World Traveler Villain

{Chapter: 328 Hate And Love}

Pepper looked at Tony with a mixture of pity and fire in her eyes. Her lips curled into a bitter, self-deprecating smile. "You said you loved me now? Now, Tony?"

Tony's voice cracked as he stepped forward, desperation etched into every syllable. "I love you, Pepper. Ever since William took you—when I thought I lost you forever—I realized how much you meant to me. Please... come back. Just give me a chance. Let me protect you. Let me love you, finally."

There was a long silence. The wind whistled around them, and the wreckage crackled from burning steel.

Pepper shook her head slowly, her voice hollow. "Tony... I can't go with you."

"Why not?" he snapped, his tone rising. "What the hell does he have that I don't?!"

Her eyes met his, no longer soft, no longer kind—only tired. "Don't you get it? It's too late. We're too late. The moment's gone, Tony. You don't get to show up with a grand gesture and expect me to erase everything that's happened."

Tony's face twisted with disbelief. "This is because of him, isn't it? William. You're fucking in love with him. God, Pepper—are you completely blind?!"

Her expression twisted—rage igniting behind her eyes like a wildfire unleashed. She screamed, voice cracking under the weight of emotion, "Yes! You want the fucking truth? Fine! You arrogant, sanctimonious, smug little prick—you want honesty? Here it is: I like him! I fucking like this son of a bitch!"

She jabbed a shaking finger at William, her whole body trembling as fury, lust, and shame crashed together.

"And don't you dare think I don't know what he is. Don't you dare look at me like I'm blind. He's a bastard—an unrepentant, blood-soaked monster who's slit more throats than I can count. A manipulative, cold-hearted, goddamn puppet master who plays people like pieces on a board. He's a walking apocalypse in a pretty fucking package. He lies like he breathes, fucks like a demon in heat, and treats danger like foreplay."

Her voice dropped, a venomous whisper vibrating with hate and heat. "He's a cocky, sex-addicted, arrogant son of a bitch with a god complex the size of a continent, a manipulative asshole, a sex-crazed, arrogant beast who thinks with his cock more than his brain—and enough blood on his hands to drown nations. He's chaos in human flesh—and I still want him."

She bared her teeth, eyes wild. "I want him even when I hate him. I want him when he kills. I want him when he fucks someone else and then smirks at me like I'm next in line. I want him when he's being an insufferable, controlling, emotionally stunted bastard who knows exactly how to get under my skin. I want him even though I know he'd burn who I was with the whole fucking world down if it amused him."

A breath caught in her throat. Her voice cracked again—but softer this time, broken and desperate.

"I want him, and I hate that I do. I want him in ways I can't even explain—like an addiction, like a curse, like a goddamn fucking war I can't win."

William, fully surprised by her words, her title as a woman with little too much hot personality really suits her now, he scratched his nose with an amused grin. "Well... that's a little harsh."

Pepper didn't even look at him. Her rage was laser-focused on Tony. "And you—you stand there pretending to be the goddamn victim when all you ever did was take me for granted! I spent years cleaning up after your chaos, fixing your messes, watching you screw every whore that batted her eyelashes and praising you for it while I swallowed my pride! And now suddenly you love me? Now?!"

Tony was red with fury. "You'd rather stay with a scumbag than be with me? The man who built Iron Man? The man who—"

"You didn't build shit for me, Tony!" Pepper cut him off, yelling. "You built suits! Suits to stroke your ego! While I was running Stark Industries, while I was protecting your goddamn legacy, you were off playing superhero and banging any half-naked slut you could find between battles!"

Her voice cracked, a flood of buried resentment pouring out.

"You didn't love me—you loved having me around. As your assistant. As your emotional crutch. You never saw me until I was stolen from you. And that's not love, Tony. That's ownership."

Tony stood there, stunned, trembling. "You... you're really not coming back?"

Pepper inhaled shakily, her rage ebbing just slightly. "I like William. I also hate him too, but I want him. I don't know what the hell is happening to me—but I do know I'm not yours anymore. And I'll never be again."

Tony's face twisted with heartbreak. Then it turned to madness. "Then die. Both of you. Die like the lying bitch and bastard you are!"

William chuckled lowly, his smile dripping venom. "You really are pathetic, Stark. So arrogant. So fragile. Do you really think you scare me just because you wear a suit and lick the boots of your new master?"

Tony roared with rage and charged up his arc reactor. "You think this is a game?! I'll end you!"

A blinding surge of blue-white energy shot from his chest reactor, slamming into the invisible barrier William had formed earlier.

CRACK!

The barrier cracked like glass under the strain, then—

BOOM!

—it exploded into a thousand shards of light.

Tony launched himself forward with a bloodcurdling roar, fist cocked to strike. But William didn't flinch. His eyes snapped open—his pupils morphing into three spinning, golden, wind-like blades. His telekinesis exploded outward, wild and godlike.

With one arm holding Pepper close to his chest, he caught Tony's punch with his free hand.

William's voice was like thunder wrapped in silk. "Breaking the barrier... was the worst decision you've ever made."

BOOM!

Tony's entire suit detonated in a violent eruption of sparks, metal, and blood. Armor fragments spiraled through the air like shrapnel. The explosion sent shockwaves across the battlefield, shattering glass, twisting steel.

Tony's limp, shredded body flew through the air and landed hard—his back impaled on a jagged steel bar. Blood poured from his mouth as he screamed in agony.

William hovered down slowly, golden eyes glowing like a wrathful god. "This... is the difference between you and me."

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

All around them, the rest of the Iron Legion attacked in a final act of desperation. Missiles streaked through the air. Repulsor blasts screamed toward William.

"William—!" Pepper screamed, terror flashing in her eyes.

He only smiled.

"Don't worry," he whispered, gently kissing her temple. "With me here... nothing will harm you."

He raised his hand. Time seemed to pause.

CRACK—CRASH—BOOM!

In an instant, every suit exploded mid-flight. Some were torn apart by invisible force. Others slammed into each other in the sky, erupting in massive fireballs. The night lit up with burning wreckage, raining down like fiery confetti over the sea.

The air reeked of ozone and blood.

Tony, barely conscious, looked up from his hanging position. All his creations—destroyed in seconds. His breath hitched. "No... no..."

William landed softly in front of him, still holding Pepper.

"You're finished, Stark. Your suits. Your pride. Your woman."

Tony coughed violently, blood spraying from his lips. "I... I don't believe it..."

William tilted his head. "Doesn't matter if you believe it or not. You lost. And now..." he tightened his grip on Pepper slightly, "you get to watch the future unfold without you in it."

William narrowed his eyes as he stepped toward Tony, his voice calm yet filled with contempt. "Do you always think the world revolves around your ego-inflated head, Stark? That you're the center of every story, the hero in every battle? News flash—you're not. You never were. You're just another man who confuses money and tech with righteousness."

Tony, bloodied but defiant, sneered, "Yeah? Well, the Master will end you. Sooner or later, you're dead. You're just a mad dog off the leash."

William scoffed, "Then let him come. But you? I don't need to wait. I can kill you right here, right now."

With a flash of blue light, the shield appeared in William's hand—but it shimmered, transformed mid-spin, twisting into a gleaming golden machete that hummed with raw power. He stepped forward, pressing the curved blade gently against Tony's neck.

"Are you ready to die, Iron Man?" William asked with a cold smirk.

Tony didn't flinch. "Go ahead. Kill me, if you've got the balls."

William raised the blade slightly, his smirk sharpening. "You asked for it. I aim to please."

But just as the blade began to descend, a sharp voice rang out.

"Wait!" Pepper's voice sliced through the tension like lightning.

William turned his head slowly. "Pepper... you want me to spare him? Sorry. That's not on the table. I don't take orders, especially not when I'm in the mood to kill."

Pepper stepped forward, her voice tight, her arms crossed over her chest like a shield. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm not begging for his life. I just wanted to say something—something for myself. He came here for me. If you kill him like this, it'll leave a mark... not on him, but on me. I don't want to carry that guilt."

Tony, hanging limply from a steel beam, spat blood and venom. "Don't you dare pity me, whore. I don't need your guilt, your fake compassion—just let this psycho kill me already!"

William raised an eyebrow, considering Pepper's words, then smiled with cruel amusement. "Fair enough. I understand."

Without warning, he raised his machete and brought it down in a flash of golden light.

But just as it was about to slice through Tony's skull, it vanished—blinked out of existence in William's hand like smoke in the wind.

Tony's eyes snapped open in disbelief. "Why... why didn't you do it?"

William shrugged nonchalantly. "Because whether you live or die means nothing to me. You're beneath me. If keeping you alive eases Pepper's pretty little conscience, then fine. Consider this a favor. But next time, I won't be so generous."

"You smug bastard!" Tony screamed, shaking with rage. "I'll never forgive this!"

William spread his arms mockingly. "Good. Hate me. Loathe me. Let that hate fuel your upgrades, Stark. Maybe next time, you'll put up a fight worth moving more than a finger."

Pepper stepped closer, her expression unreadable. Her voice was quieter now, but cold. "Tony... we're done. From now on, no more guilt. No more debts. No more 'us.' Whatever this was—it ends here."

Tony's eyes burned red with fury. "You goddamn slut. You'll regret this. I'll never forgive you!"

SLAP!

In a blur of motion, William moved a meter forward and slapped Tony across the face with the back of his hand. The force sent Tony flying like a ragdoll, crashing through the air and tumbling toward the sea below.

"Mind your tongue, you pathetic wreck," William said, eyes flashing with fury. "She's my woman. Only I get to call her those names—and even then, only in private or when she's in the mood."

Pepper flinched, watching Tony disappear into the waves, but didn't say a word.

William turned to her with a grin. "See? Only I have the right. You should feel special."

Pepper's jaw tightened. "I told you before—I'm not your woman."

William leaned closer, a wicked grin tugging at his lips. "Oh? You said—right in front of everyone—that you liked me. Remember that, darling?"

Pepper turned her face away sharply, her cheeks burning. "That was anger, confusion! I only said that to reject Tony. Don't take it seriously, you arrogant bastard."

William let out a low laugh. "Too late. I already took it seriously. In fact, I take everything you say very seriously."

"I hate you!" Pepper shouted, her voice cracking. "I hate how you twist everything. I hate how you talk, how you fight—how you make me feel... like I'm losing control."

William's expression softened just a hair, enough to show something almost human beneath the madness. "You hate me... but you still can't walk away. You could've, but you didn't. And don't lie—part of you liked seeing me rip through those suits, didn't you?"

Pepper's voice dropped to a whisper, her fists clenched at her sides. "You're a monster. A bloody, arrogant, self-absorbed monster. And I'm a goddamn fool for ever feeling anything but hatred for you."

William stepped close again, brushing a strand of hair from her face, his voice a purr. "We both know that's a lie you keep telling yourself to feel better."

She looked up at him, eyes glistening, chest rising and falling as if she couldn't decide whether to scream, cry, or kiss him.

"This doesn't mean I forgive you," she hissed.

"I don't need your forgiveness," William replied smoothly. "I just need you to stay."

"Don't push your luck," she growled.

William looked into Pepper's eyes, "Sometimes it's really hard to understand the minds of you women. Even if you hate me, you also…

He chuckled and walked past her, the smell of ozone and smoke clinging to his coat.