Winnie’s words stunned William. He was used to women around him acting all coy. The calm indifference Winnie displayed made his disoriented brain slightly more alert.
With a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, he said, “I don’t want someone to drink with, and I don’t want to look at artwork, either. I just want someone… I can talk to.”
“What do you want to talk about?” Winnie sipped on the water, her fingers wet from the condensation on the glass, which she tapped on the counter.
William fell silent.
He wanted to talk about Rachel marrying his uncle, how much of a bastard he was for losing her, and how his heart burned at the prospect of her becoming his aunt. However, all those words were stuck in his throat. In the face of Winnie’s clear and bright eyes, he was suddenly at a loss for words. He couldn’t possibly pour his heart and soul out to a stranger.
Samuel looked at them from afar, while Zane jabbed Caleb in the ribs.
“Look at William. Do you think he’s treating that woman as a replacement?”
Caleb put his glass down. “Replacement? I think he doesn’t even know whether he misses Rachel or blames himself for when she was with him.”
Samuel picked up his glass and clinked it with Caleb’s. “None of that matters. If it can help make him feel better for the time being, let him treat that girl as a replacement. She’s a poor student studying the arts. They’re just getting what they want from each other.”
Back at the couch, William’s voice was hoarse from all the liquor he drank. “Can I ask you a question? If the one you like is about to become your aunt, will you snatch her or accept it without a fight?”
Winnie pondered for a moment before saying, “If it were me, I’d choose to fight for her. If I really love her, I don’t care whether she loves me or not. I’d be willing to give it my all. Of course, not because I want others to feel moved by me, but because I don’t want to leave any regrets behind.”
William was stunned by Winnie’s response. He had thought about doing the same thing, but he was worried that Rachel would reject him. He never used to be like this, allowing a woman to affect his mood like this.
With Rachel, it had always been a two-way street. When they were together, they hardly had any issues. However, things were different now. Rachel had fallen in love with another man–and that man was none other than his uncle, Tyler Hunt!
William suddenly lost all interest in the woman before him. She wasn’t Rachel; if she were, she would leave in silence if the other party didn’t like her. She wouldn’t pester and cling onto the other party.
He picked up the bottle of liquor on the table and took a huge gulp from it. The searing liquid burned his throat but couldn’t drown out the gloom in his heart.
“Leave me.”
Winnie didn’t insist on staying, but she grabbed William’s phone and keyed in her number. “Mr. Lewis, please don’t misunderstand. I don’t mean anything else, but if you need someone to talk to or drink with, or if you want to see my artwork, feel free to contact me. I can be a listening ear to you.”
William didn’t reject her. Compared to the other women he saw earlier, he had a good impression of Winnie. At the very least, he didn’t detest her.
Samuel didn’t know what to say at the scene unfolding before him.
Caleb sighed. “Seems like even a replacement doesn’t work. The only thing he can do right now is to try and snatch Rachel from Tyler’s hands. Of course, he’d have to first assess whether he has what it takes to do that and if Rachel wants to be with him. Otherwise, he should just give up and move on.”