{Chapter: 294 Maria's Business}
Ada narrowed her eyes as she looked at Maria. "Your reaction is quick. You've already realized it. Yes, we're talking about the Chitauri army. They'll be arriving soon—starting with New York."
Maria clenched her fists tightly, her eyes burning with fury. "Damn it… all of this… it's your doing, isn't it?!"
"Don't get the wrong idea," William said with a calm, almost amused expression. "This isn't my fault. Loki is the mastermind here. He's the one orchestrating everything. I'm just a bystander in this particular disaster."
"Loki? As if that changes anything!" Maria spat. "You're all twisted in the same way. You can't tell me you have nothing to do with each other. I don't buy it."
Natasha spoke quietly but firmly. "There's really no connection. When I was captured by this lunatic, I came across Loki. William beat him senseless—humiliated him, really. But the truth is clear: he's using Loki. Not the other way around."
Maria gave a short, bitter nod. "I see. So Loki is just the blade, and you're the hand that swings it. He carries out the dirty work while you sit back and reap the benefits. A well-calculated plan."
"Think of Loki as the match," William said with a crooked smile. "I simply tossed him onto the fuel. The Chitauri are coming, that's a fact. And I can't wait to see what Earth looks like when they arrive. The chaos… the destruction… it'll be magnificent."
Maria's jaw tightened. She bit down on her lower lip, clearly battling her emotions. Her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides, her mind racing. Finally, after a long, tense silence, she looked William dead in the eye.
"William… you want me, don't you?"
William didn't hesitate. "Yes," he said, his voice cold and direct.
"Then listen carefully," Maria said, her voice steady now, almost emotionless. "If you stop all this from happening… if you defeat the Chitauri army and save New York… then I'll give myself to you. I'll be yours."
The room fell silent.
Ada, Alice, and Natasha all turned toward Maria, stunned. None of them had expected her to make such an offer.
A spark of amusement glinted in the eyes of the White Queen. "So this is the legendary honey trap in action," she said with a smirk. "William, you bastard, just say yes already. You know you want to."
William's expression twisted into something darker. "What noble conviction," he mocked. "Are you really willing to sell your body to save your homeland? Is this what heroism looks like now?"
"Say whatever you like," Maria said firmly. "I don't care what you think of me. I only want to know… do you accept my offer?"
William chuckled, shaking his head. "I never make a deal that ends with me on the losing side. Defeating the Chitauri army would be a massive effort, a risk. And besides… deal or no deal, you're already mine. You can't run from that. Did you really think you had a choice?"
Maria's voice trembled with controlled rage. "You might be able to take my body, but you'll never have my will. What you'll have is a puppet—an empty shell. But if you accept my offer… if you agree to fight for Earth… I'll give myself to you willingly. Heart and soul. I'll be yours completely."
William's gaze didn't waver. "That's tempting, I'll admit," he said slowly. "But in the end, does it matter whether you do it willingly or not? In my eyes, the result is the same. The goal is all that matters. The process? Irrelevant."
"You are a monster," Maria hissed, eyes shining with frustration and despair.
"And you're finally seeing it," the White Queen said approvingly. "Well said, beast. That's exactly what makes you… special."
Maria trembled. "William…"
He raised an eyebrow. "Is there something you'd like to learn from me?"
"You've crossed every line," Maria said, voice trembling with emotion. "I gave up everything—my pride, my dignity—just to protect others. And all I got in return was cruelty. Humiliation."
William simply shrugged, his expression unreadable. "Maria, you remind me of someone. Not in looks, but in your spirit. The fire in your soul."
Alice's eyes narrowed, her voice soft. "You mean… Peggy?"
"Indeed," Ada said, her tone thoughtful. "Her personality is very similar to Peggy's—cold, practical, and committed to her beliefs."
"Peggy?" Maria blinked, the name catching her off guard. "Peggy Carter?"
"You know her?" Alice asked with a raised brow.
"Of course I know her. She's a legend within SHIELD. According to our records, she disappeared at the end of World War II. Vanished without a trace." Maria's eyes narrowed. "Now it seems she didn't disappear… you took her, didn't you?"
"'Took her?'" William scoffed. "First of all, she's not some helpless child who got taken away. And secondly, I didn't 'nap' anyone—your grammar is as bad as your accusations. Peggy came with me by choice. We love each other. We live together. We built something real." He crossed his arms, his voice carrying a sharp edge. "She's my first wife, and if you don't understand that, then don't talk nonsense. Don't try to slander the relationship we have."
Maria sneered. "Love each other? Agent Carter must've gone blind."
William's eyes turned frosty. "Her eyes are perfectly fine. Better than most. Peggy used to be just like you, always thinking of the country first, always willing to throw herself into the fire. But in the end, she realized something. She realized that the world she was sacrificing herself for wouldn't even remember her name when it was over. So she made a choice—to live for herself. And for me."
Maria clenched her jaw. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying I'm sick of hearing people talk about 'sacrifice' as if it's some sacred thing," William said, his expression darkening. "You really offered yourself up like a pawn on a chessboard—for your country, for humanity, whatever excuse makes you feel noble. But to me, you're just a block of wood. No fire. No soul. Just another tool trying to sell itself."
"You…" Maria's breath caught in her throat, her pride cracking under the weight of his cold words.
"If you had simply come to me and said, 'William, please help us,' maybe I'd have teased you. Maybe I'd have toyed with the idea. But I might have helped." William stepped closer, his voice low but sharp. "Instead, you tried to make a deal with your own body. You wrapped your so-called patriotism around it like a gift and tried to offer it up. That disgusts me."
His words hit harder than any slap. Maria stood frozen, her chest rising and falling with barely restrained emotion.
Alice, Ada, and the White Queen all stared at William, stunned into silence. None of them had ever seen him like this—so serious, so openly contemptuous.
"If you want to leave this place, you can," William said at last, turning away. "But not now. You'll have to wait a few days. I won't touch you. I won't hurt you. You have my word." Without another glance, he walked toward the door.
"William… where are you going?" Ada asked, her voice uncertain.
"I want Jingjing," he replied coldly. "Don't ask me who she is. Don't ask anything."
And then he was gone.
White Queen smirked. "Who's Jingjing? Sounds like someone important."
"He's in a bad mood," Alice said, stretching her arms with a sigh. "That's rare. Usually he finds this kind of thing amusing."
Maria dropped onto the couch as if her legs had lost their strength. Her hands trembled in her lap before balling into fists.
"Damn it…" she muttered under her breath. "He's a scumbag. An absolute bastard. But…"
She didn't finish the thought.
Blood welled slightly beneath her fingernails as they dug into her palms. Her pride, her carefully built walls—everything felt like it was collapsing.
White Queen looked at her calmly. "Yes, William's a scumbag. He's a pervert and a lunatic. But he values one thing—truth. He values people who live for themselves, he values a person's self and lives for himself, not for some crumbling flag or institution. He values his women more than anything. You tried to sell your body for a cause. Maybe that's seen as noble by some. But to him?" She leaned forward. "That's lower than filth."
"I didn't expect you to understand him so well," Ada said with a slightly amused expression.
"You think you do?" White Queen rolled her eyes. "You don't know the first thing about him."
"He thrives when others resist him," Alice chimed in, smirking. "Especially beautiful women. He doesn't care if they hate him. Sometimes I think he likes it."
"But in the end," Ada added, "they always bend. They break. Or worse—they fall in love with him. That gives him his sick little thrill. The sense of conquest. He's twisted like that."
White Queen turned her eyes on Maria. "So yes, Maria… he's disappointed in you. Very."
Maria's face twisted with mixed emotions. She forced a sneer. "Do you really think I care about his disappointment?"
But her voice trembled ever so slightly. Her eyes—so full of fire just moments ago—now shimmered with conflict, vulnerability, and something almost like shame.
She looked at Alice and Ada, her voice lower now. "Tell me honestly… were either of you ever against him? Have you ever stood where I'm standing now, thinking you could win?"
Alice gave a wistful laugh. "Oh, Maria… everyone thinks they can win at first. That's the beginning of the game."
*****
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