being.
With a furrowed brow, Hayden shook her head. "I'm fine. Lean against the elevator, it might be more comfortable for you."
Chloe complied, as her twisted ankle made it difficult for her to move, so she slowly shifted aside and leaned against the elevator wall.
Shortly after, the waiter called and, within six to seven minutes, the elevator doors were opened, allowing Hayden and Chloe to safely exit.
Given Chloe's injury, Hayden instructed her to go see a doctor first. Then, she entered another elevator and proceeded to meet Mr. Wills.
As Wills had other engagements that evening, their dinner concluded by eight o'clock.
On the surface, Hayden and Wills enjoyed their meal, chatting cheerfully. However, beneath Hayden's laughter lay burdensome thoughts, which even Wills noticed.
Reluctant to delve deeper, Hayden kept silent, and Wills refrained from prying further.
Exiting Sunset Haven Resort, Hayden got into her car yet didn't head home directly. Instead, she reached out to Isabella.
Despite conversing with Wills throughout the meal, Hayden's thoughts were consumed moment by moment by memories of William.
Based on the sudden recall of those previous elevator-encapsulated images, Hayden was now convinced that she had an extraordinary past with William.
Aware that she had developed selective amnesia nearly five years ago, losing memories of the preceding ten months, Hayden couldn't shake the suspicion that it was linked closely to William and the Johnson family.
Hayden understood her rare condition resulted from severe brain trauma, as the doctors and Finn had explained at the time. However, upon reflecting, she found the circumstances peculiar.
If she had suffered head injuries in a car accident, why had she awakened without any physical scars?
Most notably, the swift downfall of Sophia and the Johnson family due to her coma, leading to their complete disappearance from her life, seemed inexplicable.
If Finn's accounts of the Johnson family's turmoil were accurate, what about Daniel?
As Finn's sole biological child, Daniel, upon his official return with Sophia to the Bush Smith family, had been Finn's treasure, lavished with every indulgence.
Upon Hayden's awakening and the Johnson family's misfortunes, Finn had sent Daniel off to Woodland.
Even though Hayden hadn't deliberately sought information about Daniel in these five years, sporadic reports indicated Daniel was not faring well in Woodland, persistently seeking Finn's approval to return, only to be consistently rebuffed. Eventually, Finn stopped answering Daniel's calls altogether.
All these events seemed incredibly strange.
Preoccupied with studies and career pursuits, Hayden had overlooked these anomalies and refrained from investigating or discussing them. Now, fragments of memories involving William flooded back to her.
Almost certain that the missing memories related to a unique connection between her and William, Hayden was determined to understand how their relationship had soured and why he harbored such animosity towards her.
