Mark reached for the phone and dropped the fork he was holding just to answer the so-called ex-husband of Gina.
"Hello?" Mark's voice was firm and authoritative.
"Gina?" Williams shuttered. "No, that's not Gina. Who are you?!"
"This is Mark Hughes, Gina's fiancé. Who's calling?"
Gina's eyes widened in shock, and she choked on her food, gulping a lot of water for digestion as she tried to catch his gaze, but he was focused on the call with his face masked with seriousness. Fiancé? What was Mark thinking?
On the other end of the line, Williams's shock was palpable. "M… Mark Hughes?" He stammered. "As in, the Hughes family?"
"That's right," Mark replied smoothly. "And you are?"
There was a long pause before Williams spoke again. "This is Williams Franklin. I… I…am Gina's husband."
Mark exchanged gazes with Gina whose gaze didn't leave hers. She was curious to know what Williams was saying over the phone as she gestured for Mark to put the call on the loudspeaker. He returned to talking with Williams with a hardened expression. "Used to be."
"Huh?" Williams raised his brow, confusion hinted in his voice.
"Well, Mister Franklin, Gina is with me now. If you have anything to say, you can say it to me."
Williams's throat went dry. He knew the Hughes family by reputation, the powerful, influential, and notoriously ruthless when crossed. "I… I just want to make sure she is okay."
"She's fine," Mark said coldly. "She's better now that she's away from you."
Williams swallowed hard, his mind racing. "I…uh, appreciate that. I'll… I'll leave you two be."
Williams hung up the phone, his face drained of colour. His hands trembled as he sat on the edge of the bed, trying to process what had just happened. He couldn't believe it. Gina was with Mark Hughes, of all people. He wondered how they even met. His heart pounded in his chest, a mixture of death and anger surging through him.
He went back to the room where he had left Lilia, and he banged the door, leaving a loud thud, startling Lilia who was sitting at the corner of the bed with her red eyes.
"What happened?" She asked, noticing Williams' pale face and trembling hands as she waddled in his direction, her swollen belly leading the way.
Williams stared at her, his mind racing. "That was Mark Hughes on the phone." He said, his voice shaking as he told Lilia he had tried reaching Gina until Mark Hughes answered the phone himself. "He's claiming to be Gina's fiancé."
Lilia's eyes widened, ignoring the pain she was feeling from her eyes. "The Hughes family? Are you serious?"
"Would I joke about this?" Williams swallowed hard. "This is bad, Lilia, this is bad."
Lilia crossed her arms, her scepticism clear. "Isn't that a good thing? Maybe they'll just use her as a maid or so. Or worse, get rid of her. They've got a nasty reputation."
"If they do get rid of Gina, I won't be able to rip some money out of her so don't say that!" Williams snapped. "If anything happens to her, my plans are ruined. Do you think Hughes will just ignore the fact that I used her for her company shares? They might come after me next?"
Lilia took a step back, her anger flaring, it was her turn to let out her anger. "And what about me, Williams? What am I supposed to do? You got me pregnant, and now you're panicking about some woman who isn't even here."
Williams clenched his fists, trying to rein in his temper. "Do you think I don't know that? Do you think I don't realize the mess we're in? But if you want any money to go care of the baby, you need to let me handle this."
Lilia glared at him, her eyes filled with resentment. "Handle it? How? By running back to the States? What exactly are you going to do?"
"You have to initiate your friendship with Gina back. You're on the safer side than I am and don't reveal your betrayal to her." Williams said as that was the only thing he had in mind.
"That's the same thing you said before, Williams. You're so heartless for coming up with that again." Lilia yelled.
Williams stormed up, narrowing his gaze at her as she fell back on the bed, feeling a sharp pain in her stomach. "If you can't do that, then let me think of something to do, the least you could do right now is shut the hell up." He yelled before stepping back, allowing her to catch her breath.
"Then…then…what are you going to do?" She shuttered.
"I don't know yet. But I need to figure it out fast. If Hughes finds out everything, we're both done for."
Lilia sighed, her anger giving away to fear. "So what now?"
"I need to remove her grandparents' threat off my neck, I can't be battling with different obstacles," Williams said, pacing back and forth as he thought of a plan.
Lilia patiently waited for him to think of something as his heartbeat accelerated when Williams broke his plan to her.
"I'd have no choice but to tell her grandparents that their so-called beloved granddaughter is dead," Williams said with a satisfactory smile playing on his lips.
Lilia's eyes widened in awe. She knew Williams was full of nasty things but this was just so foolish. "Don't you think that's a foolish move? Do you think they won't ask for her corpse?"
"Not if I tell them she drowned."
Lilia stiffened on the bed.
Williams grabbed her arms and helped her up, holding onto her shoulders tightly as he urged her to look into his eyes. "For now, we have to lie low. I need to make some calls to find out exactly what we're dealing with. And you," his grip on her shoulder tightened. "You need to keep quiet. No more talking about Gina. She's dead and forgotten. Got it?"