Love Contract

Chapter 118 It's You

On the cold night, in a small hotel near the ski resort of S City, a man was sitting in front of a computer and smoking. His face was blocked by the smoke rings that puffed out of his mouth, making it difficult to see his expression.

Suddenly, the phone vibrated and rang on the table.

Narrowing his eyes while flashing a wicked smile, he answered the call, "Hello? Have you received my photos, Mr. Liang?"

"Yes, I did," replied Frank in a deep voice.

"Well, what do you think? Are you satisfied?" The man took a deep drag on the cigarette and pressed its fiery end on the table.

"Yes, I'm delighted!" Staring at the picture, Frank gnashed his teeth in seethed anger.

"Then, the money..."

"I'll wire it to you now," said Frank coldly. "Continue to follow them tomorrow and give me all the details."

"Okay!" The man smiled respectfully, "I will not let you down!"

"Okay." Frank hung up the phone and shifted his full attention on the screen. He gently moved the mouse with his right hand, and the light reflected from the computer made his face turn even grimmer. Looking at each photo stimulated his nerves to the core.

In those photographs were William and Mary walking hand in hand, going on a ski, building a snowman, and even kissing as the snowflakes dropped.

'William, you don't even know how to hide your smile, huh?

What are you doing now?' Frank thought. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Then, he stood up from his chair and walked to the window. He gazed at the lights in the distance, expressionless and lonely, but nobody knew what he thought.

Meanwhile, at the ski resort in S City, the snow had stopped falling, but the extreme cold still lingered.

It was near dawn when Mary had fallen asleep, so she was only awakened by William, who was already up and dressed.

And although she wanted to get up, her stiff body, unnatural sleeping posture, and short breath betrayed her.

"I'll go out first.

I'll call you once breakfast's ready," said William in a low voice, looking at her back. "Okay." Although her voice was quite hoarse, the hint of surprise could still be extracted from her tone.

After a while, she finally got up once the breakfast was ready.

William and Mary ate their breakfast silently, with neither of them opening up a conversation. Meanwhile, on the ski field were cheers and melodious songs blasting from different areas, making the entire place lively and vibrant.

Hearing the blaring sounds, Mary gazed outside while chewing on her food. Following her gaze was William, who said unconsciously, "Today is the last day of the festival, and many ski professionals have been invited for an exhibition performance."

"Oh, alright," Mary answered, slightly nodding.

"Manager Sun may invite us to be there later."

"Okay." The woman nodded again without looking at William.

Noticing this, the latter's eyes cast a grim shadow. But even then, he chose not to say anything and just continued his meal in deafening silence.

After breakfast, Manager Sun did come and warmly invited them to watch the performance.

"Come on, hold my hand."

On the spot where Mary almost slipped yesterday, William reached out and offered his hand.

Mary took a deep breath and looked at his warm hand. She couldn't point it out, but it seemed like something had changed in just one day.

"No, thanks. I can do it." Looking up at him, Mary still flashed a grin, although sadness was flickering in her eyes.

'I can't hold your hand anymore,' she thought, turning her head away from him.

Then steadily, she began to take a step forward, leaving William stunned to his feet.

He looked at his hand that hung in mid-air while a lump seemed to have found its way in his throat.

"Mr. Lan? Why did you stop?" The manager shifted his curious eyes between the two.

Hearing that voice, William came to his senses at once and uttered, "Oh." Then, he withdrew his hand in silence and forced a smile before saying, "Nothing. Let's go."

"Okay."

The three of them walked to the VIP viewing area and watched the ski exhibition performance. As the professional skiers traversed and conducted tricks on the slopes, the cheers and jeers from the crowd blared.

Although Mary smiled from time to time, a hint of loneliness still lingered in her eyes.

At the same time, William kept gazing at her, and could sense that her mind was wandering someplace else. Because of this, the man couldn 't help feeling a tinge of pain in his heart.

Meanwhile, in A City, Frank had slumped himself on the couch in his own villa.

It was still early in the morning, and yet he was already drunk as a skank.

"Why did you do this to me?!

Why?!"

he kept muttering as he raised the bottle and took a few more sips.

"You can't be that drunk with just a bottle of vodka." A voice suddenly resounded from somewhere.

In a slight surprise, Frank opened his eyes but didn't bother to survey his surroundings. Instead, he stared at the ceiling and asked, "Who is it?"

"Ha-ha!" A burst of laughter filled the living room, and soon enough, Frank sighted a pair of black leather shoes on the tiled floor.

Staggering to sit up, he looked up and said in disgust, "Oh, it's you, Corbett."

"Yup, it's me." A smile crept on Corbett's lips as he rudely threw himself on the sofa. "What's wrong? Are you drowning your sorrows in alcohol?'1

"Fuck off!" Frank snorted and asked, "How did you get in here?"

"Do you really think you can stop me with a small door lock?" Corbett smiled evilly, pointing at the door, which he effortlessly opened just a while ago.

Holding the bottle, Frank stood up and retorted, "What are you doing here? You're not welcome here."

"Then who do you welcome? William?" A hint of mockery could be extracted from Corbett’s tone as he spat those words, adding more fuel to the fire.

"It's none of your business!" Obviously, Frank was aggrieved at the mere mention of William's name. So, he glared at his unwelcomed visitor with the utmost intensity.

"Is it none of my business?" Corbett stood up and patted his clothes. "We haven't seen each other for a long time after you left. What's with the cold welcome? I specially came here to just see you."

"Can you leave my house? I want to be alone." Frank tried to move forward, but his shaking body only failed him.

Seeing this, Corbett quickly assisted him, wrapping his arm around his waist. "Why are you asking me to leave so soon? Don't you miss me?"

This time, Frank was able to stand straight, but because he was still under the influence of alcohol, he felt utterly dizzy. His surroundings were blurred, and the poor man was almost hallucinating.

"Don't you miss me?"

"Who said that?" Frank mumbled while staring at the man before him.

Then, he shook his head hard, trying to focus his eyes on the outline of Corbett's body. "William?"

"What did you say?" Corbett asked in furrowed brows.

"You are back?"

"Yes, I'm here.

Frank! Look at me!" With a darkened expression, Corbett commanded coldly. His patience was slowly running thin.

"You are...William." Frank continued to mumble while he reeked of alcohol. Suddenly, he threw the bottle in his hand and shifted his full attention to the man before him. "Why didn't you take me with you?"

"Frank!" Corbett tried to bring him back to his senses, but it was just useless. "Okay. Ahuh, I see. " Frank nodded

unconsciously, his eyes now losing focus as the alcohol entirely took effect in his system.

"What are you doing? Hey! Frank!" Corbett trembled and pushed him away.

"Why did you refuse me? Tell me!" Frank took a few steps back and shouted painfully, "Why did you push me away? Tell me!"

Now, it was clear to Corbett that this drunk man clearly mistook him as William. So, overtly angry, he kicked on the chair beside him.

"Are you angry again?" Frank sneered and turned around unsteadily, "Alright, I'll leave if you're mad."

"Frank!"

"What do you want? Hmm?"

"Really?" With eyes wide open in surprise, Frank turned back at him. His voice was coated with so much expectation while he eyed Corbett hopefully.

"Okay."

"I knew it. I knew it..."

Outside the villa, members of Shadow Organization stood on guard dutifully as the sun rose slowly in the backdrop. It was not until noon that Corbett came out of Frank's villa. The moment he walked out, the man oozed with so much arrogance.

"Young lord!"

"Young lord!"

The bodyguards lined up and bowed as soon as they saw him.

"Let's go," Corbett commanded, haughtily straightening his clothes.

"Yes, sir."

Staring at the villa one last time, Corbett got in the car, ready to go to Thailand with his men.

It was already afternoon when Frank sobered up and woke up from his sleep. The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself alone in the bedroom.

His head was throbbing with a seething pain, obviously, from the hangover he was having.

And for a moment, only the sound of the clock ticking could be heard.

Frank took out a cigarette and lit it up. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind while he was puffing the smoke.

'Maybe I can take advantage of this situation,'

he thought to himself as clouds of smoke flew before his face. He looked around to search for his phone and picked it up from where it fell.

This time, he was determined to call only one person--William.

Meanwhile, sitting on the back of the car on their way back from the ski resort, Mary leaned against the window and stared at the scenery passing by. She neither wished to start a conversation nor even looked at the man beside her.

At the same time, William closed his eyes, hoping he could rest from feeling so restless.

Just as the deafening silence filled the car's atmosphere, his phone suddenly rang in his pocket.

After taking it out, he quickly slid his finger on the screen and pressed it in his ear. "Hello?" A hoarse voice greeted from the other end of the line. Taking a glance at Mary, William answered worriedly, "Frank?"

Candy GSmgB