v.
The car crash changes everything, or rather, nothing at all – in the course of three years, and then one day, almost all of the family he knows is gone. His energy is taken up entirely between schoolwork, caring for his inconsolable little sister, and trying not to collapse under the weight of their combined grief. Those desires he'd harboured but had yet to act upon seem petty in the face of that; he can see no solace in them, nothing to be gained.
vi.
William is short neither of offers, nor of confidence. He knows that he's handsome; that there are scores of women who would fall at his feet if he gave the slightest signal of his interest. Attracting women is only his problem in the sense that he wishes he could stop doing it; these women don't – won't – know him, their insincerity so obvious that they may as well be wearing a great neon sign proclaiming their interests in his bank balance. He almost finds himself making a game of it – how outrageous must his opinions be for them to disagree; how banal a joke will they laugh at. It's utterly depressing how they endeavour to hang off his every word.
vii.
Caroline Lee isn't really all that different from the others. She sees him as William Darcy, successful businessman; William Darcy, drives a convertible; William Darcy, appreciator of the finer things in life. None of it is that great a leap from "William Darcy, walking checkbook", but combined with his lifelong friendship with her brother, it's enough for him to have some difficulty saying no to her. It's not that he wants her – he absolutely does not, and if she'd ever ask he wouldn't hesitate to emphasise that she's a fine friend, and nothing more – but rather that she doesn't consult him in the matter. She clutches his arm at parties; watches him from across the room, scowling at anyone he talks to; she puts on a show, as it were. He does nothing to encourage her, or so he hopes – he hasn't once reciprocated a casual touch or lascivious wink; never so much as blushes at her innuendo – but he has no desire to be cruel. He's no expert in social conventions, but he's reasonably certain that telling your best friend's sister "no, I am just NOT interested in you" when she hasn't explicitly said that she wants you to be is just something that isn't done.
viii.
William grows into an adult holding romance as an alien concept. It's something that people do, he knows, but it just isn't something that he can apply to himself in any sensible way. He has everything he needs to survive already, and romantic relationships are superfluous to that. It's not that he's a robot: he loves his sister and his friends deeply, does all he can to ensure the happiness of his employees; he's certainly not immune to the charms of a female figure. But casual isn't – has never been – William's thing, and he can no more imagine himself being one for tender touches and longing stares.
ix
If he's lonely, then the last person he'll admit it to is himself.