Thalia fidgeted with her fingers, her gaze fixed on her lap the entire time as they sat on the couch, waiting for the unofficial verdict from that so-called retired mafia.
"So…" William leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. "Tell me… are you good at hypnotizing people?"
"Yes!" Tiara answered instantly on Thalia's behalf. "She majored in psychology."
William's brows drew together slightly. "Psychology?"
Thalia finally looked up, her fingers still fidgeting. "Yes."
A brief silence followed.
"I see," William murmured, leaning back again. "So you're suggesting what happened earlier was… hypnosis?"
Tiara nodded immediately. "Yes. A simple suggestion technique. It's not uncommon for short-term memory gaps to occur under certain conditions… but yes."
Thalia blinked, 'Woah… is that it?'
Honestly, she didn't understand a single thing her sister had just said.
In all her nine hundred and five years of living as a fox, the only thing she had ever been interested in was finding a handsome soulmate.
Hypnosis?
Psychology?
None of that mattered.
William nodded slowly, as if he understood. "Then what did we discuss that made it so urgent for you to hypnotize me into forgetting it?"
Silence.
Tiara glanced briefly at Thalia.
A second passed.
Then she spoke.
"Well… it's just that my sister was being disrespectful toward you at the time," she said smoothly. "And because of your reputation…" she paused slightly, "I was worried you might take offense."
Thalia instantly turned to look at her. She blinked a few times.
'I should be clapping right now. How did she come up with that excuse so quickly? As expected of a former genius nine-tailed fox. Meanwhile, I was just… existing.'
"Really?" William's voice trailed off as he tilted his head up slightly, his gaze drifting to the ceiling for a few seconds.
Then, "I suppose I'll take offense now."
He stood up and a brief, almost polite smile crossed his face.
"I'll file a complaint," he added calmly, "and proceed accordingly."
Tiara straightened immediately. "What do you mean, Mr. Carter?"
"It's exactly as you heard," William replied, turning slightly. "Is hypnotizing someone without consent acceptable?"
He paused, "I don't believe my reputation is so terrible that you felt the need to resort to that."
Behind him, Beto, who had been standing quietly, raised his brows ever so slightly as he thought, 'What are you talking about? Your reputation is terrible.'
Tiara inhaled slowly, forcing herself to stay composed.
"Mr. Carter," she began, her voice steady, "there must be a misunderstanding. Can we talk this through?"
William clicked his tongue lightly. "I don't think so." He glanced at her, his tone calm but edged with something sharp. "Who knows? If I stay here one more minute, you might decide to hypnotize me again."
He then turned to Beto. "You—step outside. They might do the same to you." A brief pause. "Wouldn't want all the witnesses to disappear."
Beto blinked repeatedly.
"Yes, sir," he said, though his expression clearly screamed confusion.
Because this—This was not like his boss at all.
Petty? Overdramatic?
He looked at Thalia, who was listening to the whole conversation in bewilderment, 'Who are you and what have you done to my President?'
"I'm truly sorry for everything that has happened, Mr. Carter," Tiara said, stepping forward. "But I assure you, this won't happen again."
William raised a hand, "Stay."
Just one word and it was enough to stop her in place.
Tiara froze. Hitting a dead end, she turned slightly and glanced at her 'always-late-to-process-the-situation' sister, locking eyes with her.
Thalia blinked, raising her brows as if silently asking, 'What?'
A second passed.
'Oh.'
Thinking her sister was telling her to compel him again, Thalia immediately stood up.
"Mr. Carter…" she called out, out of nowhere.
William's gaze snapped to her. He lifted a finger slightly, pointing in her direction.
"Stay where you are." He slightly squinted his eyes, "If you don't want your sister's company which was built from years of her hard work to collapse tomorrow."
Thalia froze instantly. She knew exactly what that company meant to Tiara. Her fingers curled at her sides, starting to feel the cold from the fear.
"You're threatening me?" she asked, her voice quieter than usual.
William didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at her, totally calm and completely unbothered.
"No," he said. "I'm offering you a choice… to get out of this situation."
That made her chest tighten.
"What choice?" she asked, her brows drawing together.
"A simple one." He took a step closer. "Cooperate… or deal with the consequences."
Tiara stepped forward despite herself. "Mr. Carter—"
"Stay," he said again, not even sparing her a glance.
William closed the distance between him and Thalia.
"Would you like to hear it?" His voice dropped as he stopped right in front of her.
Thalia swallowed. She glanced quickly at Tiara, who shook her head firmly.
The warning was clear.
"Want to hear a fun fact?" William leaned closer, his voice brushing against her ear.
Thalia's gaze lifted to him. "What?" she asked, her voice weaker than she intended.
"I could turn her company upside down overnight with just a flick of my finger…" he whispered.
She frowned, her fingers tightening slightly. "What do you really want, Mr. Carter?"
Another pause, before he smiled, "You."
"What do you mean?" Thalia asked, confusion flickering across her face.
"Isn't it clear?" he replied calmly. "You asked. I answered." He leaned closer, his voice lowering. "You. I want you."
The distance between them disappeared. His breath brushed lightly against her lips.
Thalia's heart skipped.
"I—I'm sorry for what happened earlier," she said quickly, her voice unsteady. "I was so afraid and ended up hypnotizing you without your concern…"
She gulped hard, "I promised I won't do it again. I really hope you'll consider my apology."
William hummed softly. His gaze sharpened just slightly.
"Would you like to hear one more fact?"
Thalia hesitated. But she nodded anyway.
"What is it?"
At this point, she could only follow the flow. Anything else might ruin everything for her sister.
William leaned closer, his lips near her ear.
"I'm far-sighted," he murmured. "And I don't like wearing glasses."
Thalia blinked, completely lost. "Far-sighted…?"
He pulled back slightly, meeting her eyes again.
Then he smiled. "So I wear…"
A second of tense before he continued, "Clear contact lenses."