Hayden waited in the living room for more than 10 minutes, until he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. William was being pulled downstairs by Raymond with Andrew following closely behind them.
Seeing them, Hayden smiled at William and said, “William, are you sober now?”
William ignored him and walked away with a hard look on his face. Andrew took his phone back from Hayden and said, “Grandpa, we’re leaving now. We’re going to have a drink with Uncle William.”
“Don’t drink too much!”
“Alright, we’ll take good care of him.”
Then, the three of them quickly got into their car while Hayden followed them to the door and watched as they left. He sighed deeply and said to himself, “He’s ignoring me now just because of a woman? What an ungrateful child!”
Lucas smiled and said, “He’ll get over it. After he cools down, he will be fine again.”
“I hope so!” Hayden turned around. “Have you found out where he gets his money?”
“No, I went to the bank to check on Mr. William’s transaction records, but they refused to let me. They claimed that they couldn’t reveal any of their client’s information, or they would be reprimanded.”
“Couldn’t reveal? That is obviously an excuse.” Hayden gave a humorless laugh.
“Yes, I could tell that it was just an excuse. But they revealed something to me. They said that Sir William is an important client.”
Hayden was stunned as he heard this. “Are you sure?”
“That was what they said,” Lucas nodded. “Sir, I think Sir William’s identity isn’t that simple after all.”
“What do you mean?” Hayden asked without patience, but Lucas was unsure too.
“Anyway, previously when we met him in Australia, he had been steady and calm. Besides, we have always been on good terms with the bank, so they wouldn’t keep anything from us. There must be a reason behind why they refused to let us know. Besides, we have always been their greatest client in B City, but now, they’re saying that Sir William is a important client too. I afraid…”
“If William really had a different identity, why would he keep it from me? There is no reason to keep this a secret, right?”
“Well… maybe Sir William suffered a lot when he was overseas and… he might have put his guard up against you?”
“Put his guard up?” Hayden murmured. “If he really does have another identity, what happened back then… Would he hate me for it?”
Once the car left the Howard family’s mansion, William immediately texted Valeria. “I’m on the way to Wolf Group. Bring Abbie along with you.”
“Alright!”
Raymond tilted his head and glanced at him, “Are you texting my aunt-in-law?”
The word ‘aunt-in-law’ made William’s hair stand on end. “Get lost!”
“Do you have to be like this, Uncle William? I’d just slept on your bed for a while. What a petty guy.” Raymond looked at William discontentedly.
William tried his best to suppress his discomfort. “Petty? My whole body is aching right now and it’s all your fault!”
“I’ll give you a massage!” Raymond reached out and grinned mischievously. William immediately pushed his hands away and said, “Go away!”
Looking at how Raymond was given the cold shoulder by William, Andrew laughed out loud and said, “Doesn’t feel good being treated like that, right? You can stop trying to please him. When our aunt-in-law comes later, she can give him a massage. Who would want a massage from those thick and bulky arms of yours?”
“I don’t have thick arms. My arms are slender and long…” Feeling Andrew and William’s distasteful gaze on him, he stopped talking with a pout.
Soon, the car pulled up in front of Wolf Group’s main entrance. They walked in and entered one of the private rooms.
The waiters entered their room in a single file to bring the appetizers. Raymond sipped on his tea while looking at his watch anxiously. “Uncle, when will Abbie and my aunt-in-law come?”
William was very happy when he heard Andrew call Valeria his ‘aunt-in-law’ as it sounded pleasing to his ears. But when Raymond called her that, it made him upset involuntarily. So, he cast him a side glance and ignored his question.
Meanwhile, Raymond did not know what he had done wrong to be treated this way. Then, he had no choice but to occupy himself with his phone gloomily. About half an hour later, footsteps sounded outside.
The waiter said respectfully, “Miss Brown, Miss Clark, this way, please!”
“They’re here!” Raymond perked up instantly and quickly brushed his hair while he tried to look handsome. Seeing Raymond like this, Andrew instantly got up and moved two seats away from him.
Once the waiter opened the door, Raymond had already put on an expectant smile, hoping to show Abbie his most handsome side. But, it was Valeria who entered through the door first.
When he saw Valeria, he stood up in surprise. “It is you?!”
Valeria was also stunned when she saw Raymond. “What are you doing here?”
Then, Abbie stepped in behind her. When she saw that Valeria and Raymond were looking at each other with bulging eyes and astonishing expressions, she asked, “Valeria, do you know Raymond?”
“He’s Raymond Saunders?” A hint of awkwardness flashed across Valeria’s face when she heard this.
“Yeah, what’s wrong?” Abbie could feel that Valeria was awkward as she saw the look on her face. “You haven’t met him before, right?”
“I’ve met him once! You know… Abbie, do you remember the person I met in Japan? I’ve told you about it before…”
“Oh god! Is he that crazy man you’d told me about?” Abbie asked in shock.
“Yes!” Valeria nodded. Abbie looked at Valeria, then turned to Raymond before bursting into laughter.
“What are you guys saying?” William was unhappy and he pulled Valeria onto his lap a little protectively.
Abbie doubled over in laughter. “Gosh, this is too funny, Valeria! So Raymond Saunders is that fool you were talking about?”
“Abbie!” Valeria nudged her awkwardly.
This piqued Andrew’s interest immediately. “What do you mean? Why is he a fool?”
“Valeria and I went to Japan for a holiday trip not too long ago. And she met some guy who kept following and flirting with her. He’d even asked for her phone number. I can’t believe that it was Raymond! Hahaha!”
Raymond’s face darkened as Abbie laughed at him. Meanwhile, William’s face mirrored his as he gritted his teeth and looked at Raymond, “Care to explain?”
Raymond scratched his head and said, “It’s all a misunderstanding! I thought that Valeria… I mean, she looked friendly and I’d wanted to get to know her. I swear I didn’t have other intentions! I just thought it’d be nice if I had a sister like her, and that was it, uncle! Stop glaring at me, you know what kind of person I am.”
If William hadn’t known that they were biological siblings, he might have punched him already. Once Raymond finished his explanation, he turned to Abbie with a smile on his face and said, “Abbie! We haven’t met in a long time!”
Abbie stopped laughing and replied, “Has it been that long? It’d only been a few months.”
“It had felt like many years to me! To you, it may had been just a few months. But to me, it’s different!”
“What are you saying?” At that moment, the door opened suddenly and Michael was standing there with a forced smile.