He curled his lips and placed his arm around my waist. “Okay. Whatever you say.”
Shocked at my presence, Rylee froze for a moment before turning to Joe and pouted. “Joe, I didn’t mean what I said. I was just…”
Joe immediately comforted her, “It’s fine. I know you didn’t mean it. Don’t worry about it.”
I tried my best to hold my laughter. I think I know why Rachel hates it whenever I acted that way. Because it looks downright disgusting.
It was getting late, so Anthony and I went for a quick stroll outside the hotel and returned to the hotel after that.
It had been a busy day. I was tired and sleepy by the time we got back to our room. After taking a bath, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Before I drifted off to sleep, I vaguely remembered that Anthony saying something to me. But I was too tired to listen to him, so I simply nodded and slumbered the night away.
The following day, I looked at the calendar and realized that it was almost Independence Day. However, I knew that it was impossible to finish the tasks at hand before that.
But if I planned my work well, maybe I could finish some of them within these few days.
Looking around the suite, I realized that Anthony was no longer around, and he left me a note with a short line written on it: I’m going downtown. Some matters came up. Remember to have your meal on time.
I guess he has urgent matters to deal with.
After I got out of bed and freshened up, I headed to the base. The construction of the work was slightly delayed after the involvement of the third party as the third party focused mainly on the quality of work instead of the progress. Therefore, all of us who were involved had to work as best as possible to provide the details to Marcus.
And that also meant that our workload was increased.
When Marcus arrived at work today, he took a quick look around the site with his hard hat on. After that, he came to the office to see me.
Skipping the pleasantries, he got straight to the point. “You’re the project manager of this project?”
Seeing the serious look on his face, I nodded promptly. “Yes.”
His brows furrowed slightly. After a pause, he said, “We may need to talk over some of the details.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s not a big problem, but if it’s not dealt with soon, we’ll face technical problems in the later phase. Besides, something is off with the structure of the base. What do you guys have in the underground? Is it a garage or a warehouse?” Marcus asked.
I was a little bewildered by his question. “There’s nothing underneath. Why?”
He frowned. “Normally, there will have something built underneath with this kind of structure.”
He seemed to have realized something as he kept quiet and pondered for a moment. However, he did not ask further as he looked at me and asked, “Do you want to grab lunch together?”
I shook my head. “No, thanks. I…”
He arched his eyebrow and cut me off, “So, you plan to avoid me forever? We are business partners after all. It’s totally fine to have a meal with business partners, right?”
With his personality, I knew that if I continued to find excuses, he would also continue trying to talk me out of it. Therefore, I complied. “Okay. I know we can grab something to eat behind here. It’s nothing much, but it can fill our stomachs. I still have a lot to do in the afternoon, so I don’t want to waste time going to restaurants that are far away from here.”
He nodded with a smile. “Sure.”
The on-site canteen was one of the temporary facilities built for the convenience of the employees here. It was not big, but it was sufficient for us. The hotel was too far away from the base as it took about an hour for a round trip. It would be better to let everyone rest during the break time instead of traveling on the road.
Thus, Armond decided to build this facility and hired a chef to prepare meals for all of us. It was quite convenient.
The canteen was almost full when we reached there. I found us a place to sit and saw Marcus bringing me a glass of juice. “It’s freshly squeezed.”
I nodded and thanked him.
After we got our meals, we ate quietly and did not chat much.
We still had some time left after finishing our lunch, and I initially thought about resting in my office until the break time ended. However, he suggested, “You should be familiar with this place by now. Why don’t you take me around the site as a walk after our meals?”
I pursed my lips. “Why don’t you go ahead by yourself? We only have fruit plantations nearby.” With that, I turned around and headed to my office.
But he grabbed my arm and stopped me. I frowned and raised my voice. “Let go of me!”
He paid no heed and said, “I know you don’t want to see me or spend time with me. However, as your business partner, Ms. Stanhope, can I request you to take me for a tour here as a survey?”
“You’re just using work as an excuse!” I flung his arm away in irritation. “Let’s go.”
What we had nearby the base was just pear trees. Most of the pears had ripened, and the fruit farmers were harvesting them to sell them in the market.
After walking for a while, Marcus said, “You don’t have to treat me like this, Sienna. I never have the intention of destroying your life. Is it possible for us to be friends again?”
I stopped and turned to look at him. “Do you think that we can get along now?”
He gazed at me with a sincere look. “I know that you don’t want me to bother you because you’re worried that I might affect your relationship with Anthony. And I also understood that you don’t love me.
You don’t need to repeat yourself; I get it.”
I pressed my lips together and did not say anything because what he said was right.
Then, he continued, “Actually, I really want you to be happy. I initially thought that with Anthony’s cold attitude, it was impossible for him to make you happy. That was why I wanted to be one who gives you happiness instead. But from what I can see now, he is not as bad as I thought he would be. If so, why can’t I give both of you, my blessings? So, I’ve thought it through and decided to stay by your side as a friend. As long as you’re happy with your life, I won’t pester you anymore.”
Taken aback by his words, I looked at him and faltered. “You…”
He gave me a sad smile. “So, can you promise me not to keep your distance? Sienna, I’ve lost so many of my loved ones. I don’t want to lose you too. No matter how terrible I am, my care for you is sincere. Since I can’t be your life partner to protect you, can you at least treat me like a brother? Please don’t treat me like a stranger and ignore my existence.”
My heart ached as I listened to his confession. Looking at him, I nodded and replied, “I’m sorry, Marcus. I owe you my life. Whatever you want me to do, I can do it for you. The only thing I can’t do is to be with you. Even after all the things we had gone through, he still loves me and protects me. It’s such a blessing to have Anthony as my husband. Thank you for loving me, Marcus. But I’m not worthy of your love. There are people who need you more than me. Camelia should have given birth, and she is a good girl. Since you’ve married her, you need to be responsible to her and the baby.”
He nodded and smiled bitterly, seemingly ready to let go of the past. “I know. Since I can’t give happiness to the one whom I love the most, it’s better to give it to the ones who need it. This is for the best.”
We should not be too adamant in life. Otherwise, we will be the ones who suffer in the end.
We chatted for a long time during the stroll. When we were back at the base, he turned towards me and said, “Since we’ve reconciled, can I invite you for dinner tonight? Don’t overthink about it. It’s just that I’m not familiar with this place yet, and since I’m just going to be here for a day or two, I want to take this chance to spend time with my close friend. It would be better to eat with a friend than eating alone.”
Looking at his innocent and expecting gaze, I could not bring myself to reject him. I nodded and replied, “Sure.”
As Marcus went back to the base with a smile, I suddenly realized that Anthony might be back at the Lavelian Village tonight.
But I can’t take back my words. I sighed at the thought.
The work I had in the afternoon was a breeze.
When I was ready to leave the office in the evening, Marcus came and leaned against the door, smiling at me. “Seems like you’re busy with work every day.”
I nodded in reply and packed up. Looking at my phone, I realized I had not received any message from Anthony since morning. Is he buried in work?
Marcus brought his car today and parked it at the gate of the base, so we walked out from the base together and got into his car. Whistling to himself, he seemed to be in a good mood. He looked at me and asked, “Do you know any good restaurants here? You’ve been here longer than I do.”
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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