Chapter 14 William McDonald

Elena Romano's POV: 

With Sofia's nudge, I made my way over to the young guy.

He was seriously good-looking—thick eyebrows, long lashes, and these gentle blue eyes that looked like gemstones.

His blonde hair was slicked back with some gel.

Honestly, he was way more handsome than any guy I'd ever seen.

"Hey, I'm Elena."

"Elena Garcia, right? Sofia's sister, the star of tonight's party."

His words made me blush. It felt like he was teasing me about my little mishap earlier.

He quickly caught on and apologized. "Sorry, I didn't mean to mock you."

"I get it, no worries. My performance at the party was pretty bad. As much as I hate to admit it, calling me the star isn't wrong." I tried to reassure him.

He seemed sincere, and compared to the others who gave me a hard time, I didn't think he meant any harm.

Plus, he might've been the one who saved me from the chaos.

The terrace was a bit chilly, and the wind made my hair dance. "What's your name?"

"I'm William McDonald." He introduced himself, looking curious about why I approached him. I hesitated, wondering if I should just ask if he was the one who helped me.

If I was wrong, it'd be super embarrassing.

"It's about what happened earlier. Did you help me when I fell at the banquet? I need to thank whoever helped me, but I don't know who it was."

"So you came to find me because you think..." William trailed off, but I think he got what I meant.

I nodded.

He didn't answer right away. He glanced into the banquet hall, like he was looking for someone. "Why?"

I quickly explained, "The Garcia family's maid said she heard a name that sounded like yours, and Sofia mentioned that among the guests, only your name matched."

"Then I guess you probably..."

"William, so you were the one who saved my sister?" Sofia suddenly appeared, interrupting us. She was super excited, praising William and thanking him for what he did for me. "I was looking for the family doctor at the time, so I missed it. William, I bet you looked so dashing then."

"Sofia, you're making it hard for William to answer."

I still wasn't sure if William was the guy, and he hadn't directly answered me.

"I looked dashing? Sofia, really?

Everything that happened at the party, of course. I mean, no one would leave a lady lying there awkwardly, and neither would I."

William's attitude suddenly became clear, like he was admitting he was the guy.

I frowned. "But that coat..."

"What coat?" Sofia looked at me. I didn't answer, just shook my head, blushing, and thanked William.

Maybe the maid had cleaned the coat and returned it to him.

William was a great conversationalist, always interesting and smiling.

He asked about my hobbies, and after I answered, he asked Sofia. Chatting with him was really enjoyable.

He never seemed to ignore me.

Sofia didn't stay long. Isabella called her away to greet other people.

Isabella didn't call me along, probably still upset about our earlier argument.

After Sofia left, it was just William and me on the terrace.

"Do you and Sofia get along well? I thought you might not, given your statuses and the fact that you haven't spent much time together."

"No, Sofia's great. Lots of people like her, and I do too."

Sophia's reminder seemed baseless, and I started to hesitate again. 

"She's like an angel, I get what you mean." William seemed really happy.

Then he asked if I'd done anything fun since coming back to the Garcia family and introduced me to Los Angeles. "Have you gone anywhere fun since you got back to LA?"

"No, I haven't had the time, but I'd love to if I get the chance."

William was a true gentleman.

Because of his help, I wanted to make a good impression on him.

He asked, "So why not in a couple of days? Maybe we could go together? Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

Was this an invitation for a date?

My face started to heat up, and my heart began to race.

I never really thought about romance before. Invitations from guys always bored me, and work took up all my time.

But now, without all those struggles, hearing William's invite got me really excited.

"Hollywood Walk of Fame?" That was the first thing that popped into my head. "Or maybe Disneyland?"

I had no clue where rich people liked to go, but those places were already pretty fancy for the old me.

William didn't laugh at me. Instead, he nodded and said those were both great ideas. "Maybe we could also invite Sofia? Do you know if she has time soon?"

As he spoke, his gaze drifted back to the banquet hall.

"I don't know."

"Alright, I just thought... Sofia's always so kind and gentle. Maybe she thinks you might be lonely and wants to spend more time with you."

"I don't need anyone to keep me company."

I wasn't some lonely puppy or kitten.

William's disappointment was obvious.

I could see he had some sort of affection for Sofia, which made my excitement feel like a matchstick doused in water. I felt a bit sad.

Well, the Cinderella story didn't seem to be mine, but that was okay.

William was a gentleman. He just helped me, and I was fantasizing.

But I still wanted to go to the Hollywood Walk of Fame or Disneyland, and I hoped someone could go with me, so I agreed to ask Sofia if she wanted to join us.

William was very grateful, and we exchanged contact info.

The party ended quickly, and I handed out gifts to the guests.

Although the start of the party had some hiccups, the ending was smooth.

It was really late when the party wrapped up.

My parents went back to their cold expressions after the party. I thought they might still blame me for my mistakes, but they didn't tell the maid to have me see them.

I figured they might do it tomorrow.

In the lounge, James tugged at his collar, looking around grumpily. "Where did that little brat go? Today is his sister's homecoming party, didn't anyone tell him to arrive early?"

"Dad, I saw Albert. He's already home. It's really late now; you should rest. You'll see him tomorrow."

"Damn it, if he keeps being so willful, I'll kick him out of the Garcia family."

James stomped his foot angrily, while Isabella sat on the sofa, leisurely applying a face mask. "Stop it, your threats are useless against that guy."

I thought the Albert they mentioned was probably my brother, but no one had told me anything about him until now.

No one seemed willing to introduce me to this family member. It seemed like everyone was reluctant to mention him.

Was Albert an unpopular guy?

I asked, "Dad, who is Albert?"

"Elena, don't even bring up that jerk. You'll spoil your dad's evening." Isabella also showed some resistance towards Albert.

Was this guy an annoying demon like Andrew?

My curiosity wasn't satisfied.

After returning to my room, I fell asleep with questions in my mind.

In the middle of the night, I suddenly woke up to faint voices coming from outside the window.

I walked to the window and looked out. Two people were standing in the garden on the second floor of the villa. The villa had an open-air garden and a swimming pool on the second floor.

From my bedroom, I could see them through the window.

From their intertwined figures, they seemed to be passionately kissing.

Who was doing such a thing in the garden in the middle of the night?

Through the moonlight, I saw a man's face. He looked somewhat similar to me and also to Isabella.

Was he the Albert my parents mentioned before? Who was he kissing?

The female figure he was holding looked very familiar. I wondered if she was one of the maids in the house.

While I was thinking, they had already finished. The woman left, and the man looked towards my window.

He seemed to have noticed me standing by the window and gestured for me to open it.

I opened the window and looked at him.

"Elena, my sister. Good morning.

Please keep this a secret for me. Of course, if you don't want to, that's fine too." He waved and greeted me.