My brows furrowed. “But we’re already divorced!”
“I have never signed the agreement.” He uttered in a hoarse voice.
He then lifted me up and brought me into the villa against my will. It was only then that I noticed we had made our way back to the villa at Peakville Estate.
Apart from the exterior of the villa, nothing much had changed over the past four years.
I felt uncomfortable being carried by him. Hence, I insisted, “I can walk on my own!”
“It’s fine. Just close your eyes and take a break.”
I found his words absurd because it was only a short distance that would take me a few minutes at most.
The moment we entered the living room, I was caught off guard by the presence of Sally and Nancy.
It had been four years since I last saw Sally. In spite of her pale and haggard face, it didn’t impact the noble presence she was blessed with since birth.
The fact that we showed up in such an intimate manner startled the duo who was drinking tea in the living room. They jumped up from the couch.
Sally’s displeasure was written all over her scrunched-up face. Staring at Anthony, she asked petulantly, “Why have you brought her back? You—”
Similarly, Anthony replied with a frown, “Aunt Sally, I believe that’s none of your business.” His tone was flat and emotionless, indicating to her that she should stop poking her nose into his business.
Sally was on the verge of losing her cool. “Anthony, since you guys are divorced, why can’t you move on? It has been four years—”
“Aunt Sally, it’s getting late. I believe it’s time for you to leave!” He made himself clear that he wanted his aunt to get out of his sight at once.
Anthony lowered his gaze and looked at me before uttering in a gentle tone, “If you’re sleepy, go ahead and take a nap.”
I couldn’t help but sigh when I realized I had indirectly offended Sally once again.
He brought me upstairs and asserted, “I have everything you need in the bedroom. Nothing much has changed.”
I caught a glimpse of Nancy’s dejected look. She seemed to be having a hard time pulling herself together.
As a fellow woman, I knew the emotions associated with that look—I was certain she was head over heels in love with Anthony.
Nonetheless, I couldn’t be certain of the sort of relationship she had with Anthony over the past four years.
“Mr. Featherstone!” Nancy called out, her voice echoed in the spacious living room.
“What do you need, Ms. Goldstein?” Anthony turned around and queried with a frown. It was evident he was irked by her presence.
Aggrieved, Nancy replied with her lips pursed, “I have something regarding the deal with HiTech to sort out with you.”
Anthony knew the proper way to carry himself as a gentleman. Upon a simple glance, he replied in a callous tone, “Ms. Goldstein, it’s nine o’clock in the evening. Featherstone Corporation only operates from nine in the morning till six in the evening. Since we’re three hours beyond work hours, don’t you think it’s rude to talk about work now? I’m afraid others are going to misperceive our relationship since you brought up such an odd request in the middle of the night.”
Halfway through his orated speech, he cast a stern gaze at her and asked, “You’re twenty-six-year-old, aren’t you, Ms. Goldstein? I’m sure you know the appropriate time to bring work up, don’t you? It doesn’t feel great to have a stranger in the house. I’m not sure how you manage to gain access to my house, but I don’t wish to see you here without my consent in the future. After all, I don’t enjoy having others interrupting my quality time with my wife.”
In spite of his carefully curated speech that had perfectly disguised his wrath, no ordinary woman could stand being stung by such harsh double innuendos.
It must be tough for her since the gentleman who happened to be her crush uttered such cruel remarks against her without a second thought.
Sally was infuriated when she heard her nephew’s words. She reprimanded, “Anthony, that’s too much!”
Meanwhile, all the colors had long since drained from Nancy’s face. Nonetheless, she did her best to keep her emotions to herself after the awkward confrontation.
Sally consoled the helpless woman, “Nancy, you don’t have to take Anthony seriously. He doesn’t mean it. I’ll get you a cab to send you back.”
Nancy shook her head and denoted, “It’s fine, Ms. Featherstone.”
Afraid of having eye contact with Anthony, she lowered her gaze while making her way out of the villa.
Sally went after Nancy to console her. Perhaps Anthony was infuriated because of the things Nancy had told Sally.
Although I couldn’t be sure of the sort of relationship Nancy had with Sally over the past four years, judging by the fact she tried to defend Nancy, I knew things were not the same anymore.
Once Anthony brought me into the bedroom, he kissed me on my forehead and assured me earnestly, “You should call it a day.”
He returned downstairs after he tucked me in.
I was sure Sally only nagged him because she cared about him as his senior. After all, after everything that happened, it was natural for Sally to reject the idea of us patching things up.
If our roles were reversed, I would never allow it to happen as well. After all, we used to hurt one another. It would be close to impossible for us to patch things up, behaving as though nothing had occurred.
He switched off the light in the room because he wanted me to sleep, but I couldn’t bring myself to sleep in the pitch-black room since I was afraid of the dark.
I sat upright on the bed and switched on the lamp on the nightstand. Since Summer wasn’t around, I would need the aid of incense to bring myself to sleep.
When I walked out of the bedroom, I heard a commotion coming from the living room.
Anthony and Sally were in a heated discussion. Needless to say, I was the center of their discussion.
Sally reprimanded Anthony, “Why can’t you move on from her? You’re well aware of her background, don’t you? There’s no way things will work out between both of you! Why can’t you give Nancy a chance?”
She got increasingly worked up and asked, “In terms of look, Nancy resembles Sienna, yet she’s way younger and better than Sienna! Why don’t you start a family with her? Since she’s far more sensible than Sienna, I’m sure you can focus on your career after getting married! Why can’t you stop torturing yourself?”
To be honest, her words made a lot of sense because it would be better for us to move on and start a new life with a better half.
I thought Anthony would ignore his aunt, but he actually rebutted her. “She was merely twenty-two years old when I first encountered her in the library of J University. Holding on to Romeo and Juliet while making her way out of the library, Sienna was engaged in a conversation with Macy. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but she said she would rather live a life like Juliet’s, staying true to herself, forsaking her life for the sake of love.”
He paused before adding, “Perhaps she had the best time of her life back when I first saw her. I knew she was an ambitious girl, yet Grandpa forced her to join the Featherstones and insisted on having us married. I knew it was never her intention to get married to me. Therefore, I made the decision to call off our wedding. Unfortunately, Grandpa insisted and forced us to carry on with the wedding ceremony. On the day of the ceremony, I was determined to set her free if she truly desired to leave me. Over the two years, I stayed away from her and spent my time honoring Parker’s final wish. However, my lust took over my rationality. When I got drunk, I accidentally forced her into submission and got her pregnant.
“Perhaps that was part of our destinies. Therefore, I changed my mind and started taking care of her with everything I had. I promised her a grand wedding ceremony and swore upon my name to take good care of her and our child. I was the only one she could rely on, and yet, I was the one who brought upon her misfortune. Over the past four years, I had been thinking over and over again. If it weren’t because of me, could she have lived a completely different life?”
He looked at his aunt with a deprecating smile. “Aunt Sally, she’s not the one who can live without me —I’m the one who can’t go by a day without her. I ended up hurting her because I didn’t learn to love her. After our encounter, she had become my one and only. No matter what lies in the future, I want to keep her by my side and let bygones be bygones. The future is the one that matters the most, isn’t it?”
My heart ached when I saw the ring on Anthony’s finger—he had never once removed our wedding ring.
On the other hand, Sally didn’t expect Anthony would share his most inner thoughts with her. She stared at him openmouthed because she was at a loss for words.
When she raised her head and saw me, she shook her head before spinning on her heels and left.
I returned to the bedroom and noticed I had never looked at things from his perspective. Although I was conscious of the affection he had for me, it turned out to be more than I thought.
Lying on the bed, I couldn’t fall asleep. When Anthony entered the bedroom, I was still wide awake.
I closed my eyes when I noticed he was about to enter the room, but he caught me red-handed and asked, “What’s wrong? Having trouble falling asleep?”
After hesitating for a short while, I said, “Perhaps it was because of the unfamiliar environment.” The moment I enunciated my reply, I regretted my words because it used to be my room four years ago.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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