Chapter 181

William instinctively reached out to protect her forehead, worried she might hurt herself.

Victoria looked up at him, the panic on her face quickly fading. "Where'd you go? I woke up and you weren't here."

Before William could respond, the young nurse behind him covered her mouth and giggled. "You two must be newlyweds, huh? Can't stand being apart for even a second?"

Victoria, still groggy from sleep, took a moment to process the nurse's teasing and stammered out a denial.

William's handsome face held a faint smile. "Don't tease her, she's easily embarrassed."

The nurse giggled again, clearly excited, as she helped William into the room. While changing his bandages, she whispered to Victoria, "Your husband is so good to you. This morning, when we took him for tests, he wouldn't let us wake you."

Victoria's face turned bright red.

She was supposed to be the one taking care of him, yet she had slept so soundly.

Overwhelmed with guilt, she didn't even try to explain their relationship.

William leaned back on the hospital bed, his eyes filled with a gentle smile as he looked at Victoria.

Once the nurse left the room, he reached out his hand and softly said, "Come here."

Victoria looked at him warily, refusing to move.

"Alright," William said, a barely-there smile playing on his lips. "Then I'll come to you."

"No, don't!" Victoria exclaimed, worried he might aggravate his injury. She quickly stepped forward. "Just tell me what you need, and I'll help you."

William, still in the motion of getting out of bed, looked up at her with a probing gaze. "Really?"

"Yes," Victoria nodded firmly, her guilt driving her to make up for falling asleep last night.

William's thick eyelashes fluttered slightly before he raised his arm and gently placed it on her shoulder, pulling her into an embrace. His voice was low and tender. "I just want to hold you for a while, nothing else."

Victoria was caught off guard by his sudden hug, her hands instinctively bracing against the bed to avoid pressing on his abdominal wound.

"Let me hold you for a bit," he whispered in her ear, a hint of sadness in his voice. "Let me know you're still here."

Victoria lowered her eyes, her emotions a mix of feelings she couldn't quite name, her heart swelling with a touch of bitterness.

"William!"

The door suddenly burst open, and Daisy walked in briskly.

Seeing the scene inside, she turned to leave, "We can talk later..."

But before she could finish, someone roughly pushed her aside.

Alvin stormed into the room, his face dark. William, however, remained calm, his gaze indifferent as if he wasn't holding Victoria in his arms.

Victoria, startled by the commotion, quickly turned her head.

"Dad!" She looked like a child caught doing something wrong, standing up abruptly and stammering.

William's hand suddenly grasped hers, and she looked at him, confused.

He smiled gently, signaling her to stay calm.

Alvin, seeing this, was so furious he nearly fainted. He glared at Victoria and barked, "Victoria! Go back to the hotel now!"

He grabbed her hand, trying to drag her out.

William frowned, attempting to stand but wincing in pain.

Victoria, worried, shook off Alvin's hand and looked at William anxiously. "William, don't move."

"Relax," William said, trying to comfort her despite the pain. "It's okay, you should go back to the hotel. I'll be fine on my own."

Victoria couldn't bring herself to leave, especially with William so badly injured. What if they had a conflict?

After all, William got hurt helping her and saving Alvin. She couldn't just leave him.

Determined, Victoria looked at Alvin and said loudly, "Dad, he's hurt. You can't mess with him."

Alvin was stunned, looking at Victoria in disbelief. "You're defending him?"

And why did she assume he would mess with an injured man?

Behind Victoria, William's eyes narrowed slightly, a smug smile on his face, like a cat that got the cream.

Daisy's expression wasn't much better. Couldn't William be a bit more restrained?

"I'm not defending him, just stating the facts," Victoria insisted, standing firmly in front of Alvin, arms outstretched to block him from William. "Dad, can't this wait until he's healed?"

William coughed weakly, looking extremely frail but trying to appear nonchalant. "Victoria, I'm fine. You're tired, go rest. I can manage."

The more he acted like this, the more Victoria refused to move, determined to protect him.

Daisy, meanwhile, kept her eyes on Alvin. She probably just came to check if William was okay.

Victoria certainly didn't trust Daisy to take care of William.

Seeing William's act, Daisy twitched her eyebrow. She couldn't believe this was her usually aloof nephew.

And Victoria, so determined to protect him, made Daisy shake her head. He could only fool someone as naive as Victoria.

But looking at Alvin, things seemed dire.

Alvin's face was livid, clearly on the verge of exploding.

The angrier he got, the more Victoria refused to leave him alone with William.

"Dad, whatever you need to say, can it wait until he's better? If you want to scold him, do it when he's healed," Victoria said, standing her ground. "He needs to rest."

Alvin's eyes widened in disbelief. "What did you say?"

Victoria pressed her lips together and shook her head firmly. "I said, no one can touch him today!"

"Victoria!" Alvin's voice grew harsher. "Are you rebelling?"

"No..."

Victoria wanted to explain, but Daisy quickly intervened, smiling to ease the tension. "Then please take care of William. We'll go."

She reached for Alvin, who stood still, and glared at him. "Are you coming or not?"