Chapter 6 Her Refusal: I'm Busy
As William Brown drove back to the villa, his phone kept ringing.
He glanced at the incoming call from Cleo and felt a headache coming on.
On the final ring, he hit the brakes and answered.
"Grandma," he said gently.
"So you do remember I'm your grandmother!" Cleo's sharp voice rang through the phone. "What's going on with that Isabella?"
William rubbed his temples and replied patiently, "Isabella is sick. She doesn't have bad intentions."
"William, is there something wrong with your brain?" Cleo scolded. "She doesn't have bad intentions? She clearly knows you're married, yet she's still entangled with you like this. I've never seen such a shameless woman. Break it off with her immediately and make things right with Amelia!"
William frowned. Amelia's face flashed through his mind.
A flicker of irritation rose in his chest.
"Did Amelia complain to you?" His voice turned cold.
"Does Amelia need to tell us?" Cleo snapped. "The news is all over the internet. William, listen to me—Amelia is your wife. How could you stand beside another woman while watching Amelia fall to the ground?"
"Do you have any idea how that makes her look? There were reporters everywhere!"
William recalled the earlier scene and the fleeting hurt in her eyes. It looked bad.
Then he dismissed the thought.
"No, Grandma. She saw the news online and deliberately went to the hospital to confront Isabella."
"Let me speak." Finn brown took the phone.
"William." Finn's said gravely, "you were the one who brought Amelia to me and said you wanted to marry her. Since you chose to marry her, you must take responsibility."
"Grandpa—"
"Come home for dinner tonight," Finn interrupted. "Bring Amelia."
Without giving him a chance to respond, Finn hung up.
William sat alone in the car.
His fingers tapped unconsciously against the steering wheel as his brow furrowed.
He searched for Amelia's contact.
She still hadn't replied to his earlier message.
Suppressing his irritation, he called her.
It rang for a long time before she finally answered.
"What are you doing?" William asked coldly.
"Is there something you need?" Amelia replied, not answering his question.
William rubbed his forehead. "Why did you go to the hospital to confront Isabella today?"
"I didn't," Amelia said calmly. "I went to see Mia."
"Amelia, don't lie to me!" His impatience flared.
From the other end came a soft soft laugh.
Casual.
As if she did not care at all.
It irritated him even more.
But remembering Finn's order, he restrained himself.
"Come home with me tonight," he said at last.
"I'm not free." Amelia's voice was steady, without hesitation.
"It's Grandpa's order," William added, frowning.
The next second, the call ended.
Only the busy tone remained.
William stared at his phone, stunned, his brows knitted tightly.
When he called again, she did not answer.
Traffic flowed steadily along the road. He sat in silence for a long moment before restarting the engine and driving back to their marital villa.
The sky had grown dark.
After parking, William strode into the house.
As soon as he opened the door, his expression turned cold.
"Amelia."
He called her name.
No response.
Only then did he notice that the entry light was off and the house was completely dark.
He paused. In the past, no matter how late he returned, at least one lamp had always been left on for him. Often, Amelia would be asleep on the sofa, a book resting in her hands as she waited.
William switched on the lights and looked toward the sofa.
It was empty.
A strange restlessness stirred within him.
He turned on every light and searched room by room.
Not in the living room. Not in the kitchen. Not in the bathroom.
No of the bedrooms. Not the study study.
She wasn't home.
She wasn't answering his calls either.
Where had she gone?
The staged divorce must have angered her. She was making a fuss.
It didn't matter.
She would understand eventually. Isabella only had six months left. His legal wife would always be Amelia.
But even if she refused to go to the Brown Villa, he still had to go.
With that thought, William went to the storage room and took out several boxes of health supplements.
On his way out, he hesitated, set them down, and returned to the bedroom.
The room still carried the faint scent of the perfume he had once given her.
His expression softened slightly.
He packed a few changes of clothes and left in a hurry.
He did not notice that in the large wardrobe, where their clothes had once hung side by side, only his remained.
He did not notice that the items that had once come in pairs now stood alone.
The warmth was gone. Only cold emptiness remained.
...
Meanwhile, at a beauty center across town, Amelia Smith and Mia Wilson were having their nails done.
Mia noticed that Amelia had deliberately chosen pregnancy-safe products and shook her head helplessly.
"Didn't you say you were going to terminate it? Why are you still choosing pregnancy-safe materials?"
Amelia smiled faintly. "As long as it's still in my body, I'll choose the safer option."
Mia shrugged, admiring her sparkling nails.
Amelia lowered her gaze to her own hands.
William had always had stomach problems.
After marrying him, she cooked daily and stopped getting her nails done.
"Whatever works," Mia said. "As long as you're willing to change."
"Nails are only the beginning," she added. "There's your hairstyle and your wardrobe too."
Amelia laughed softly.
"I remember when we weren't even ten years old, we were already sneaking around in high heels," Mia continued.
"There's no reason to go backwards now."
She sighed dramatically. "It's a pity I'm a doctor now. I can't be too flashy."
Amelia smiled.
She had always been bold and vibrant.
It was only after falling in love with William that she had reshaped herself to suit his preferences.
How many nights had she believed true happiness meant being with the one she loved, cooking for him, raising children, and growing old together?
Now it all felt like a joke.
Fortunately, it was not too late.
She would take her life back.
Step by step.
