Chapter 6 Her Refusal: I'm Busy
As William Brown drove back to the villa, his phone kept ringing.
He glanced at the incoming call from Cleo and felt a headache coming on.
On the final ring, he hit the brakes and answered.
"Grandma," he said gently.
“Oh, so you do remember I’m your grandmother!” Cleo's sharp voice rang through the phone. "What's going on with Isabella?"
William rubbed his temples and forced patience into his tone. "Isabella is sick. She doesn’t mean any harm.”
"William, is there something wrong with your brain?" Cleo scolded. “No harm? She knows you’re a married man, yet she’s still tangled up with you like this. I’ve never come across a woman so shameless. End it with her immediately and make things right with Amelia!”
William frowned. Amelia's face flashed through his mind.
A flicker of irritation rose in his chest.
"Did Amelia complain to you?" His voice turned cold.
“Does Amelia need to?” Cleo shot back. “It’s all over the internet. William, listen to me. Amelia is your wife. How could you stand next to another woman and watch your wife be humiliated?”
"Do you have any idea how that makes her look? There were reporters everywhere!"
William remembered the scene. The hurt that flickered in Amelia’s eyes. It looked bad.
Then he pushed the thought aside.
"No, Grandma. She saw the news online and deliberately went to the hospital to confront Isabella."
“Let me speak to him.” Finn brown took the phone.
"William." Finn's said gravely. "You were the one who brought Amelia to me and said you wanted to marry her. You made that choice. Now you need to take responsibility.”
"Grandpa—"
"Come home for dinner tonight," Finn interrupted. "Bring Amelia."
Without giving him a chance to respond, Finn hung up.
William sat alone in the car.
His fingers drummed unconsciously against the steering wheel, his brow furrowed. He pulled up Amelia’s contact.
She still hadn't replied to his earlier message.
Suppressing his irritation, he called her.
It rang for a long time before she finally answered.
"What are you doing?" William asked coldly.
"Is there something you need?" Amelia replied, not answering his question.
William rubbed his forehead. "Why did you go to the hospital to confront Isabella today?"
"I didn't," Amelia said calmly. "I went to see Mia."
"Amelia, don't lie to me!" His impatience flared.
From the other end came a soft, casual laugh.
Like she couldn’t care less.
It irritated him even more.
But remembering Finn's order, he reined himself in.
"Come home with me tonight," he said at last.
"I'm not free." Amelia's voice was steady, without hesitation.
"It's Grandpa's order," William added, frowning.
The next second, the call ended.
Only the busy tone remained.
William stared at his phone, stunned, his brows knitted tightly.
When he called again, she did not answer.
Traffic moved steadily around him. He sat in silence for a long moment before restarting the engine and heading back to their marital villa.
The sky had gone dark by the time he parked.
He strode into the house. The second he opened the door, his expression turned cold.
"Amelia."
He called her name, but there was no response.
Only then did he notice the entryway was dark. The whole house was.
He paused. In the past, no matter how late he returned, at least one lamp had always been left on for him. Often, Amelia would be asleep on the sofa, a book resting in her hands as she waited.
William switched on the lights and looked toward the sofa.
It was empty.
A strange restlessness started to hit him.
He turned on every light and searched room by room.
She was not in the living room. Nor was she in the kitchen. Not even the bathroom!
She was in none of the bedrooms. Or the study.
She just wasn't home.
And she wasn't answering his calls either.
Where had she gone?
She had to be angry about the divorce rumors, and so she was throwing a fit.
It didn't matter.
She would understand eventually. Isabella only had six months left. Amelia would always be his legal wife.
But even if she refused to go to the Brown Villa, he still had to show up.
With that thought, William went to the storage room and took out several boxes of health supplements.
On his way out, he hesitated. He set them down and went back to the bedroom.
The room still carried the faint scent of the perfume he had once given her.
His expression softened slightly.
He packed a few changes of clothes and left in a hurry.
He did not notice that in the large wardrobe, where their clothes had once hung side by side, only his remained.
He missed the fact that the items that had once come in pairs now stood alone.
The warmth was gone. Only cold emptiness remained.
...
Meanwhile, at a beauty center across town, Amelia Smith and Mia Wilson were having their nails done.
Mia noticed that Amelia had deliberately chosen pregnancy-safe products and shook her head helplessly.
"Didn't you say you were going to terminate it? Why are you still choosing pregnancy-safe materials?"
Amelia smiled faintly. "As long as it's still in my body, I'll choose the safer option."
Mia shrugged, admiring her glittering nails.
Amelia lowered her gaze to her own hands.
William had always had stomach problems.
After she married him, she’d cooked every day and stopped getting her nails done.
"Whatever works," Mia said. "As long as you're willing to change."
She added, “Nails are just the tip of the iceberg. Next up: your hair and your wardrobe.”
Amelia laughed softly.
"I remember when we weren't even ten years old, we were already sneaking around in high heels," Mia continued.
"There's no reason to go backwards now."
She sighed dramatically. "It's a pity I'm a doctor now. I can't be too flashy."
Amelia smiled.
She had always been bold and vibrant.
It was only after falling in love with William that she had reshaped herself to suit his preferences.
How many nights had she believed true happiness meant being with the one she loved, cooking for him, raising children, and growing old together?
Now it all felt like a joke.
Fortunately, it was not too late.
She would take her life back.
Step by step.
