After ending the call, William pinched the bridge of his nose again, feeling faint pangs of discomfort in his head, as if each word Deimos spoke had left a small needle stuck in his temple.
The young Aballay wondered if it would be too inconvenient to sew Deimos's lips shut while he assessed the consequences. Although it would make it somewhat difficult to use his natural charisma, he recognized that his subordinate didn't necessarily need to speak to perform his duties and that, if things went wrong, he could learn sign language to express himself. Although knowing him, that would only excite him more, and he'd surely find a way to be even more annoying than before.
No matter how he looked at him, the alpha's only option was to continue holding on. Faced with such a sadly discouraging thought, the dark-haired man simply drummed his fingers on the back of the door, desperately wanting to take a sip of one of his strongest liquors or, at the very least, find some distraction that would allow him to release the pressure building in his chest.
And as if the universe sensed his need, the man from Aballay's cell phone rang again, this time a video call that surprised him with a personalized ringtone he instantly recognized, eliciting a small but genuine smile.
"Hi, Sarah... do you need anything?" William asked in a calmer tone when he saw his aunt on the screen, who was wearing a purple dress and appeared to be sitting on one of the lounge chairs in the main courtyard of the Aballay mansion. "Do you want to borrow one of my guys?"
"Thanks for the offer, but I don't need anything right now," the omega replied with a calm expression as she took a sip from a steaming cup, adding later, "I'm just calling to see what you thought of the interview."
"What can I say…? I was so eager to talk about something I have absolutely no interest in that it nearly destroyed me when Aunt Veronica stole the show," the alpha retorted sarcastically.
"William, I don't talk about that, and you know it."
The current matriarch of Aballay looked at him seriously, making it clear she wasn't going to let the topic slide into mere small talk.
"Wait a second, Aunt… Bentral," the dark-haired man then said to the other alpha, turning his head slightly. "Give us privacy and drive slowly."
"As you command, sir," Bentral replied, pressing a button on the dashboard that raised a soundproof window, dividing the car in two and completely isolating the rear. Only when the window had finished raising did William speak again.
"Now then, continue."
"As I was saying… I know what happens when an Aballay falls in love. Veronica doesn't keep any secrets from me, and I can safely say that it's affecting you much more than it did my Veca," Sarah stated as she placed her cup on the table without taking her eyes off the dark-haired man. "Not only are you in a completely new state of unstableness, but you've also never liked being visible or scrutinized while your space is invaded. You always preferred to stay behind the scenes, not drawing more attention than necessary."
"I don't want to talk about it," William murmured, averting his eyes slightly as if the weight of his aunt's words was making him recoil internally.
At this, the omega was silent for a few moments, clearly undecided about what to do or say next, and finally, after a long, resigned sigh, she spoke again in a softer but firm voice. "Okay… let's keep this between us, but if this gets too much for you or you do something stupid, I'll go to my alpha and tell him everything."
"Thank you, Auntie. I assure you I'll learn to control myself… I'm the only one who decides what to do and how. But if anything changes, I'll let you know immediately," William promised seriously, looking back into the omega's eyes with renewed determination.
"Of course, darling. I know you have a busy day ahead of you, and I'm sorry I had to interrupt you, but I needed to make you clear on where you stand with what's happening to you," Sarah said, crossing her fingers and resting her chin on them as her gaze softened.
"No need to apologize," William replied, frowning with a mixture of gratitude and suppressed frustration. "I appreciate you talking to me about this… It's nice."
"We'll always support you, Little Willi, no matter what. We'll always be on your side… just keep your promise."
"I promise," William replied, letting his aunt's smile be the last image that appeared before he ended the video call.
Then he decided to return to focusing on the documents in front of him, seeking to distract himself from himself, from his thoughts, from the growing weight that was eating away at him inside.
The alpha scrolled through documents until he came to one containing a personal note from Xander; it pertained to a diner run by an alpha who took advantage of his position to mess with minors, escaping so far thanks to his skill in choosing his targets, coupled with incredible and repulsive luck.
The discovery caused immediate discontent and profound disgust in Aballay, who would make sure the man could never get a job again. He planned to destroy his reputation layer by layer, as if flaying a rotten hide, and then give him a timeout dedicated solely to punishment.
No one, absolutely no one, would live peacefully if they associated with minors in that way, and he, as the bearer of the Aballay name, would make sure of it without hesitation.
When he finished his work, William allowed himself a short break while he checked the news on his cell phone. Reading everything that had been published so far regarding the attack on the Esbarts, he was more interested in knowing what the vultures of the press had decided to write than in the extremely remote possibility of being caught for what he had done.
Enjoying the machinations of the press, as pathetic as they were. Their attempts to reconstruct history at their convenience, to plant stupid theories, or to play with the narrative as if they knew something real, were highly entertaining.
The black-haired man spent a good few minutes reading and listening to everything that was being said, even letting out a low laugh at a ridiculous theory about a supposed settling of scores between minor clans, until a voice brought him out of his well-deserved rest.
"Excuse me for the interruption, Mr. William," Xander spoke after the glass slowly rolled down. "We're here."
"Thanks for letting me know," William replied calmly, waiting for Bentral and Xander to get out of the vehicle and opening the door for them, the completed documents in a black briefcase. "Follow me," he ordered in his usual tone as he headed for the entrance of an administrative building.