Chapter 180

"No, no." Victoria waved her hands frantically, shaking her head. "I'll just crash on the couch once you fall asleep."

"You won't," William said, dead certain. He knew her too well.

She had no intention of sleeping. She was scared she'd sleep too deeply and miss any noise from his side. So, she planned to stay up all night.

"Get up here," William commanded, leaving no room for argument.

Victoria stubbornly shook her head, refusing to comply.

True to his usual forceful nature, William didn't waste time arguing. He reached out, grabbed her arm, and tried to pull her onto the bed.

"I really don't need to," Victoria struggled, accidentally tugging at his abdominal wound. William cried out in pain, his face contorting.

"Are you okay?" Victoria asked anxiously, her voice full of guilt.

William looked up at her weakly. "At a time like this, you're still gonna argue with me?"

Victoria bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly sat down on the edge of the bed.

Seeing this, William extended his arm, pulled her into his embrace, and gently covered them both with the blanket. "Sleep," he said hoarsely.

Victoria lay there, her body tense, not daring to move for fear of hurting him again.

Her rare compliance made William smile faintly. He tightened his arm around her and slowly brought his lips to her forehead.

Victoria clutched the blanket tightly, her heart racing. She closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.

The atmosphere between them was awkward yet intimate.

It wasn't just because she was Samuel's girlfriend. There were too many misunderstandings and conflicts between her and William. Getting together was easier said than done.

"Victoria," William suddenly spoke, his voice slow. "I didn't ask her to come."

Victoria was silent for a moment before responding softly, "Even if you did, what does it have to do with me?"

Feeling William's grip tighten, Victoria quickly said, "Don't move around."

William narrowed his eyes, his tone cold and a bit petulant. "Didn't you say it has nothing to do with you? Why do you care? If my wound opens and I die from the pain, it's my own fault."

"You!" Victoria turned her head angrily, glaring at him. "William, can you be a little more mature?"

"Don't you know if I'm mature or not?" William deliberately misinterpreted her words, pressing his hips forward.

If it weren't for his injury, Victoria would have kicked him off the bed. This guy didn't look like someone who had just come back from the brink of death.

Ignoring the risk of hurting him, she angrily turned her back to him, thinking to herself that no matter how careful she was, she couldn't stop him from acting recklessly. Clearly, he wasn't hurt badly enough if he still had the energy to mess around.

William, however, was relentless. He slowly moved closer and stubbornly pulled her back into his arms.

Victoria frowned impatiently. "Don't push yourself at a time like this."

William raised an eyebrow, grunted behind her, and without a word, pulled one of her hands under the blanket.

"You..." Victoria started, but her words were cut off when her fingers touched something warm and hard.

She jerked her hand back as if electrocuted, her face turning bright red. "William!"

William, sounding genuinely exhausted, rested his head on her back. "Don't overthink it. It's just a normal physiological reaction."

Victoria's face burned, even her ears felt like they were on fire.

As the room grew quiet, she assumed he had fallen asleep and let out a sigh of relief.

Little did she know, the deep eyes behind her were silently watching her, filled with intense and deep emotions.

In the morning, the doctor came to check on William.

He gently pushed open the door and saw William sitting by the bed.

William turned his head and made a shushing gesture to the doctor.

Victoria was still sound asleep.

The doctor understood and couldn't help but smile, whispering, "It's rare to see such a considerate husband these days."

William lowered his eyes slightly, not bothering to explain his relationship with Victoria.

The doctor did a quick check-up and was amazed at William's rapid recovery. At this rate, he could be discharged in less than a week.

As soon as the doctor left, the phone on the bedside table lit up. Victoria had set it to silent, and the screen showed "Samuel."

William glanced at it, raised an eyebrow, and casually answered the call, his tone lazy. "Who is this?"

The other end of the line went silent.

William's lips curled into a satisfied smile. "Looking for Victoria?"

He could hear the deep breath on the other end before Samuel, trying to stay calm, said, "Let me speak to Victoria."

Samuel skipped the pleasantries, clearly recognizing William's voice.

William glanced at the sleeping Victoria and said truthfully, "She's still asleep."

The words hit Samuel like a bomb.

Samuel's grip on his pen tightened until it snapped in two.

"William!" Samuel said through gritted teeth. "She's my girlfriend!"

William held the phone, a mocking smile on his face. "So what? I don't care about that. She's always been my woman."

Samuel, struggling to control his anger, said coldly, "William, don't you think your methods are despicable? You had people cause trouble for me in Silvermist City just to keep me away from her, didn't you?"

"Yes," William admitted openly, not hiding his devious intentions.

Samuel, using all his willpower to stay calm, said, "Aren't you afraid I'll tell Victoria what you've done?"

William laughed dismissively. "Do you have any proof?"

"You!" Samuel growled.

Before Samuel could say more, William hung up the phone without hesitation.

When the phone rang again, he simply turned it over and placed it face down on the table.

Victoria slept deeply, having been anxious and sleepless for days.

When she woke up, she instinctively reached for the spot next to her.

"William!"

Finding it empty, she sat up quickly, threw off the blanket, and got out of bed barefoot.

"William?" She hurriedly checked the bathroom, but it was empty too.

"William! Where are you?"

She was about to rush out the door when it opened from the outside, and she ran straight into a warm embrace.