“Yes, you have indeed affected us,” William said, shielding Nana behind him with undisguised hostility in his eyes.
He coldly informed Carl, “We’re out shopping. If you have any self-awareness, please don’t bother Nana!”
A month ago, Janelle was pushed to the ground by Mrs. Waters, resulting in a large bump on her head. That night, she also developed a high fever, and Jerry and Tracy were injured by a hit-and-run driver on their way to the hospital.
Although William had no knowledge of Grace’s involvement in the incident, Carl’s absence made him realize that Nana would not find happiness with this man.
So, even though they were currently friends, he would do everything in his power to protect her.
It was truly inexplicable!
Carl didn’t want to pay attention to William and glanced at Nana behind him. “Is this why you’ve been avoiding me? I’ve only been gone for a month, and you two…”
Carl couldn’t continue his sentence.
He didn’t want to believe or admit the fact that Nana and William had rekindled their old relationship.
Realizing that Carl had completely misunderstood her, Nana hurriedly explained, “It’s not as complicated as you think. I lost my phone, so I didn’t receive your calls.”
Upon hearing Nana’s explanation, Carl laughed, his gaze filled with irony. “When did you become so forgetful? Losing your phone is such a lame excuse!”
Carl’s first reaction was that she was making excuses.
“Believe it or not, it’s up to you!”
Nana was helpless. She knew that with William present, even if she caught the thief who stole her phone, Carl would think it was a setup.
At this point, William didn’t want Carl to continue affecting Nana’s mood. He coldly warned, “Don’t forget that you’re a public figure. If you don’t leave now, I’ll expose all your heartless and unfaithful scandals to the media!”
Although it was just a threat, the store was bustling with people, and many recognized the handsome man who had been surrounded by negative news recently, Carl.
Everyone was eager to watch the spectacle, and some even took out their phones to record it openly.
“Alright, say no more!”
As more and more people gathered to watch, Nana stopped William and pushed Carl, persuading him, “Can you please leave first? Do you want to make headlines again?”
Bitterness and pain flickered in Carl’s eyes as he saw William and Nana standing side by side. It felt as if his heart was bleeding.
“Hmph! I don’t need your hypocritical concern!”
With that, Carl suppressed his turbulent emotions and left.
Watching his desolate figure, Nana felt uneasy.
William’s eyes revealed a hint of satisfaction as he waved his hand, signaling the onlookers to disperse. He gently comforted Nana, “He’s already gone. Don’t let someone like him affect your mood. Let’s finish buying the phone and go eat.”
“No, I want to go home early.”
Nana, absentminded, quickly paid and left the store, with Carl’s dim and lifeless face occupying her mind.
That evening, Carl walked into a bar.
He ignored the lively scene at the tables and went directly to sit in front of the bar counter.
Ordering a drink, Carl lifted it to his lips and drank it in one gulp.
“Another one!”
He wiped away the droplets of alcohol at the corner of his mouth with his finger. The depths of his eyes were like a night without stars, devoid of any radiance.
After a few drinks, Carl gradually felt intoxicated, but he still felt unsatisfied. He spent the entire night drowning his sorrow in alcohol.
However, as a public figure, in such a place like a bar, he couldn’t avoid attracting attention from others.
The next morning, William bought a few toys for Janelle. Of course, his main objective was to see Nana.
“Nana, are you still thinking about what happened yesterday?” William realized that Nana’s mood was gloomy, immediately recalling their encounter with Carl at the phone store.
“No, I just didn’t sleep well last night,” Nana casually made up an excuse.
William watched Nana playing with her daughter, but he knew she wasn’t being honest with him.
Both of them remained silent, and William felt the atmosphere becoming stifling. He took out his phone and wanted to take some pictures of Janelle.
As William opened his phone, he unintentionally saw a news notification on the website.
“Carl’s downfall after leaving the entertainment industry, lonely and drunk in a bar.”
The headline caught William’s attention immediately.
After clicking on the news and reading through it, his surprise gradually turned into a sense of schadenfreude.
“What are you laughing at?” Nana noticed William’s smug expression as he stared at his phone and couldn’t help but ask curiously.
William wanted her to know about Carl’s current situation so that she could give up on him sooner.
“I came across some news about Carl. Are you interested?”
“No, besides, I don’t have time right now,” Nana denied without a second thought.
After a moment, William pretended to have some work to do and left. As Nana saw him off at the door, the scene of her encounter with Carl yesterday involuntarily flashed in her mind.
Could he have made the news because of that incident?
While holding her daughter, Nana opened the news website and prominently saw Carl, completely drunk in a bar last night.
There were various comments online, some suggesting that Carl had willingly sunk into despair, while others lamented the complete ruin of his acting career.
As she scrolled through the comments, Nana became increasingly worried.
She immediately dialed Carl’s number with her new phone and arranged to meet him at a café.
In the afternoon, after putting her daughter to sleep and leaving her with her parents, Nana changed her clothes and headed out with a heavy heart.
A few minutes before the agreed-upon time, when Nana arrived at the café, she unexpectedly saw Carl already waiting for her.
Compared to yesterday, Carl looked even more desolate now. There was no trace of radiance in his eyes, and his appearance was disheveled.
Seeing Carl in this state, Nana felt a pang of discomfort.
“You’re here so early?” Nana greeted Carl with a feigned calmness, staring at his expressionless face.
“Yeah, I have nowhere else to go, so I came early to wait for you!” Carl replied casually. It seemed like he no longer cared about his image.
But Nana couldn’t bear to see Carl sinking further into depression. After all, it was just a misunderstanding.
The reason she wanted to meet him alone was to clarify the misunderstanding from yesterday.
After sitting down, before Nana could say anything, Carl called a waiter to help her order a cup of coffee.
“Thank you,” Nana smiled and thanked Carl. She took a sip of her coffee and took the initiative to bring up the topic.
“Carl, as you saw earlier, I got a new phone, and my previous one was indeed lost. I didn’t lie to you.”
Upon hearing Nana explain the situation again, Carl simply listened quietly without responding.
After a moment of silence, he raised his gaze and asked slowly, “I want to know, is there no possibility between us?”