Love Contract
Chapter 265 Substitute Love (Part One)

It was already dawn when Mary returned to the villa. The sky was beginning to show its color while the sun was somewhere waiting for its moment to shine. "Ding!'1

Just as Mary was about to enter her room, her phone suddenly rang.

"Something came up on the construction site, so I had to leave earlier. Congratulations! Let's talk about it when I get home."

She frowned after taking out her phone and reading the message.

It was rare for William to send her messages, so Mary couldn't figure out what facial expression he bore when typing that text. But judging from his words, he probably wasn't happy at all.

"Be careful." After hesitating for a long time, Mary finally managed to type a reply and send it to him.

The villa was empty since the kids were sent to Timothy's place. And because she was all alone, Mary felt peaceful and relaxed after such a tiring day. Stretching her arms, she proceeded to the bathroom to take a shower. After being refreshed with the hot water and soap, she put on her peignoir and settled her phone on the bedside table, ready to throw herself on the bed.

However, seconds after her body hit the soft mattress, Mary's heart trembled at the sudden clanging sound, causing her to jolt and sit up.

As she gazed on the floor, William and her wedding photo graced her sight, completely shattered into pieces.

'How could this be?' she thought, slowly getting out of bed.

Soon as her hand touched the broken photo frame, Mary was stunned and could not move for a few seconds.

After a while, she managed to get back to her senses and tidied up the floor. Then, she threw herself back on the bed.

When Mary opened her eyes again, it was already dark outside. The stars had started to blink while the moon illuminated the sky amid its vast darkness.

She rubbed her dizzy head and slowly got out of bed, still a little bit groggy. With her house slippers on, she went downstairs only to replace a sturdy figure sitting exhausted on the sofa.

"William? You are back!" Surprised, Mary ran to him immediately and asked, "When did you come back?" Meanwhile, William was sitting on the couch in an utter daze, staring blankly at what was in front of him. It was not until Mary patted his shoulder that he turned around and answered, "I'm back.'1

"Why didn't you go upstairs?" Mary gazed down at him and found that there were traces of mud on his trousers and shoes.

"Oh, that. Uhm..." Slowly, William stood up and continued, "I'll go upstairs now."

"Don't you want to eat something first?" asked Mary while her face was painted with concern.

"No, thanks. I'm good." Shaking his head, William loosened his tie and turned his back on her to head upstairs.

"Madam, do you still want to have dinner?" the nanny came up and asked.

"Yes, I do," answered Mary, turning around. "By the way, what time did William come back?"

"Mr. Lan just got home and was sitting in the living room without saying anything."

"Okay, I see." Mary nodded, but her eyes were still wandering someplace else as if something was wrong.

But because she was starving, Mary shook her worry aside and went to the dining area where she had her supper in silence. After that, she immediately went back upstairs to check on William, who was already quietly lying on the bed. His hair was still damp, signaling that he just came out of the shower.

"Why don't you dry yourself first before going to bed?" Mary took a towel and stood on the edge of the bed, preparing to dry his hair.

"No, it's fine." All of a sudden, William turned around and quickly avoided her gaze.

Meanwhile, Mary was left stupefied on the edge of the bed, still holding the towel in her hands. A touch of grievance surged up in her heart as she stared at his broad back. What happened? Why was William acting so strangely?

Just as she was bothered with those thoughts, Mary's phone suddenly dinged with a text message.

Stretching her arms, she got hold of it, and the moment her sight landed on the message, her eyes widened.

"Let's meet at Sculpting In Time Cafe on Woods Road tomorrow morning at seven o'clock. By the way, I should apologize on behalf of William for leaving the award ceremony in a hurry. Frank." Frank?

Mary's heart tumbled after reading the message, causing her to subconsciously fall back on the mattress for the lack of support. She turned her head to look at William, lying with his back facing her, and closed her eyes painfully. 'What should I do? Should I go or not?'

Mary fell deep in her sleep, not knowing what to do. However, the next morning, she found herself walking into the Sculpting In Time Cafe after pushing the door open.

In the end, she still wanted to figure out what had happened the night of the ceremony, especially since it seemed to have something to do with Frank. Even if it was a trap, she was willing to jump into it.

Not long after, she caught sight of him sitting by the window, with a cup of coffee in his hand. A smile found its way on his lips as if he was celebrating some kind of triumph.

"Here I am." Mary walked up to him and stood still.

"Have a seat." Smelling the coffee's fragrance, Frank didn't look up and just kept his gaze on the cup.

Mary shook her head and tried her best to be polite. "No, thanks. I have to go to work later. Just tell me why you asked me to come here."

"It's a long story." This time, Frank finally raised his head and said, "Mary, you better sit down. I'll tell you in detail about what happened."

"What happened?" Obviously intrigued, Mary receded and sat on the empty chair across him.

"I called William that night, and he left with me. You know, just like four years ago," Frank started.

Mary sneered and said nothing. Sure enough, William was with him!

"Mary, please leave William. I don't want to force you. He doesn't love you at all!"

However, hearing what he said made Mary turn extremely cold. Her sharp eyes pierced right at him while her brows were utterly furrowed. "If he doesn't love me, he can tell me that himself."

"If you hadn't given birth to the two kids, William wouldn't have kept you here. That man may look cold, but he has a warm heart. He couldn't leave his children, so he wouldn't tell you the truth. You are not the person he loves. You don't know his past at all!" Frank blurted out.

"What kind of past does he have?" Mary asked, tilting her head on one side while slowly losing her patience.

Seeing her confused expression, Frank broke into laughter and said, "I knew William wouldn't tell you. That night, I went to R Town with him to visit someone."

After Frank narrated what happened, Mary walked out of the cafe in an utter daze. It didn't help that the dazzling morning sunshine illuminated the trace of ghost in her eyes. Although her face bore no expression, she felt a complex set of emotions boiling within her. All her doubts turned into sorrowful pains as if her heart was slowly being torn into pieces.

Sansa Liang?

Frank had a sister called Sansa?

"William has never forgotten my sister even though she has been dead for so many years. I called him to tell him that the flowers planted in front of my sister's tomb withered!

That night was such a momentous occasion for you, yet William could leave regardless of anything. And knowing what he did, who do you think is more valuable in his heart now? Mary, you are a smart woman. I think you know the answer to that.

You are definitely not the one he loves. I'm sure by now you're probably thinking that I'm lying. If you don't believe me, you can go back and replace an ebony box buried somewhere in your house. What's inside it is already enough to make you believe me.

And remember Andy Duan and Beth An? William wanted to get rid of them a long time ago. What happened between him and those women was different from what you've imagined. In the four years since you left, William had been with them all the time.

Candy GSmgB