Without giving them a chance to speak, she quickly lowered her head and sprinted into her room.
If Frank had misunderstood her, then she was in deeper trouble than she had thought.
"Frank..." William tried to explain. "Don't think too much about this. She's just being an idiot that's all, and I..."
"I'll be cleaning the kitchen," Frank cut off as he smiled. But there was something about his smile that made William flinch. "You should head back to the couch. Dinner isn't ready yet."
With that, he turned around and began cleaning up the mess Mary had left. As his back was turned, a trace of cruelty flashed in his gaze, and the grip on his towel tightened.
'I must do something about this, ' he said to himself. 'I need to do something about her.'
After a few minutes, Frank was already done setting the table, but Mary still hadn't come out of her room. Despite her absence, the atmosphere remained cold and strange, one that they weren't used to.
"Mary, it's time for dinner!" William called out, knocking on her door.
"I'm not hungry. You guys should enjoy without me," she called out. "I'll be calling it a night."
He sighed in frustration, giving up knocking again.
"William, we've always wanted some alone time, right? Now that we're finally together, perhaps we should take advantage of this," Frank said, motioning him to the table.
William slowly nodded. "You're right. Let's eat," he said hesitantly and sat with him.
"So, when are we heading to Norway?" Frank asked casually, getting a spoonful of curry.
William furrowed his eyebrows and looked up. "Didn't we agree to go there next year?"
"Should we really wait that long? What's stopping us from going right now?"
"There are just a few months left before the year ends," William said. "Plus, there are still plenty of things I need to handle."
"Really? What things?" Frank snapped.
"I haven't finished the handover yet," William answered.
"And you can't do this in Norway?"
"Why are you in such a hurry?" William gritted his teeth, having enough of his insistence. He wiped his face and stood up. "Look, there's nothing stopping us right now. It would be impractical to leave in such a hurry. Let's just stick to the original plan okay?" he snapped, turning around. "I'm going to take a shower."
Without giving him a chance to speak, he stomped towards the bathroom, leaving Frank alone.
Frank was right about the handover. It could be easily done in Norway, but he didn't want to leave now. There was a voice in his heart nagging him that he couldn't leave until the contract was finished.
William heaved a sigh as he stepped out of the shower. He didn't know why, but there was just something about Mary that drew him in. Wearing his bathrobe, he passed by her room, noticing that it was silent. 'She must've already fallen asleep, ' he thought.
He dried his hair and went to the bedroom. Just as he opened the door, he saw Frank sitting by the edge of his bed.
"William," he said softly. The innocent glint in his eyes glimmered.
He stiffened, not really knowing what to say.
Frank got out of bed and walked up to him. He didn't waste any time as he grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him inside, closing the door behind them. "Frank," he murmured, a complicated look flashing on his face.
He couldn't help but feel sorry for Frank. After everything that had just happened, he must've been terrified and even unsettled.
"Frank," he called out again.
"What's wrong?"
"You just came back. You must be tired." William pulled away from his hold.
"Tired? You think I'm tired?" Frank burst into laughter.
William frowned.
Frank grabbed his arm and pulled him over. "You like her, don't you?" he accused. "Am I right?"
"Frank!" William yelled out, aghast from the accusation. There was something about his words that made his heart fall into his stomach. "Look, just don't overthink it. It's just... I'm not ready to do this."
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