Chapter 664
But now that everything had been said, no matter how impulsive or inappropriate it was, there was no turning
back.
And deep down, William knew he had never truly wanted to scheme or manipulate her.
So he said sincerely, “Back then, because Noah had such strong feelings for you. As his uncle, I couldn’t let myself fall for you. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. But now, there’s absolutely no possibility of you two being together.”
That was why he could finally be honest.
Emilia stared at William for a long moment before she came back to her senses.
Her first instinct was to say no. Not just because she wasn’t ready for a new relationship or marriage, but even if she were, she wouldn’t consider him.
William really was too outstanding, too perfect. He deserved someone better.
But before she could speak, he said, “Emi, don’t turn me down just yet. I know you’re not thinking about marriage right now.
“Even though I truly mean it when I say I want to marry you because of my feelings for you, I know that, for now, our marriage will be more like a collaboration. It will be a contract to help solve everything that’s going on.
“And once things are settled, if you still don’t feel anything for me and don’t want to stay married, we can end it anytime.”
Emilia was stunned for a moment.
“To solve everything?” she asked.
“Yes.” He paused, then added, “I found out that Grace has been in contact with the criminal organization that once kidnapped you. She’s trying to eliminate any future threats.”
He genuinely wanted to marry her because he liked her. But it was also true that he hoped this marriage could help him completely get rid of Grace and that organization.
And no matter how much he liked her, he wasn’t the kind of person who would force things. If, after everything was over and he had done all he could, she still didn’t have feelings for him, he’d be willing to let her go.
As long as she was happy.
“Also, besides protecting you, getting married would help ease your grandma’s worries. You know how fragile her health is right now. She’ll keep worrying about you as long as you’re not married.”
Emilia had always believed there could never be anything between her and William.
But when she thought about how obsessed Lauren was with getting her married, and how she could only rest easy if Emilia seemed happy, she couldn’t help but start to consider this marriage.
“And I know you’ve always seen Noah as a younger brother, like he’s family. That’s why nothing ever happened between you two. But you’ve seen how stubborn he is. If you never get married, he may never let go. If we get married, it’ll force him to move on too,” he added.
William really was good at convincing people. One reason after another made her waver, and she began to think that this contractual marriage might actually be a good idea.
If he didn’t have feelings for her and was simply offering this as a way to solve problems, she might have agreed
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without a second thought.
But she had to think twice, knowing he was doing it because he had feelings for her.