Chapter 69

His first reaction was that Christina was lying, trying to deceive him. "Come on, be straight with me. Don't mess around. If I have to dig into this myself, not only will I find out, but Grandpa will too."

Nicholas had let her off the hook for the last incident, but if Zachary got involved and connected the dots, Christina might really get kicked out of the Cavendish family.

Christina knew this all too well. "But I'm telling you the truth now. If you don't believe me, what can I do? If you really want to check, go ahead."

No matter how much he investigated, he'd find the same answer she was giving him.

William saw that she didn't seem to be lying and kept pushing, "Who set up the date for you?"

"Of course, it was my mom. Do you think I'd set up a date for myself?" Christina gave him a puzzled look.

Sometimes she really didn't get what William was thinking.

Since this involved Elisa, William didn't push further. He gave a final warning, "I'll handle Zachary. Just try not to cause any more trouble for the Cavendish family. You might not care about your reputation, but the Cavendish family does."

"Wait, how did this become my problem again?" Christina was exasperated.

He always told her not to blame the victim, but his actions were the epitome of that very mindset.

But considering William had helped her solve two problems today, she decided to let it go.

Christina took a deep breath, turned her head away, and didn't want to deal with William anymore.

They were here on a mission today. William had something to bid on, and once he was done, she could leave.

She'd rather go back to school than see William's face or talk to him any longer.

William was after a particular painting, and it just so happened to be the first item up for auction.

Not wanting to waste time, he immediately bid the highest price.

The room fell silent for a moment, then a few scattered bids came in, but none were very high.

William was determined to get the painting. He matched every bid until he successfully won it.

Christina watched, thinking how great it must be to have money. With money, you have choices. She wished her life could be like that.

Soon, the staff brought over the painting, and William paid with his card.

"You got what you wanted. Can we leave now?" Christina couldn't help but urge.

She really didn't want to be in the same room as William any longer.

William noticed her attitude but didn't see why he should let her have her way.

Without even looking at her, he refused, "No, I have other items to look at."

"But you just told me Nicholas wanted you to get one thing, and you already did. Why do you need to look at other items?" Christina felt he was deliberately wasting her time.

She wasn't his assistant, free to spend all her time on him. She had her own things to do. "Or I could leave now, and you can stay as long as you want. That's your business, not mine."

William finally gave her a look. "I just helped you out with a problem, and now you want to bail? Even if you want to be ungrateful, this is too fast, Christina. Where's your conscience?"

"Please, if you hadn't dragged me here, I wouldn't have run into Zachary or had any of this happen."

If they really argued about it, who knew if William had helped her or caused her more trouble?

"Zachary has his eye on you now. Even if you hadn't met today, do you think he wouldn't cause you trouble later?" William countered.

Christina had to admit, even if she didn't like William, he had a point.

Zachary clearly had his sights set on her.

Fine, she was already here, so it didn't matter how long she stayed.

The auction continued with many more items, but Christina didn't pay attention. William wasn't interested in them either.

He asked Christina, "Why are you so eager to avoid me? If you can give me a satisfactory answer, I'll let you go now."

Christina didn't respond.

Reincarnation was something no one would believe, and William might think she was crazy and needed psychiatric help.

She decided to wait until the auction ended.

Facing William, she made up an answer, "There's no particular reason. I used to find you agreeable, but now I don't. Just like with Walter, I used to think he was nice, but now I keep my distance."

"You're lying," William said confidently.

He was good at reading people, especially since he and Christina had been intimate.

He could tell.

Christina shrugged, giving up, "You asked, I answered, and you don't believe me. What can I do?"

She'd just wait until the auction ended.

There weren't many items today, so it would be over in two hours at most. By then, William would have no reason to keep her.

William had his doubts but got no answers.

After the auction, he took the painting and left the hotel with Christina.

"I want to go back to school. You don't need to drive me. I'll take a cab," Christina said eagerly, wanting to distance herself from him.

She found an excuse, "There are so many people at school, and you drive a fancy car. If you stop at the gate, everyone will look, and it might end up on Facebook. I don't want any more rumors about us."

"Fine," William agreed with a nod.

Christina quickly hailed a cab.

There was a mall nearby, so there were plenty of people and taxis. A driver arrived soon.

Once in the cab, Christina leaned back and checked the time. It was late, and she was exhausted.

If she went back to the mansion tonight, she'd see William again.

She decided to stay in the dorm, order takeout, take a shower, and sleep. The dorm was cramped but at least it was free.

As for whether William would agree...

By the time the dorms were locked, what could he do? He wouldn't come upstairs to get her!