Chapter 2 – His Second Chance Love: The Freezing Silence

Rylee was the only one who would call him at such an hour.

The sound of running water in the bathroom stopped. Anthony stepped out once again, wrapped in his towel. Wiping his hands dry, he hurriedly answered the call.

Unable to hear the words that were being uttered on the other end of the line, I could only observe Anthony’s brows furrowing slightly as he exclaimed, “Rylee, stop fooling around!”

With that, he ended the call, got changed, and prepared to leave. In the past, I would have turned a blind eye to it, but this time I abruptly grabbed Anthony’s arm and pleaded softly, “Can you stay tonight?”

He frowned as a hint of displeasure made its way to his handsome face. “Did I pleasure you so much that you’re starting to act out?”

His words oozed with sarcasm.

I was taken aback for a moment before I began to think that his words were absurd. Tilting my head to gaze at him, I explained, “It’s Grandpa’s funeral tomorrow. Although you can’t bear to let her go, shouldn’t you practice a little restraint?”

“Are you threatening me?” He narrowed his eyes at me. He gripped my chin in a trice and spat out in a low and dangerous voice, “You seem to have grown a spine, Sienna Stanhope.”

I knew very well that getting him to stay was impossible, but I still wanted to try my luck. Leveling my gaze with his, I announced, “I agree to a divorce, but I have my conditions. Stay here tonight and accompany me throughout Grandpa’s funeral. I’ll sign the divorce papers as soon as it ends.”

His gaze narrowed. His dark orbs brimmed with ridicule and his mouth twitched slightly. “Please me.” He released my chin and leaned forward to whisper against my ear, “All talk and no action will get you nowhere, Sienna.”

His voice was icy with a hint of provocation. I knew what he meant, so I snaked my arms around his waist as I leaned my face close to his. I probably looked comical due to the height difference between us.

I didn’t know how to feel about it; I had used such a despicable method to force the person I liked to stay with me. Pathetic, perhaps.

Following my instincts, I was about to slide my hand downwards when I was suddenly grabbed by him. I snapped my head up and was met with his dark and impenetrable eyes. “That’s enough.”

His flat voice stunned me for a moment as I tried but failed to comprehend his words. He then took his grey pajamas from the bed and put them on in a few elegant motions.

I was dumbfounded for a while before I eventually recovered from my shock. Is he… staying?

To my utter misfortune, before I could even feel happy about my accomplishment, a woman’s voice sounded outside the window amidst the pitter-patter of the rain. “Anthony…”

While I was still in shock, Anthony had already reacted. He walked toward the balcony in large strides and looked out. Then, with a gloomy expression, he picked up his coat and left the bedroom.

Rylee was standing in the rain below the balcony. The cold droplets had already drenched her thin dress completely by then. The beautiful woman was already frail, and she looked increasingly pitiful as she persevered in the rain.

Draping the coat that he had brought with him over her shoulders, Anthony was about to chide Rylee. In spite of that, she hugged him tightly and sobbed in his arms.

As the scene unfolded, a sudden realization dawned upon me. I finally understood why my two-year marriage with Anthony couldn’t compare to a single phone call from Rylee.

Anthony led Rylee into the villa with his arm around her. I stood at the top of the stairs when he brought her up, blocking their way just as I scanned their soaked clothes.

“Get out of the way!” Anthony snapped in disgust.

Was I sad?

I didn’t know, either, but my eyes hurt more than my heart did, having witnessed the person they loved treating another woman as a precious gem, all while trampling all over me.

“Anthony, back when we’d gotten married, you promised Grandpa that you would never allow her to set foot in this house as long as I am here.” This was where Anthony and I lived together. On more nights than I could count, I had let Rylee have him. As if that weren’t enough, he was allowing her taint the only place I could call mine.

“Hah!” Anthony sneered in return. Shoving me aside, he retorted coldly, “You think too highly of yourself, Sienna.”

His mockery toward me knew no bounds. In the end, I could only watch as he brought Rylee into the guest room like the bystander I was.

Tonight was destined to be a restless night.

Rylee was exposed to the heavy downpour outside. Her body was already weak, to begin with, so she developed a high fever from standing in the rain. Anthony cared for her like a precious gem, assisting her in changing into a clean set of clothes while using a towel to bring down her temperature.

Perhaps the sight of me standing there was an eyesore to him, so he directed his cold gaze at me and ordered, “Go back to the Featherstones’ family home now! Rylee won’t be able to go anywhere tonight in her current state.”

He wants me to go at this hour? Haha…

I guess I really am an eyesore.

After staring at Anthony for a long time, I couldn’t find the words to remind him that the family home was miles away from here; it would be dangerous for a woman to go out alone this late at night.

However, such things didn’t concern him. He only cared about making sure that Rylee’s rest wasn’t affected by my presence.

I forced myself to breathe through the bitter pain in my chest before declaring placidly, “I’ll return to the bedroom. It’s not… appropriate to be heading to the family home now!”

I would not allow him to step all over me even though I knew he didn’t cherish me one bit.

Upon leaving the guest room, I met Jared Crest along the corridor as he hurried over. Noticing that he was still clad in his black pajamas, I deduced that he must have rushed over to the villa. He hadn’t even changed his shoes and his pajamas were almost completely soaked through.

The corridor wasn’t exactly wide, so we came face to face with one another. Stunned for a while, he then straightened his clothes and explained, “Ms. Stanhope, I’m here to treat Rylee.”

Jared was Anthony’s best friend. They say that you only need to look at the attitude of a man’s best friend to truly know whether he holds affection toward you.

Attitude aside, the way that he addressed me was enough to prove that I would only ever be Ms. Stanhope.

What a polite and distant form of address!

I learned not to dwell too much on the details as they would only bring me heartache. Forcing a smile onto my lips, I gave way to him as I replied, “Mm, go ahead!”

Now and again, I truly admired Rylee. She merely needed to shed a few tears to receive the warmth that would never be bestowed upon me even after half a lifetime of hard work.

Back in the bedroom, I found a suit that Anthony had never worn before. Eventually, I brought it with me as I walked down toward the living room.

Jared made quick work of treating Rylee. After measuring her temperature and prescribing her the relevant medications, he was prepared to leave.

When he came downstairs and saw me standing in the living room, he offered me a civil smile. “It’s getting late now. Aren’t you going to sleep yet, Ms. Stanhope?”

“Mm, I’ll sleep soon.” I passed him the clothes in my hand as I professed, “Your clothes are wet and it’s still raining outside. You should change into this before you leave or you’ll catch a cold.”

He was probably surprised by my gesture because he blinked at me without saying anything for a while. Then, his handsome face stretched into a grin. “It’s alright. I’m as fit as a bull, so I’ll be completely fine!”

I stuffed the clothes into his hands and insisted, “Anthony has never worn this before. Even the tags are still there. You two are almost the same size; just take it.”

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