Swap 18

Chapter 18 

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Chapter 18 

William sat in the empty mansion, the newspaper in his hands crumpled beyond recognition. 

“Sir, you haven’t eaten for three days.” 

The butler approached cautiously. 

William remained silent, his gaze fixed on another stack of newspapers on the coffee table. 

Every publication, every front page, covered the same event-Jose and Jessica’s wedding. 

Reporters had exhausted every glowing adjective to describe this “wedding of the century,” each word stabbing his heart like needles. 

“Happiness,” “perfection,” “true love”… 

He laughed bitterly. 

Those words once belonged to him and Jessica. 

A phone ring shattered the suffocating silence. 

“William, are you alright?” 

Anna’s voice came through hesitantly. 

William stared at the screen before answering: “Do 

“I… just wanted to check on you.” 

Her voice trembled. “The child misses you… 

“Which child?” 

you 

think I’m okay?” 

William sneered. “Are you sure he’s mine?” 

Silence hung heavy on the line. 

After a long pause, Anna whispered, “Let’s start over, William? Jessica is already- 

“Shut up!” 

William surged to his feet. “You don’t get to say her name!” 

He ended the call and hurled the phone against the wall. 

The shattering screen echoed through the hollow mansion-a perfect mirror to his fractured heart. 

Chapter 18 

William walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the glittering city below. 

Streams of headlights flowed through luminous streets, yet none of it touched him. 

He felt trapped behind glass, forced to witness a world spinning without him, forever beyond warmth. 

Memories flooded in like relentless tides. 

Jessica’s first smile just for him. 

Jessica walking toward him in wedding white. 

Jessica sobbing “Let’s divorce.” 

Each scene burned so vividly he’d turn, expecting to find her waiting. 

But the room stayed empty. 

“Sir…” The butler reappeared at the doorway. 

“Get out.” 

William’s voice scraped like sandpaper. 

“Mr. Anderson demands your presence.” 

The butler spoke through clenched teeth. 

His “loving” father. He’d almost forgotten. 

William changed clothes and drove to Anderson Corporate Headquarters. 

Every street sign, every building’ along the way whispered memories of Jessica. 

This city’s every inch had witnessed their love. 

Now those memories became instruments of torture. 

In his father’s office, the elder Anderson watched financial news. 

Roberts’ stocks soared as Jose gained market favor for marrying his “Supportive Spouse.” 

“Sit.” 

The command came without looking up. 

William sat, bracing for the lecture. 

“Regrets?” 

His father finally turned. 

“What?” 

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Chapter 18 

“I asked if you regret it.” 

The calmness in his tone felt lethal. “Abandoning Jessica for family interests-do you regret it now?” 

William stayed silent. 

“You think I don’t know what’s in your head?” 

Aaron sneered, “You think I forced you into all this, right?” 

William looked up abruptly. 

“Son, remember this one thing.” 

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Aaron walked up to him and said, word by word, “The most terrifying thing in this world isn’t being forced by others, but realizing that you’re actually a coward.” 

As the words fell, William felt as if struck by lightning. 

That’s right, no one forced him. 

He himself chose the family’s interests, chose the child in Anna’s womb, chose to give up on Jessica. 

He was the one who personally pushed away the woman who loved him most in this world. 

“Do you understand now?” 

Aaron patted his shoulder, “Some mistakes, once made, last a lifetime. 

Some people, once lost, can never come back.” 

William sat there like a puppet, letting his father’s words cut into his heart one by one. 

He finally understood what despair meant. 

Not death, but living while having forever lost the meaning of life. 

Late at night, William returned to the Anderson Manor House. 

He sat on the sofa where Jessica once sat, holding onto a piece of clothing she left behind. 

It still carried her scent, a faint jasmine fragrance. 

On his phone, 99+ unread messages. 

There were Anna’s tearful complaints, friends’ consolations, and business partners’ concerns. 

But not a single one was from Jessica. 

And there never would be. 

At three in the morning, William opened his eyes on the sofa. 

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Chapter 18 

He had a dream in which Jessica came back, wearing a white dress and smiling at him. 

The moment he woke up, despair flooded over him like a tide. 

Then, the doorbell rang. 

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