{Chapter: 335 Big Liar Bastard}
Pah!
A loud slap echoed in the air as Jane's palm connected with William's cheek.
William blinked, stunned for a moment. He didn't flinch, didn't raise a hand in defense. He simply stood there, taking the blow with a small sigh, rubbing his stinging cheek.
"You slapped me," he said blankly. Then, after a moment of silence, he muttered, "Okay… I probably deserved that."
But deep down, his pride stirred. Being slapped by a woman—especially by the one he'd once walked away from—was a price, and William had always believed debts like that needed to be repaid. As he is already thinking of how to punish her.
Jane stood frozen, chest rising and falling in uneven breaths. Her expression flickered between shock and confusion.
"I… I'm sorry. I just—I had to be sure you were real. I've seen… things today. Things that don't make sense."
Her voice cracked. She tried to stay focused, logical, grounded—like the astrophysicist she was trained to be. But her heart had taken the lead, and logic had long since been abandoned.
"You left," she said softly. Her tone wasn't angry—it was flat, hollow. "You left, and I waited. For months. I kept waiting."
William's expression softened, but his words carried a casual arrogance. "Of course I'm real. I'm William," he said with a cocky smile, as though his presence alone should be enough to erase the past.
But it only made things worse.
Jane's hand snapped out again, delivering a second slap, even sharper than the first. Her voice rose with it. "You liar! A super liar! Where were you? Why didn't you come back? Why did you disappear without a word?! I searched for you—I cried for you. You said you'd always come back!"
William caught her wrist this time, his grip firm but not cruel. His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Do you have any idea what kind of price you'll have to pay for slapping me twice?"
Jane yanked at her wrist, but didn't break free. She didn't want to. Or maybe she didn't know what she wanted anymore. "I don't care. I don't want to know. You abandoned me! You walked away and never looked back. And I waited like an idiot!" she shouted, eyes glistening. "Do you even know what that did to me?"
Then, without warning, William pulled her into his arms and whispered against her ear, voice low and teasing, "Let me show you what that price looks like."
Jane blinked, confused.
"You—what are you—mmph!"
Her words were silenced as William's lips crashed down on hers. His kiss was forceful, almost possessive, and utterly shameless. Jane's eyes widened in shock, her body tense.
At first, she resisted—hands pushing weakly at his chest, caught in the haze of too many emotions colliding. But slowly, almost against her will, her resistance waned. Her hands moved around his waist, clutching him as if to anchor herself—because she didn't trust the world to stay still anymore.
From a short distance away, Darcy stood frozen in utter disbelief. "My God... am I actually seeing this?" she whispered. "William and Jane—full-on making out. Someone tell me I'm dreaming."
They were still lost in each other, utterly ignoring the world. When William finally pulled away, both of them were breathless, their chests heaving.
Jane's eyes were glassy, lips slightly parted, her cheeks flushed with shame and rage and something else she didn't want to name.
"You—you arrogant, smug, manipulative jerk," she murmured breathlessly. "You just—kissed me. Without permission. That's so not okay."
William tilted his head, lips curling in a self-satisfied grin. "And yet, your arms are still around me."
"I—I didn't mean to—shut up!" she stammered. "You big liar! You left me, broke me, and now you're here acting like none of it ever happened!"
William leaned closer, eyes glinting with amusement. "Tell me, Jane. Did you miss me?"
"No!" she said quickly, too quickly. "Absolutely not. I didn't miss you even a little, you smug—bad person!"
William raised a brow. "Really? Because someone said, and I quote, 'I've been waiting for you and looking for you. I cried, but you didn't show up.' That wasn't you?"
Jane's cheeks turned red as she looked away.
"I… didn't say that. You must be hallucinating."
"You're adorable when you lie," William said smoothly.
Just then, Darcy cautiously walked up to them, her steps hesitant as if she were afraid the air might explode. "Uh, Wi—William?" she said nervously. "You're… uh… you're really back?"
William glanced over, uninterested.
"Darcy. Still wearing cardigans in June, I see."
"Y-yeah," Darcy replied awkwardly, rubbing her arms. "So… you're not here to destroy the world or anything, right? Just want to be clear."
William gave a lazy wave of the hand.
"Come on, do I really look like a world-ending kind of guy? I'm only here because of Jane. As long as she's here, I'm not wrecking anything."
Darcy gave a nervous laugh.
"Well, that's… comforting. Sort of."
Jane wriggled out of William's embrace, face still flushed. "Let me go. And don't ever kiss me like that again."
William gave her a mock-innocent look.
"Kiss you like what? Passionately? Emotionally? Honestly?"
"You're impossible," Jane muttered, turning away. "You left. You don't just get to come back and act like everything's okay."
"But I'm here now," William said softly, his voice suddenly sincere.
Jane didn't respond. She just stood there, shoulders tense, staring at the space in front of her. Her eyes were glazed again—lost in thought, or maybe in pain.
She had waited for so long.
And now he was back.
But nothing felt resolved.
Not yet.
"You're a liar. Back then, in Old Bridge City, you said you'd come find me," Jane said sharply, her voice tight with emotion. Her arms were crossed, and her eyes narrowed in frustration. "Now it's been more than a year. A whole year, William. You liar… a super liar."
Her words trembled, like a kettle about to boil over. Her expression was like a scorned cat, cornered and furious, ears flattened and tail lashing. But beneath that anger, a deeper wound pulsed.
William ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "You don't understand what happened to me. When I left Old Bridge City… I didn't just disappear. I ended up in Asgard. I had a huge fight with that old man Odin, and… I was seriously injured. I barely made it out alive."
Jane blinked, her arms slowly falling to her sides. Her expression shifted from fury to disbelief. "You… went to Asgard?"
William nodded. "Yeah. After the fight, I fell into the southernmost waters off South America. I nearly died. A shark ate me and saved my life."
Jane's brows furrowed as she took a step closer. "Wait… you're saying the spatial fluctuations we detected back then—that was you?" Her voice trembled with a mix of awe and accusation. "Pepper and I went there to investigate! We thought it might've been you but… we didn't find anything. Just ruins and strange energy readings."
"I know," William replied softly. "Pepper told me. You two were close. It wasn't your fault. It was just… fate being cruel. But this time, Jane… I'm not leaving. No more vanishing. No more broken promises."
Jane's lip quivered slightly. "Pepper? You've seen Pepper?"
"Yes. A few days ago. She was kidnapped, and I found her. She's safe now," William answered, keeping his voice gentle.
Jane's fists clenched. Her emotions were everywhere—tumbling through her chest like a collapsing building. "So even after you escaped Asgard, even after you were rescued... why didn't you come to me sooner? It's been so long. I… I waited."
William shrugged with exaggerated helplessness. "Because I was in a coma. A full year. The wounds were worse than I thought." 'It had only been eight months, but exaggeration helped soften the blow.'
Jane's eyes widened, her mouth slightly open. "A year?" she whispered. "You were unconscious that whole time?"
"I was on the edge of death," William said, placing a hand over his heart. "But in the darkness, I kept hearing your voice. You were calling me. I knew—deep in my soul—that you were still waiting. That thought pulled me back. Jane, if not for you… I wouldn't have made it."
Tears welled up in Jane's eyes, but she blinked them back quickly, biting her lip to keep her composure. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "So you… you really remembered me, all that time?"
"Every day," William said, placing his hand gently on hers.
Jane looked down, her voice catching in her throat. "I… I heard from Pepper that you're not exactly single," she said with a shaky laugh. "You've got other women around you. So tell me, William… what do you want me to do now? What am I supposed to be to you?"
She tried to sound casual, indifferent—but her heart was bleeding in every word.
William opened his mouth to reply, but before he could make some kind of solemn oath, Darcy's voice broke in with a shout: "Uh, guys? Not to ruin the dramatic reunion, but we're kind of about to be arrested here!"
Startled, Jane stepped away from William and gave him a light shove. "Don't even think about leaving again," she warned, pointing at him with the same intensity she'd use to command a classroom of stubborn students. "If you disappear, I swear, I'll find you. And I'll kill you myself."
William gave her a crooked grin. "Charming. I always knew you had a way with threats."
Meanwhile, Darcy was edging away from the commotion, her body language stiff and nervous.
"Darcy," William said with a smirk, "am I really that scary?"
Darcy gulped and managed a nervous laugh. "N-no. Not scary. Just... intense. Very intense."
William glanced at her but didn't say anything else. There was no malice, just disinterest. She wasn't his focus. Not now, not ever. She didn't have the gravity that Jane did—the storm of intelligence, vulnerability, and fire.
Jane stormed up to a police officer, trying to diffuse the situation. "Um… excuse me?"
The officer turned toward her with suspicion. "Are you Jane Foster? Do you know that man?" he asked, gesturing toward Ian, who was currently being questioned.
"I do. He's my intern. Well—my intern's intern. Long story."
"This is private property," the officer said gruffly. "You and your party are trespassing. We'll need you to come down to the station for questioning."
He reached out to take her arm—
Boom!
A surge of dark red energy erupted from Jane's body, knocking the officer back several feet. The force was so strong it created a shockwave that rattled the surrounding air. Jane herself was blown backward by the recoil, her body skidding across the ground.
Everyone froze.
William's eyes narrowed. "Jane…"
Darcy screamed. Ian ducked behind a wall.