The guilt was strong

★★★

“This is our first night together. How can you possibly leave this room? Your family will gossip, and this genius marriage will be exposed to them in an instant," Monica brought up a vital point, her eyes grew wide in credit as though she had made a brilliant logic to William who had overlooked such an important thing.

It was true though, that people had their eyes on them since William had married the woman of his choice abruptly. So, his absence from this room would have an impact on their marriage, and she didn't want to be the object of their derision the following day.

“Nobody instilled such guts in them, and I have no concern what others say. They used to notice me spending time in the library,"

William responded sharply. Though he had no intention of flipping the pages of the book at this moment, he did not want to spend the night in a room with her. Tomorrow he would think how he could live in the same room with this woman.

“How they once perceived you is irrelevant since you are now married. In addition, the room offers lots of space for reading if that's your preference. Do not go out tonight, please."

With a sincere attempt to stop William, Monica's expression became troubled and her lips curved downward as she spoke.

"If you leave me alone tonight, my morning will be comical. Thus, stay.”

William's death expression softened a little as he locked the door again before going over to the couch to read, but Monica stopped him once more, saying, “You have a problem sleeping on the couch, I know. You could end up in trouble if you nod off while reading. Hence, you should read the book in bed, in my opinion."

Her casually speaking remarks appeared to stun William; his feet came to a standstill, and panic crept into his mind since he did, in fact, have a problem sleeping on the couch, which no one knew about. As a result, he began to wonder if they had truly lived together and what had transpired between them.

William spun around to meet Monica's worried gaze, which went against his rational thinking and gave him a heart palpitation. He inquired,

"Were we ever?"

His tentative voice was unable to express the entire idea; he was perhaps too preoccupied with wondering if he had gone too far on those days when he had no recollection of himself.

“Ever what?” Monica inquired, arching her brows, as she noticed William's substantial trepidation.

“Lived together and did things?” Gritting his teeth, William enquired. It was obvious that he felt uncomfortable, but he had to explain himself in this way in order to get the answer. She seemed so at ease with him in contrast, as though she understood every inch of his soul.

“You are referring to sex! Oh No. We did not do it. We did not share a kiss either, though you tried once and made me realize you did not have any experience. Hah! I recall feeling let down,"

Monica stated casually as if she were speaking to a friend, about her sadness at not receiving a kiss from a man due to his inexperience.

William was filled with discomfort upon hearing the woman's open remarks, causing blood to shoot up his face as he hurried toward the bed. The woman displayed no shame. That was not the way he wanted to hear. Honestly, he regretted questioning her.

Furthermore, she implied that he was not proficient in kissing.

William flared on himself, “He had wasted his time on such nonsense!"

Monica was perplexed since his attitude contradicted her expectations. She thought he would inquire further about his life with her. Monica desperately wanted William to talk about the life he had chosen to avoid since he had no idea how many people still loved him. Jessica didn't forget her brother, who risked his life to save her and Cornell. Little Cornell inquired about his friend, Ben, who had taught him how to excel at everything.

The disappointment reached Monica's throat and she released a sigh before going over to the dining table.

William, who was hiding his eyes behind the book, became agitated by the silence as if his ears desired to continue hearing her blabbering. As he removed the book from his face, he spotted the woman eating the food he had ordered for her.

He said the meal was hers, but it didn't mean she wouldn't try to offer it to him. William's lips twitched in displeasure and he raised the book to his face again as if he didn't care.

“William, please give your phone to me. I need to make a call, but my phone is dead,” Monica said while she combined the heated curry with the rice. In contrast, the flavor had developed masterfully because the vegetables had been browned in butter.

William put down the book, took his phone from the bedside table, and walked over to Monica.

“Call first, my battery is running low, and it will shut down at any time,"

William passed the phone to Monica, who looked up with food in her mouth, unconcerned about her appearance.

With the food trapped in her mouth, Monica could only nod her head. She did see, though, that William was averting his gaze from her. In an instant, his eyes moved from her face to something else. Monica gave him a few blinks as she quickly devoured the food in an attempt to speak with him, but William turned and left.

Once more, Monica found herself in a circumstance where she was unable to strike up a conversation. She unlocked his phone to call Jessica but her hand froze when she saw the unread messages on the screen by the name Katherine. Her heart was squeezed by a large hand when she read a little portion of the message.

Her entire body felt like it had been slashed by a dagger, anguish and sorrow had been engraved on her flesh. Her emotions were overwhelming, causing tears to well up in her eyes as she glanced at the phone. Though she was brave when it came to crying about the circumstances, she couldn't help herself this time.

At the time, the door was banged by someone. Monica raised her head at the door and William went to unlock it.

As soon as William held the door open, Monica heard a scream, “Why did you do this to me?" a woman's voice.

Monica saw William walk out of the room to speak with that individual, so she put down the phone and stood up to go to the door. She was unable to identify the individual until she witnessed the woman embracing William and sobbing pitifully on his chest.

"What made you wed someone else? If you truly love me, William, then why do you purposefully damage me in such a way?” The woman screamed in between her sobs.

When Monica realized the woman was Katherine, she closed the door, tears welling up in her eyes. With her back to the door, she felt guilty about making another woman's situation worse for her own benefit.

She balled her hands hard, trying to control the hate she felt for herself, and let her tears flow out.

“Will he tell her it's only a one-year marriage and then they'll split up?" Monica considered this in her mind while she struggled with her guilt. She had never given William's past any thought before marriage because all she wanted was to be with him. However, now that regret was running through her, she felt compelled to hate herself because she should have done her research before agreeing to such a proposal.