{Chapter: 327 A Woman Little Too Much Hot Personality}
Pepper's breath caught sharply, her chest tightening as she quickly turned away, the faintest tremor betraying the storm inside her. A small, dangerous part of her—a part she barely dared acknowledge—feared that if she met William's gaze even for a heartbeat longer, she might fall completely and never claw her way back out. The thought frightened her more than she wanted to admit, so she pushed it down hard, ignoring the fluttering ache in her heart.
William's voice rang out, deep and commanding, as if staking his claim on something only he understood. "Tony, Pepper is my woman. From the beginning to the end, no one else can touch her. Anyone who tries... they will die." His words carried a brutal finality that echoed in the cold air.
Pepper's face flushed with heat, her heart pounding unevenly in her chest. She blurted out without thinking, as if trying to convince herself as much as them, "What are you talking about? I'm not your woman." Her voice was sharp, brittle, and almost frightened, though she barely allowed herself to notice.
Tony's fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white. His voice cracked with raw emotion as he shouted, "Pepper is not your woman! You sure are seriously insene?"
Killian smiled slyly from the sidelines, the cruel twist in his eyes gleaming as he said, "Interesting… maybe it was a good thing I let you come here after all."
William's patience snapped. His hand rose, shielding his eyes as a power ignited behind his pupils. "Enough talk," he hissed. "Time to end this."
Killian's expression twisted as his limbs stiffened, frozen by the invisible grip of William's telekinesis. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free.
Tony's voice cut through with disdain, "That's telekinesis for you, Killian. You didn't even know it existed, and you still dared to fight him."
In the blink of an eye, William vanished from his place and reappeared right beside Pepper. Without warning, he swept her into his arms giving her a tender hug. "It's okay," he murmured softly, voice almost tender.
Pepper froze for a breath, shock washing over her. Then, with a desperate shove, she pushed him away. "Why did you save me? I don't want to be saved. I want to die on my own terms."
William tightened his grip, his smile dark and dangerous. "Don't make trouble, Pepper. There will be consequences if you cause a scene again."
"I'm making trouble?" Pepper snapped, her voice trembling with frustration and fear. "I'm terrified every day, caught in this nightmare without reason. Maybe I will die. Can't I scream? Can't I vent even once?"
William's grin widened, almost cruelly. "Of course. Then let me help you vent."
Before she could react, his lips crushed over hers, fierce and demanding. His tongue invaded without mercy, tearing down every wall Pepper had built, shattering her resistance into dust.
Her eyes shot open in fierce defiance, but the fight faded quickly. Slowly, reluctantly, she closed them and curled her hands around William's waist. She didn't stop him. Somehow, she didn't want to.
Above them, Tony's voice cracked with rage and heartbreak. "William! Pepper! Damn you both! I swear I'll kill you!"
Tony surged forward, Iron Man armor flaring with energy, fists aiming for William's face. But before contact, an unseen force slammed into Tony's chest like a battering ram, sending him flying backward with a painful scream.
Pepper blinked, trying to push William away. "Hey... um…"
William's eyes gleamed with dark promise as he silenced her once more. "Forget everything else. Just let go. Vent."
Frustrated and helpless, Pepper clawed at his waist, both angry and ashamed. Her protests were muffled, lost beneath the weight of his control.
From above, Tony's voice roared again, desperate and furious. "Damn it! I will kill you! I'll kill you both. I have to! Attack! Attack!"
The swarm of Iron Man suits responded instantly, jets blazing as they launched missiles and fired beams toward William.
Pepper shoved William's head away hard. "You don't want us to die like this... together, do you?"
William's wicked smile was almost soft, chilling in its intimacy. "Wouldn't it be beautiful, Pepper? To end it all... side by side?"
Her eyes narrowed, dripping with scorn and pain. "Are you really willing to give up this world? To give up everything—your freedom, your life, your two beautiful women?"
She barely let herself think of the weight behind those words. Because if she thought about it too long… if she really looked inside, she knew her heart would betray her, and she wasn't ready for that fall yet.
"I can't bear to give up on you…" William whispered, his voice low, almost raw. "So how could I possibly abandon them? I won't let you die, Pepper."
Without waiting for her reply, he crushed his lips against hers once more.
As her eyes were locked on his eyes, Pepper suddenly started breathing heavily, and her desire to kiss his lips appeared again.
An…..
Pepper pressed her beautiful pink lips on William's lips while her eyes stared into his brown eyes but to his surprise two seconds after kissing me Pepper tried to put her tongue in his mouth, William slowly opened his mouth to give way for her tongue to enter his mouth. Realizing this, Pepper didn't waste her time and immediately put her tongue into his mouth.
As soon as her tongue was inside his mouth, her tongue immediately explored William's mouth before looking for his tongue. William, who let her dominate the kiss, decided to play with her breasts.
"Ummm?"
Still, even though he was squeezing her breasts, she didn't stop kissing him.
William wrapped her body tightly pressing her body to him, her sweet rose scent filled his nose, their bodies trembled as the pleasure filled their bodies from the kiss.
"But… damn it—"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions erupted all around them—micro-missiles screamed through the air, and energy blasts lit up the sky. Fire and smoke engulfed the area in a thunderous storm of destruction, the shockwaves rocking the battlefield.
But William stood unmoved, wrapped in a barrier forged from pure thought. The telekinetic shield shimmered like rippling water, absorbing the furious assault. Not a single spark touched them.
And inside that trembling bubble, as hell raged outside, Pepper Potts found herself still locked in a kiss—one far too passionate, far too consuming, to ignore as she played her own part in it.
Her body trembled—not from the blasts, but from the war within her. She wanted to push him away. She should push him away. But her arms… didn't move. And worse, her heart had stopped resisting entirely.
Tony's scream tore through the chaos, his voice hoarse, cracking with rage and pain. "PEPPER! I'll never forgive this—I'll kill you both, you dogs! Virginia you slut! I swear—AAAGHH!"
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Iron suits, dozens of them, crashed against the barrier like bullets against glass, each one more desperate than the last. But they couldn't break through.
William finally pulled back from the kiss, brushing a strand of Pepper's hair from her flushed face. "How do you feel?" he asked, lips curled into a dangerous smile.
After kissing passionately for several seconds, he broke the kiss.
Pepper gasped, her chest rising and falling quickly. "What… what kind of question is that?" she stammered, breathless and conflicted. "I feel like I want to kill you."
William laughed softly, almost amused. "Do you really feel that way, Pepper?"
"Of course I do!" she snapped. "I'll never forgive you… not after everything you did."
But her voice wavered. Her eyes didn't quite meet his. And the fire in her words… flickered with doubt.
Outside the barrier, Tony was losing control, pounding the shield with his fists like a man possessed. "William, you bastard! Come out and fight me! Fight me to the death if you have the guts!"
Pepper turned her head, her eyes landing on Tony—his face twisted with fury, desperation, and heartbreak. Her chest tightened. A painful guilt coiled inside her. "I… I'm sorry, Tony…" she said quietly, her voice cracking.
"Don't you dare say sorry to me, you bitch!" Tony roared. "I've been trying to save you since the day he took you. Even in New Mexico, when you didn't follow me, I still hoped you'd change your mind. I waited. I believed in you. And this—this is how you repay me? You fell in love with that psycho?!"
"I don't like William…" Pepper said softly, dropping her gaze.
William interrupted coldly, "Tony Stark, let's get one thing straight—Pepper and you have no relationship. She was your assistant, your subordinate. That's all. And now, she's not even that."
Tony's voice cracked like glass. "If it weren't for you, none of this would've happened! You ruined us!"
William pulled Pepper closer, his arm protectively wrapped around her. "No, Stark. You did that all on your own. Pepper never owed you anything. Look at him, Pepper. Tell him the truth—you never owed him anything."
Pepper hesitated… then slowly lifted her head. Her eyes locked onto Tony's through the flickering barrier—no longer warm, no longer patient. They were molten, alive with fury. Her shoulders were stiff, her jaw clenched so tight it trembled, and her breathing was jagged—like she was fighting to hold back a storm that had been building for far too long.
And then it broke.
"Tony," she said, her voice low, shaking—not from fear, but from rage. "Don't. You. Fucking. Dare. Don't call me like that. Don't say my name like I'm still yours. I am not your bitch. I'm not some cheap whore you toss a glance at when you're bored of fucking around with whatever plastic excuse of a woman you dragged into your penthouse last week."
Her fists were clenched so tightly her nails bit into her palms, and her whole body shook as the words exploded out of her. "What exactly do you think I owe you? Huh? You think I'm supposed to fall to my knees and thank you for finally realizing I existed? After all this time?"
She stalked a step closer, her eyes blazing. "Let's rewind a bit, shall we? Before William—before I was ripped away from everything—I ran your empire. I kept your name clean while you were out there drowning in liquor and dumb fucking groupies. I sat in boardrooms full of power-hungry pricks and made them believe in you, again and again, while you were too busy sticking your dick into whatever fame-hungry slut whispered your name the right way."
Tony opened his mouth—maybe to argue, maybe to apologize—but she didn't let him speak. Not this time. This was her moment.
"I was the one who picked up the pieces when you spiraled. I was the one who made excuses when you disappeared into the night with your billionaire tantrums and a different pair of tits on your arm every week. I cleaned up your messes while you fucked your way through every woman who wanted their five minutes of fame and a selfie with the genius billionaire playboy."
Her laugh was sharp. Bitter. "You think I didn't see it? The models, the influencers, the actresses. Every fame-thirsty little slut who saw you as a golden ticket. You didn't care what they were. Hell, most of them didn't even speak English—but you loved that, didn't you? Less talking. More moaning. More stroking your fragile ego. More screaming your name in a language you couldn't understand and didn't need to."
She stepped even closer now, fury rolling off her in waves. "But me? I stayed. I worked late nights, skipped holidays, ignored my own life—for you. And you never once turned around and asked me how I was doing. You never looked me in the eye and said I mattered. Because you were too goddamn busy getting blown by some tight-bodied whore on a balcony in Dubai."
Tony's face paled. But still, he said nothing. What could he say?
"I was your fixer. Your crutch. Your doormat. I wasn't the girlfriend. I wasn't even the woman behind the man. I was the broom that swept up after the mess. The leash you never had to touch because I stayed loyal without being asked."
Her voice broke, but her eyes stayed hard. "And what did I get for it? Nothing. You never made space for me, Tony. You just expected me to be there. To orbit your little world like some faithful moon while you chased the next explosion, the next adrenaline rush, the next pussy with an Instagram following."
Tony finally stepped forward, hand to the barrier like he could reach her. Like his touch could undo the damage. His voice was hoarse. Fragile.
"Pepper… please. I don't care about the company. I don't care about the money, or the suits, or any of it. Just you. I love you. I always have. We can still fix this. We can still be happy. Please—"
But she cut him off with a look so filled with heartbreak and disdain it made him flinch.
"No," she snapped. "Don't do that. Don't pretend this is some rom-com ending where the guy says the right words and suddenly the years of neglect disappear. You don't get to fuck your way through half of Los Angeles and then waltz in like a lost puppy when you realize the one person who actually gave a shit isn't waiting at your door anymore."
Her voice cracked again, but this time it wasn't soft—it was sharp. Wounded and furious and done.
"You want to say you love me now? Great. Fantastic. But where was that love when I was crying alone in my apartment at 2 a.m. while you were off getting your dick sucked by a reality star in Paris? Where was that love when I needed you—not just as a boss, or a project, but as a fucking human?"
There was a pause. A heavy silence. And then—
A whisper brushed her ear, hot and smooth.
"That's my Virginia Pepper Potts with A Little Too Much Hot Personality. You've already chosen, Pepper," William murmured, his voice a deep, dark velvet that curled through her like smoke. "Your body knows it. Your soul knows it. You just haven't said it out loud yet."
She shivered—hated that she shivered. Hated that his voice slipped under her skin and settled deep, where Tony's words couldn't reach.
Because he hadn't waited until she was gone.
He hadn't made her beg to be seen.
And worse… he hadn't run from her fire. He welcomed it.
Her body leaned—just barely—toward William. It was subtle. It was instinctual.
But it was real.
She turned her head slightly, not enough to face him, but enough to acknowledge.
Then she looked back at Tony.
"I'm not your Pepper anymore," she said, voice icy and final. "You loved the idea of me. The convenience. The safety net. But you never loved me. Not enough. Not really."
And with that, she turned away.
This time, she didn't hesitate.
*****
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