Chapter 6

The atmosphere in the car suddenly became stifling.

Sensing the tension, Matthew quickly raised the partition in the car.

"I... I don't want to stay at a hotel," Yvonne said softly.

"So you intend to stay at my place and not leave?" William questioned.

"I'm scared…" Yvonne lowered her head and sobbed, "I don't have a single relative left in this world. The other night, I overheard Mrs. Lambert saying something about taking over the inheritance."

The moment those words came out of her mouth, William frowned hard.

"I don't know if they were talking about me, but I got scared... But if they weren't talking about me, then who else could they mean? Will, I don't want to live with the Lambert family anymore. They're really scary…"

As Yvonne cried, she observed William's reaction discreetly.

William had already lost both of his parents and had only recently been taken back in by the Lamberts. If he died, wouldn't all the money go to Regina and Charles?

Yvonne believed she had made herself clear enough. William should've understood what she meant.

Just as Yvonne was desperately hinting at William, she suddenly felt his hand on her head. She wasn't sure if he meant to comfort her by doing that. Nevertheless, her sobbing stopped immediately.

"You must have heard wrongly. You're still a Sullivan. Even if you don't have any relatives, no outsider can bully you," William said evenly.

Then, he added, "Matthew, help her out of the car."

"Yes, Mr. Lambert." Matthew quickly opened the car door.

As Yvonne got out of the car, her gaze involuntarily fell on William, who was still sitting inside. His near-perfect profile and those deep, unreadable eyes made it impossible to figure him out.

Yvonne thought she was imagining things, but it somehow felt like William knew everything.

"I'm keeping your ID. You'll be staying at Roselake Manor for the next few days to recover." William's tone was as cold as ever, devoid of any emotion.

"Ms. Sullivan, the maid will come out soon to take you inside. Mr. Lambert has work to do and will be leaving now," Matthew informed.

Yvonne watched as William's car slowly drove away. Even though she still couldn't figure him out, at least she had managed to stay at Roselake Manor for now.

She had to figure out a way to make William her ally. Then only she would be able to annul the engagement with Charles.

…

As night fell, Charles returned home to find a table full of food prepared by Regina.

"Mom, I'm back," he announced at the door.

Because of Yvonne's injury, he had been feeling off all day.

Regina had expected Yvonne to come back with Charles. However, she was greeted with the sight of him stepping into the house alone.

Feeling puzzled, she asked, "Where's Yvie? Why didn't she come back with you?"

"Oh... She... She got hurt by accident. William took her away," Charles replied.

Upon hearing that, Regina froze. "That bastard took her? What's wrong with you? How could you let William take Yvonne away?"

Furious, she started slapping Charles on the head repeatedly while exclaiming, "You idiot! How did I raise such a stupid son?"

"Mom! Stop hitting me! Stop…" Charles quickly shielded himself, not understanding why Regina was so upset.

He said dismissively, "So what if she went with him? Yvonne isn't even a part of our family. She can go wherever she wants!"

"Why, you…" Regina glared at him with frustration.

Andrew had fathered William with Emily. Seven years into their marriage, he had cheated on Emily with Regina. Ever since then, she had tried everything to drive William away.

If it weren't for the Lambert family being broke and needing William's business, she wouldn't have had to bring him back. Now that she had finally found someone like Yvonne—an orphan with no ties—she wasn't about to let this easy target slip away.

"Be honest with me. Were you at the motel with Yvonne on your birthday yesterday?" Regina interrogated.

As Regina questioned him, Charles' eyes flickered briefly with diffidence. But he still replied, "Of course I did. You've asked me like 100 times already."

Regina stared at him, unsure if he was telling the truth. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Charles responded in exasperation.

Upon hearing his firm affirmation, Regina finally relaxed. "Good."

As long as Charles was dating Yvonne, their engagement could go on as planned. In another month, when Yvonne turned 18, she could officially be engaged to Charles.

Regina gave Charles a serious but good-natured look. "You'd better keep an eye on her. Don't let some other man steal her away."

Charles was already tired of hearing the same thing over and over. He didn't get why Regina was so obsessed with Yvonne.

He replied perfunctorily, "Yeah, I got it."

"I'm being serious with you!"

"Mom, relax. Yvonne likes me. Everyone at school knows that." He added uncaringly, "If I tell her to go left, she wouldn't dare go right. She won't even look at another man! If I bring up the engagement, she'll be thrilled."

"That's more like it. She's still young and naïve. Hold her down while you can."

"She doesn't need holding down. She'll throw herself at me willingly," Charles said confidently while sauntering upstairs.

Yvonne had always been like this. Orphaned and starved for affection, she clung to anyone who showed her the slightest bit of love. After all these years, Charles knew exactly how to manipulate her.

…

It was dusk at Roselake Manor when Yvonne sneezed unexpectedly. She frowned, taking it as a sign that the Lambert family was scheming against her again.

If she remembered correctly, during her 18th birthday next month, Regina planned to announce her engagement to Charles. She had to find a way to crush that plan and throw it right back in their faces.

She glanced at Mary, who was cooking in the kitchen.

Yvonne walked over and asked, "Mary, are you making dinner for Will?"

"Yes, he'll be back by 8:00 pm," Mary replied.

Hearing that, Yvonne nodded thoughtfully. She had an hour left.

"I'll do it." She took the spatula from Mary.

Startled, Mary hurried to stop her. "Ms. Sullivan! You shouldn't be doing this. You might get burned."

"It's fine. I cook all the time," Yvonne said, assuring her.

In her previous life, it was Regina who had planned her 18th birthday. She could only go along with everything they had in store for her. If she wanted to turn things around this time, her birthday party must not be held. It was either that or she had to take full control of the event herself.

Yvonne had made up her mind. This time, she was going to host it herself. And she was going to make it big. To pull that off, she'd need William.

An hour later, William sat at the dinner table and eyed the extensive spread of dishes. Across from him, Yvonne looked at him with hopeful eyes that sparkled with anticipation.

He asked calmly, "What is it that you want from me? Speak."

Yvonne sat across from William with eyes full of sincerity.

She handed him a pair of cutleries and said, "Why don't you eat first? We can talk after you've had your meal."

William looked at her obsequious expression and hesitated for a moment before finally accepting the cutleries.

The dishes on the table were all quite simple and homey. It seemed like Yvonne had even taken special care to plate them aesthetically.

He scooped up a spoonful of risotto and brought it to his lips. The chicken risotto was perfectly seasoned and surprisingly tasty.

William said evenly, "Go ahead. What is it you want from me?"

"Well, it's nothing major... It's just that I'll be turning 18 in a month, and I want to throw a birthday party," Yvonne said tentatively.

"And?" William responded.

"Mrs. Lambert might want to organize one for me, but I don't want to trouble her…"

"So you want to trouble me instead?"

"Can I?"

Looking into Yvonne's hopeful eyes, William replied coolly, "I'll think about it."

"So that's a yes?" Yvonne beamed. "I knew it! I knew you're a good guy, Will! Of course you'd say yes!"

Seeing that he didn't outright refuse, she cleared her throat and continued, "Actually, I have one more favor to ask of you."

"Go on." William kept eating his risotto, his expression unreadable.

Yvonne hesitated for a moment and said, "You know that my parents arranged the engagement between Charles and me when they were still alive. But… I don't like Charles. So… Um… Can I get engaged to you on my 18th birthday instead?"