Liam Williams lay down beside Emma Johnson. After a moment of thought, he pulled out his phone and dialed Christopher Martin's number.
It was nearly one in the morning.
He didn't hold out much hope that Christopher would still be awake, but he figured it was worth a try. To his surprise, the call was picked up almost immediately. A lazy, gentle voice came through the receiver, sounding as if it had just been roused from sleep. "Hello, sir? What can I do for you?"
Liam spoke calmly. "Christopher, stop by my place before you head to the office tomorrow morning. Ask Oliver to find a suit and bring it to the company. I need to change."
"Change, sir? You didn't go home tonight? If you need it now, I can bring it over right away."
As expected of his trusted assistant—always so dedicated.
Liam glanced at Emma, who was already fast asleep beside him. He kept his voice even. "No need. Just bring it to the office tomorrow. Get some rest. It's late."
"Yes, sir. Good night, then." Christopher waited for Liam to hang up before setting down his own phone and turning over to go back to sleep.
But Liam couldn't sleep anymore. He turned onto his side, facing the sleeping Emma. His brow furrowed as he sank into deep thought.
It all felt like a dream. From the moment he'd met Emma, from the moment she'd mistaken him for her blind date, so much had happened between them. So many intersections.
Liam had only wanted to use this false identity to figure out what connection this woman had with the fox hunt. Once things were clear, he would naturally disappear from Emma's life.
But it had been so long, and the fox hunt still hadn't shown up. Emma had never been contacted, from start to finish.
Could their intelligence be wrong? Maybe they had nothing to do with each other at all.
But if that were the case, then how had he found Emma's photo and her name when he'd brought the fox hunt home?
At that moment, Emma's brow furrowed slightly. Her face was flushed pink, her lips a bright red that parted to reveal her white teeth. Still drunk, she let out a soft snore.
Liam reached out and gently rubbed her cheek with the back of his finger, afraid of hurting her.
Emma seemed to react a little. She murmured something vaguely. "Noah Taylor..." Then she turned over and fell back asleep.
Liam's hand froze in midair. A strange anger suddenly rose in his chest.
Noah Taylor?
If it weren't for him, how could this woman be so heartbroken and drunk? If it weren't for him, how could she be in this situation?
His hand, still hanging in the air, clenched into a fist. The knuckles cracked. A cold, gloomy light flickered in his eyes, like a wolf's.
Ding-ding...
Emma's phone, still in her bag, chimed three times. Liam turned his head and looked at it. He hesitated for a moment, then his own phone chimed three times.
He got up, unzipped her bag, and picked up her phone. He saw two text messages from Noah Taylor:
[Emma, are you asleep?]
[I'm downstairs now. I want to talk to you. Is that okay?]
...
After reading them, Liam's face immediately darkened. He threw the phone back into her bag and headed downstairs.
He didn't even bother to change out of his casual clothes. He was just wearing a black vest and the off-white sweatpants he usually slept in.
He waited at the door for a moment. The elevator slowly descended from the 25th floor. As soon as he stepped inside, he reached out and pressed the button for the first floor, then pressed it several more times, as if that would make the elevator get there faster.
Liam walked quickly across the lobby. Sure enough, he saw Noah Taylor standing under a ginkgo tree on the opposite side of the building.
Noah was sitting alone on the edge of a flower bed, smoking.
Liam walked forward slowly and stopped less than a meter away from him.
When Noah saw him, he immediately recognized the man who had been introduced as Emma's husband just a few hours ago.
Liam Williams.
He stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and looked at Liam with contempt. "What do you want? Where's Emma?"
Hearing him still call Emma by her name so intimately, Liam's anger flared. He raised his hand and punched Noah square in the face.
The punch was heavy. Noah didn't have time to react. He was knocked to the ground.
Liam rubbed his knuckles and said coldly, "A scumbag like you doesn't deserve to call her that."
"Hmph. Mr. Williams, what right do you have to hit me? As the president of Pinnacle Corporation, or as a senior colonel in the army? What happens between me and Emma is none of your business, no matter how long your reach is." Noah wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb, stood up, and looked at Liam with pride.
"It seems you're not only bad in character, but your hearing isn't very good either. Emma just told you clearly. I am her husband. We got our marriage certificate last week and have been living together for some time, Mr. Taylor. So, what right do I have to speak to you?" Liam's tone was firm and full of authority. He looked at Noah as if he were nothing.
Noah didn't believe a word Liam said.
Impossible. Emma had loved him so much. How could she turn around and marry someone else?
It was impossible.
"I don't believe you. How could Emma marry someone else?" Noah was on the verge of losing his mind.
"Believe it or not, that's your business. But if I find you hanging around my wife, harassing her, interfering with her normal life, I can't guarantee your personal safety."
"Oh? So Mr. Williams is threatening me? Don't think that just because you have power, you can control other people's lives. Let me tell you something. Love is something you can't control, no matter how hard you try. Emma loves me in her heart. No one can change that. I'm not afraid of you. Even if you use every means to make me give up on Emma, even if you win, I believe Emma will never fall in love with a self-righteous, arrogant man like you." Noah gritted his teeth, showing no fear of Liam.
Because he was now a relatively well-known architect in the city. Most of the famous buildings, office buildings, and even some government buildings were designed by him.
In terms of connections and influence, he wasn't that far behind.
In his opinion, all of Liam's advantages weren't earned by himself. If it weren't for his family name, he wouldn't be much better than Noah.
"Self-righteous and arrogant? That's still better than a coward who gives up, isn't it? Since you chose to give her up, what are you doing here now?" Liam's teeth clenched at the thought. A man like this—he didn't know what Emma saw in him.