210 Calming Down

For 10 minutes, Will drove through the streets like a madman, not even bothering to pause at the red signals while Liz held on for dear life. He seemed like a man possessed, and although Liz hadn't intended to say anything, she couldn't help but finally yelp when they almost collided into a food cart that was on the road.

This finally brought Will back to his senses, making him slow down the car and drive more normally.

However, he was still driving around aimlessly, and after 10 more minutes, Liz knew that he was just taking whichever turn he wanted. It was clear that he had no destination in mind, and she understood that he must just be blowing some steam off right now.

The hand with which he had punched that wall had become red and bruised but he didn't seem to care. His fists grasped the steering wheel tight, and he maneuvered the car like an expert racecar driver, so much so that Liz wondered whether this could have been one of his 'hobbies'.

Finally, around an hour later, he stopped on a beach.

The Lamborghini they were in had become totally filthy with all the dirt they had accumulated on their way, and now, on the beach, sand coated it too, making it look like someone had taken it through the worst areas possible.

Of course, Will didn't care. He got out of the car and stood on the beach at a spot where the waves lapped at his feet, looking down with an indecipherable expression on his face.

Slowly, Liz made her way to his side after making sure that he wasn't in a mood in which he had to be left alone completely.

In fact, she wasn't sure if she could make that decision, but she had decided to go to his side anyway as he really looked more vulnerable than she had ever seen.

His shoulders were slumped, and as she reached him, she saw that all the fury was gone, replaced by a melancholy sadness which radiated outwards, affecting even her.

What was going on? Was he perhaps disappointed in his mother?

No, there had to be something else.

From his reaction, Liz had been able to gather that this was definitely not the first time that something like this had happened.

However, even though she had been thinking about it, she could not get a clear idea about how that could be possible.

Yet, now, seeing his sadness, she finally got a clue.

She had heard a lot about that woman who had been in his life, who had apparently shattered him on the way out.

Could this somehow be related to her?

Whatever it was, she had to wait for him to speak, and she fully intended to give him as much time as he needed.

This was definitely much bigger than she had imagined or bargain for, but her only intention was to stand beside her boyfriend and give him everything she could in order to help him.

It was as if her presence by his side was enough – Will slowly felt himself getting better, even though she didn't say a word.

If he were being honest, he should have expected something like this the moment his mom had marched into his room before.

However, he just hadn't wanted to consider it, which seemed to have unconsciously made him ignore this possibility.

As he thought back to just how much Liz had had to work hard in order to overcome all the obstacles that had been placed in her path, he felt that anger rising again, but it was doused in the pain and sadness that came from the memory that had been awakened due to this action by his mother.

No. Enough is enough.

Finally, with determination on his face, Will looked up to stare at the endless sea before turning to his side to gaze at Liz's face.

The moonlight bounced off her skin, giving her an ephemeral quality, almost as if she were some sort of divine apparition that had appeared just to grace his life.

She… was his everything now.

And such injustice had been done to her by his own mother.

If he didn't stand up for her at this moment, he knew that he might forever lose whatever he had gained in these past few weeks.

Although he was going to do that anyway, he reminded himself of this fact, which made his resolution grow stronger.

Finally, taking his hands out of his pockets, he grasped Liz's hand, which made her look at him with start.

In a soft voice, he said, "Let's go."

Liz didn't ask what it was time for, but she just nodded and smiled sweetly before following him to the car.

Just before they drove away, Will sent some sort of message on his phone, and after he did so, he sighed heavily.

"Be ready at 6 PM tomorrow. The culprit will be here, and you can say anything you want to. Okay?"

Liz was a bit puzzled, but again, she just nodded, deciding to just wait and see.

More than anything, she was curious about the reasons behind all the emotions that Will had just shown, but she knew that it wasn't the right to ask. He would tell her on his own accord when it was time, so she just looked forward to that and felt very glad that she had come along with him, as she could tell that this venting session would have been much more dangerous if she weren't here.

They drove back to the hotel, and Will kissed her good night on her forehead, looking at her eyes for a few moments with a small smile on his face.

With many questions, Liz went to sleep, having a very troubled night before she woke up very early in the morning and got started on the work that had been put aside due to her investigations.

She had lunch in her room itself, throwing herself completely into simple, rote work like filling in forms which kept her mind away from everything.

Finally, at 6 PM, she donned a yellow casual dress and walked out to meet Will in the lobby.

Getting out of an elevator near her, he came to her and grabbed her hand again before smiling, following which he turned toward the door.

A few moments later, a woman walked through the door, and Liz would never forget what she saw at that moment.

This woman looked slightly similar to Will, but when she looked around and spotted Will before following his hand to see him holding her, an expression of disgust came on her face, as if she was seeing some sort of insect that she wanted to squash.

Well…at least, that look had just confirmed that this woman was definitely the one behind it all.