Chapter 4
William said it without batting an eye.
I stared at him in disbelief, my eyes full of despair, completely broken.
Back when we got into college, I really thought I could make a better life for my parents through my own efforts.
But less than three months into my freshman year, my mom had to go in for surgery again, and that time, she never made it out.
I was in pain for a long time, but there was nothing I could do. All I could do was try to be good to my dad, hoping he could finally enjoy his life.
But just two years later, my dad collapsed from all those years of hard work. After that, he was being treated at the Kent Group's hospital.
William knew my dad was all I had left, and he still used his life to threaten me.
I sat numbly on the floor, feeling like everything in front of me was unreal.
William looked at my pale face, his gaze softened with reluctant sympathy.
"Emily, I don't want to use your father as leverage against you, but right now, it's the only way to help you calm down," he said.
All the strength drained out of me. I slowly looked up at him, thinking he was just faking it.
"I won't bring up breaking up again, and I won't call Lily out online. Mr. Kent, go ahead and be with your Lily. I won't get in your way," I said coldly.
After that, I just stared at the floor, shutting him out completely.
William could see I was done with him. He wanted to say more, but the hate online was blowing up, and he had to get his PR team to handle it ASAP.
"Don't worry. I'll make it up to you," he said.
With that, he turned and walked out of the room.
I sat there on the floor, listening as he gave cautious orders to the people outside.
"Wait until the official post goes up before you let her out," he said.
I gave a self-mocking laugh. William was really going all out to protect his Lily.
I'd already agreed, but he still didn't trust me not to change my mind.
If he cared about her that much, he could just break up with me and marry Lily. Why did he have to keep holding onto me?
I sat on the floor, waiting in silence. After about half an hour, the maid came in and untied me, with two bodyguards following close behind her.
It was like they were afraid I'd bolt and ruin their plans.
I flexed my sore wrists, picked up my phone, unlocked it, and opened up Twitter.
The Kent Group's official account had posted a statement a little while ago, solemnly declaring that their CEO, William Kent, and Lily Monroe had been together for years, and that their engagement party would be held in three days.
As for all the netizens tagging me, insisting I was the real girlfriend, the statement dismissed it as me being bitter after failing to become the mistress and trying to play the victim online.
With just a single line, they slapped the label of shameless homewrecker on me.
It was no wonder William didn't trust me one bit and went as far as threatening me with my dad's life.
With my temper, if I hadn't been under threat, I would've gone off on them without holding back.
I gave a bitter smile and scrolled down.
Sure enough, after the Kent Group put out their statement, the whole narrative flipped, and everyone was coming for me.
[So, she really is the shameless side chick. Looks cute, but who knew she was that kind of person.]
[Pretty face, young, and a "famous" artist. Yeah, we all know how she got that reputation.]
[Mr. Kent and his girlfriend are totally perfect together, and she tried to break them up? Talk about making a fool of herself.]
[If you're trash as a person, your art's trash too, no matter how good it looks. Gross.]
[Does anyone know where this shameless chick lives? I know how to throw hands, and I can't stand homewreckers.]
[I'm with the person above. Homewreckers like her deserve to be beaten to a pulp and dumped on the street.]
The hate just kept pouring in, and some people even slid into my DMs just to tell me to go die.
All this crap was happening because William figured I was strong enough to handle it, so he let me take the hit.
I locked my phone and glanced at the maid, who looked like she wanted to say something but was holding it in. I asked quietly, "Anything else?"
The maid masked the pity in her eyes and answered respectfully, "Mr. Kent said before he left that you can't leave the house until the engagement party is over."
So, William was keeping me trapped here, just to make sure he could marry Lily without any trouble.
I kept my tone cold. "Just because I can't go out whenever I want doesn't mean I'm completely banned from leaving.
"Let William know I want to visit my dad at the hospital."
My dad was still at the Kent Group's hospital, and whether he got proper treatment depended entirely on William. So, I had to tread carefully at that moment.
The maid hesitated, then took out her phone. "I need to check with Mr. Kent about this. Please wait a moment."
She said that and left the room, coming back two minutes later.
"Mr. Kent said you can go, but you have to take bodyguards with you to keep you safe," the maid said.
I gave a sarcastic smirk.
They called it "safety," but really, it was just so they could keep an eye on me.
Swallowing my frustration, I didn't protest. I packed up quickly and left, the bodyguards in tow.
The car stopped in front of the Kent family's hospital. Before I got out, I remembered all the hot search drama online and slipped on a mask to avoid any unnecessary trouble.
The two bodyguards stuck to me like glue as I walked inside. When I got in the elevator, a few strangers were already gossiping about the scandal.
"Hey, did you hear about that well-known woman painter who tried to steal someone's man?"
"Of course. Everyone's dragging her online. Honestly, she looks like a total bitch, just screams trouble."
"Right? She thinks she can butt in just because she's pretty. She should know she's way out of her league. Mr. Kent and Ms. Monroe have been childhood friends. They're totally made for each other."
"The engagement party's in three days, and I just saw the official account post that the first thousand people to send their blessings will get at least 3,000 dollars each. Mr. Kent's really pulling out all the stops to back up his sweetheart."
Just then, the elevator doors slid open, and the group stepped out, leaving me alone with the two bodyguards.
As I replayed their words in my mind, I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous it all was.
William kept saying he'd wait for the storm to pass, but now he's spending millions on the engagement party, all for Lily.
He's the CEO of the Kent Group. There was no way he didn't know this would just draw even more attention to this mess.
He was so busy backing Lily up that he didn't give a damn about how much trouble this brought me.
I closed my eyes, trying not to think about it anymore. When I reached the hospital room door, I turned to the bodyguards trailing behind me.
"William sent you here to keep tabs on me, right?
"This is the top floor of the hospital. I can't exactly make a run for it. Just wait outside. I'll be out in a bit."
The two bodyguards nodded and replied seriously.
"Mr. Kent said you can't stay in there for too long. Please come out as soon as you can. Don't put us in a tough spot," one of them said.
I clenched my fists and nodded. Only then did they agree to wait outside.
I opened the hospital room door.
My dad immediately opened his eyes and looked over, his eyes lighting up with delight.
"Emily, what brings you here?" he asked.
He tried to sit up, and I rushed over to help him, tucking a pillow behind his back.
"Dad, I just missed you and wanted to come see you," I said softly.
I smiled at him, keeping quiet about everything that had gone down these past couple of days.
Dad had been in the hospital for ages and had only just started feeling a bit better. I didn't want him to hear about William's latest drama and make himself sick over it.
He listened, looked me over carefully, then shook his head with a gentle smile.
"Kiddo, I can tell you've got something on your mind. You might fool everyone else, but you can't fool me.
"Come on, talk to your old man. What's really going on?"