Chapter 10

William walks in front of the rest of the group of men towards the front door. He enters the house and walks down the hall toward the living room. He hears voices from the living room. He slowly makes his way into the room, and his mother notices him. She gestures for him to come closer. 

His eyes search for Lianna as he strolls to his mother. Lianna is not here. Perhaps she is in their room. He gives his mother a peck on her cheek before he sits on the armrest next to her.

“How was your day?” he asks his mother, his eyes darting around the room. Evelyn is also missing in action. 

“It was wonderful. Exactly what we all needed.” William nods and watches as the other men enter the living room, greeting everyone. 

“Where is Lianna?” he asks as he leans closer to his mother. She shrugs and turns her head to his father. He should have known. He stands up, but his mother gets a hold of his arm. 

“Where are you going? Tell me about your day.” His mother pulls him back to the armrest and he sits down. His father interrupts him to talk about how he almost beat William. William just nods along, subtly looking around at the other people in the living room.

William notices Isaac walking past the living room toward the stairs. He is probably going to check in with Bianca. William listens in on the other conversations in the room. 

“Evelyn was too kind today. She paid for the spa day.” William hears Laura say. That would explain why Lianna did not use his card. He was worried something might have happened to her. 

He excuses himself before he walks out. He heads up the stairs and walks down the hall to his room. He passes Isaac.

“Hey, how is B?”

“She is okay. She seems much better than this morning, so I guess it might have been a stomach bug,” Isaac says with a relieved smile. William pats Isaac’s arm. “I’m just getting her some water. Are you going to your room?” William nods.

“I’m going to see whether Lianna is in our room. I don’t know where else she might be,” William says, walking to his room. He hears Isaac humming as he walks down the stairs.

William checks his phone, seeing that it is currently 17:00. They stopped at the pub to eat something and cool down after a whole day in the sun. He wonders whether the women had something to eat.

William bumps into someone and grunts at the impact.

“Sorry,” he says as looks up from his phone. Evelyn stands in front of him in a black dress. William’s eyes trail down the dress. It is a beautiful dress. He had Evelyn in all sorts of dresses, but this is one of the more elegant ones she wore. Her go-to is usually more revealing.

“You like it?” Evelyn asks with a smooth voice. William must admit that it looks great, even on Evelyn. She has always had the ability to look good no matter what she wears. She would probably not look too bad in a plastic bag.

“Where did you get that dress?” he asks and looks over his shoulder. Where is Lianna? He hopes she was able to survive Evelyn. What if she left? Evelyn steps closer to William.

“At one of the stores. I know you like it,” she says, her hand moving to his shoulder. He tenses when she touches him, inching away from her. He keeps his eyes on the wall behind her.

“Did you see Lianna?” Evelyn shakes her head, stepping even closer to him. She tries to pin him between her body and the door. The door is not completely closed and they both tumble into Isaac’s room.

Evelyn lands on top of William. William is frozen, the memories flashing through his head. He inhales sharply and closes his eyes.

“Excuse me, what the hell?” Bianca asks, disgusted at the sight in front of her. William gets up, pushing Evelyn off him. She gasps when she hits the floor and looks up at William. He ignores her stare and focuses on Bianca.

“B, how are you feeling?” William manages to mask the frustration and panic. What was Evelyn thinking? No, what was he thinking? 

“Better. What are you doing here?” she asks and motions to Evelyn. Evelyn stands up with a scoff and glares at William. Bianca notices the dress. She had never liked Evelyn, but now she finally has proof as to why. Bianca glares at Evelyn and gestures for her to leave.

With an exaggerated huff, Evelyn storms out of the room. Bianca frowns at William and he wipes his hands against his jean.

“I don’t know what has gotten into her. Sorry to have disturbed you,” he apologizes and turns to walk out. Bianca bites her lip. Should she tell him about the dress? Lianna probably would not tell him.

“Wait, I have something to tell you. Have you spoken to Lianna yet?” Bianca sits up and puffs the pillow up behind her. William turns around and shakes his head.

“No. I was heading to my room to see whether she is there. What is wrong? Did something happen?” William pauses near the edge of the bed. Bianca pats the bed to show William he should probably sit.

“Yeah, a lot happened,” Bianca says, and William sits down on the edge of the bed with raised brows. He is not going to believe this.

 

William opens the door to his room and quietly walks in. Lianna lies on the bed, wrapped in blankets. She is sprawled out on the bed, fast asleep. William sits down on the edge of the bed. She has her earphones in and he can hear the music playing. He shifts closer to her and places his hand on her leg. He shakes her softly.

“Lianna, wake up.” She lifts her head from the pillow and looks at him. She yawns without covering her mouth.

“Ugh, hi. How was the golf?” she asks, tucking her elbow under her head.

“It was fun,” he says with a smile. Lianna gives him a thumbs-up and closes her eyes. She lets out a soft sigh.

“Are you joining us for dinner?” he asks, standing up. Lianna lifts her head to look at William. She gestures to herself in the blankets before shaking her head. She lets her head fall back and stares at the ceiling.

“Tagliolini and white truffle.” William informs her about the dinner choice. Lianna scrunches her nose up in disgust.

“I don’t even know what that is. It sounds like a disease,” she says and shakes her head. William chuckles at her statement as he throws his towel over his shoulder. 

“It is all good. I’m also stuffed from the pub,” he says, and Lianna shoots up. 

“What did you eat at the pub?”

“Hamburgers,” he says and walks to the bathroom. 

“Lucky bastard. I would kill for real food,” she says and falls back on the bed. 

“I can order something for you. My mother will not be offended," William offers. Lianna laughs loudly and raises a brow at him.

“Yeah, I suppose your right. She will be offended,” he says and enters the bathroom. The door closes and she adjusts her earphones. Right now, she wants to continue catching up on the sleep she missed. 

 

Lianna slowly opens her eyes. She yawns while she stretches her neck. 

“You’re awake," William says next to her. She looks up at him and realizes she is cuddling with him. She rolls away from him onto her stomach, nearly knocking the laptop from his lap. She lifts herself and stares at him. William relaxes against the pillows behind his back with his laptop on his lap. He chuckles.

“You scared me. What’s the time?” she asks, untangling her earphones.

“Half past eight,” he answers and continues to type. She checks her phone. Her dad called her. She will call him back. She gets out of bed and walks to the small table next to the sofa where her water bottle is standing. She takes her bottle and drinks some water before she opens her bag. She searches for her medicine bag. 

“What are you doing?” William asks, looking over his laptop at her.

“I’m looking for some headache pills. I did pack some. Ah, here it is,” she says and takes two from the pill holder. She chugs it down with the water. 

Someone knocks on the door and Lianna frowns at William. Who could that be? William points to the door and she sighs. She slowly walks to the door, straightening her oversized t-shirt. She swings the door open.

“Hi,” Evelyn says with a high voice. Lianna closes the door, but Evelyn puts her foot in the way. “I just want to talk.” She forces the door open and smiles at Lianna. Lianna crosses her arms, leaning against the wall. 

“Yeah?” Lianna asks, not in the mood for Evelyn. She is really annoying. Evelyn tucks a lock behind her ear and Lianna notices the black dress. Lianna hates to admit it, but Evelyn is definitely wearing that better than Lianna ever could.

“Is Will here?” Lianna looks over her shoulder, wondering whether William would want to talk to her. She sees William shaking his head frantically. Lianna turns back to Evelyn and also shakes her head. Evelyn frowns slightly.  

“Well, if you see him could you be a doll and give him this? He left it with me,” she says while handing Lianna his phone. Lianna takes the phone before going to close the door again.

“Wait.” Evelyn stops her again. “I know you’re angry about the dress, but you have to understand why I did it.” Lianna scratches her forehead and laughs quietly.

“Listen, Evelyn. I’m tired. You were right. You look much better in that dress. I would have ruined it.” Lianna’s voice is tinted with sarcasm, but Evelyn does not seem to catch on. “So, congratulations. You win the beauty pageant. Here is your golden sticker,” Lianna says as she pretends to put a sticker on Evelyn’s shoulder “Good night.” Lianna gestures for Evelyn to get out of the way so that she can close the door. 

“Will couldn’t keep his eyes off it,” Evelyn says and tilts her head. “I got you something as compensation. Here,” she holds out a bag to Lianna. Lianna takes the bag and looks inside. She bites back a laugh and lifts the bag.

“Thank you,” Lianna says and closes the door in Evelyn’s face. She walks back to the bed and sees William staring at her with wide eyes. His eyes flicker to the bag and Lianna throws it to him along with his phone. It falls next to him on the bed. He pulls the dress out of the bag.

“What is that?” he asks, shocked at the hideous dress. Lianna laughs as she walks into the bathroom. 

William places his laptop on the bed and puts the dress on his lap. The blue is not a flattering color and the material is hard under his fingers. Lianna exits the bathroom and William chucks the dress back to her.

“Try it on,” he says with a cheeky smile. Lianna pulls her face in disgust at the thought of having that material against her skin. William chuckles and gestures to the dress. “Humor me.” Lianna looks at the dress and then at William.

She lets out a defeated sigh and heads back to the bathroom with the dress. William waits a while as he hears her struggling with the dress. Just when he is about to offer his help, the door swings open and Lianna appears.

The blue material sits tightly against Lianna’s skin. The puffy shoulders are pushing Lianna’s hair up and the short, puffy skirt shows Lianna’s pale legs.

“Don’t you dare,” she warns him, but William bursts out laughing. He folds over on the bed, his laugh growing. Lianna shakes her head with a small smile.

“I’m sorry, I-“ he cannot finish his sentence as he laughs too much. Lianna walks to the mirror next to the bed and looks disgusted at herself. William tries to hold back his laugh, but he snickers.

“Where did she find this? It looks like something from the ’80s.” William chuckles again and stands up from the bed. He stands next to Lianna, checking her out in the mirror. This is the most skin she has shown since he met her.

“It is not that bad. It has its good qualities,” he says as he points to Lianna’s arm. “This is the most naked I have ever seen you.” Lianna rolls her eyes and William laughs. “I mean, who would have guessed that you have such pale legs.” William laughs again and he dodges a punch to his arm.

“I don’t like to wear shorts, okay? And I hate the sun. Leave me alone,” Lianna says, pretending to cry. William offers his arms for a hug, but Lianna hits his stomach and he groans. He falls back onto the bed, a laugh escaping him.

“It is quite the dress,” she says while she runs her hand over the material. She looks at her legs and scrunches her nose up. She hates showing her legs. This dress only comes to the middle of her thighs. Luckily she shaved before they came here.

“Well, I am going to burn this. Excuse me,” Lianna says and heads back to the bathroom. William watches her walk away. He laughs again and sits up.

Lianna emerges from the bathroom with her oversized shirt and pants. William takes his laptop and finds a comfortable position.

“It is the ugliest dress I’ve ever seen. The audacity of that woman. First, she steals that dress she has on from you and in exchange gives you this? I cannot believe it.” Lianna stops in her tracks and furrows her brows. Before she can ask him how he found out, he answers her.

“B informed me about what happened. She said that you probably wouldn’t have told me about it,” William says with a small smile. Lianna turns her head to him. She opens her mouth to speak, but William interrupts her. “I get it. I’m just glad you were still here when I got here. I thought you might have left. The dress thing . . . I don’t even know what to say about that. Are you okay, though?” Lianna nods her head while making her way over to the bedside to her phone.

“I’m fine. And it is my fault. I shouldn’t have let my guard down with her. Lesson learned,” she says with a soft laugh. “Now I know I also can’t trust Bianca,” she jokes. William chuckles and Lianna falls back onto the bed. She turns her head to him. “Thank you for caring. It’s sweet of you,” Lianna says and squeezes William’s arm before she buries herself under all the covers. 

William stares at her as he tries to get his composure back. A small blush creeps onto his face and he quickly avert his gaze to his laptop.

Lianna unlocks her phone and calls her dad. William glances at her and frowns when he sees her phone against her ear. 

“Who are you calling?”

“The fashion police, because that dress is a violation,” she jokes. William closes his eyes and shakes his head at the horrible joke. Lianna cackles at herself which causes William to laugh. This girl.

“You are the only person I know who would make such a terrible joke and still laugh at it,” he says, returning his focus to his screen. Lianna contorts her face and moves her head around, mimicking him.

“Hi, Dad. I’m just calling to say night,” she says and shifts around on the bed. William stares at the PowerPoint on the screen in front of him while listening to Lianna. 

“Yes, Dad. I am fine. I’m just tired, nothing to be worried about.” Lianna rolls onto her back and lifts one hand into the air. She stays in that position.

“It’s okay, Dad. I got to know her today, so you don’t have to worry about that anymore,” Lianna says as she glances at William. He has stopped typing which means he is listening to her conversation with her dad. She catches him looking at her and puts the phone on speaker. William chuckles as he is caught red-handed.

"I know she is quite well known in the fashion industry.  I asked a good friend of mine today and he told me that she was a VIP at one of his fashion shows last year,” John says with a strong voice.

“Hmm, that makes sense. But like I said, no need to stress about it. We had a spa day today and she wanted to get to know me. We got to know each other pretty well.” Lianna says with a degree of frustration. William turns to face her. 

“That is weird. Do you know why?”

“Nope, but at least I know how she is. I can understand why William divorced her,” she says and turns her hand to him for a high-five. William bites his lip as he tries to hide his laugh. He high-fives Lianna and she smiles at him.

“You can’t say stuff like that,” her dad laughs loudly on the other side. His laughter is contagious. William can’t stop the laughter from escaping as he joins ins. John stops for a moment.

“Is that William?”

“Yeah, you’re on speaker,” she admits. Her dad laughs again before he greets William. 

”Anyways, I just wanted to say good night. Love you, Dad,” she says, lifting the phone in the air to end the call. 

"Night kid. Love you too. Bye, William. Love you too,” he says jokingly.

“Good night, sir,” he says between his laughing. Lianna ends the call with a small smile. She shifts around to find a comfortable position while William continues typing on his computer. Lianna sighs in contentment and takes her earphones from the nightstand. She lies on her side and hands William one of her earphones. He takes it and puts it in his ear. He jams his head along with a Nirvana song as he types further. 

Lianna stops to look at him. How can he go from laughing like that to looking like he had to solve world hunger? She thought maybe the trip to his family house would alleviate some stress, but he just seems more stressed. And this thing with Evelyn only worsened things.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” William asks, turning his head to her. Lianna shrugs.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Pity? I don’t like it,” he jokes and focuses on his laptop. Lianna keeps her eyes on him. He looks so tired and sad all the time. He has definitely loosened up since the first time they met and she saw a more relaxed side to him, but he seems to hide behind different emotions for different situations. He pretends to be cold and distant when he feels nervous, like with Evelyn. He pretends to be a playboy when he does not have something to worry about immediately. He definitely enjoys the playboy part.

“I do feel sorry for you, though.” William snaps his head to Lianna and he sees her staring off into the distance. “You seem sad,” she states simply, but it catches William off guard. Lianna purses her lips together and moves closer to him. William frowns.

“Here, have some of my love,” Lianna jokes. She snakes her hand around his waist and yawns.

“I knew you were looking for an excuse to touch me,” he teases. Lianna clicks her tongue and removes her hand from his waist. “No, don’t do that. You said it yourself. You need to recharge.” He grabs her hand and guides it back around his waist.

“You can be such an asshole,” she huffs out and slightly pinches his side. He flinches away and chuckles as he pats her hand. 

“Only for you.”