“Are you aware that my grandmother is a member of the Murphys?” Once I directed the question at him, I held my breath in anticipation of his reply.
He continued feeding me, his eyes glued to my lips. “Initially, I wasn’t aware, but after I gained authority over different people and things, I started acquiring all sorts of information, including that.”
My heart sank at his words; he had verified Louis’ speculation.
I gulped down some air to calm myself before I asked, “Was Grandma the mastermind behind everything? Do you hate me because she’s my grandmother?”
Taken aback by my words, he paused and placed the bowl of soup on the coffee table in front of us. Staring dead ahead of him, he opened his mouth to ask, “Are you sure you’re ready for the whole, naked truth?”
I had a bad feeling about it, yet I insisted, “I’m sure.”
Although I might not be ready for the truth, I had enough of being deceived.
“I used to.”
His simple answer took my breath away. I clenched my fists with all my might to pull myself together.
A few seconds later, he orated, “Initially, everything indicated that your grandmother was the mastermind. After she reached J City ahead of others to distract the Featherstones, the Murphys proceeded to lure my parents into a trap. Then, the moment they signed the contracts, they were involved in an accident. During their funeral, I overheard the conversation of my grandfather and your grandmother. They regretted not warning my parents when they were aware that the Murphys had been illegally mining petroleum. When my mother passed on, they found out she had conceived, but it was too late.”
Although I was clueless about the things that had occurred in the past, judging by Anthony’s expression, I knew he was adversely impacted by the incident.
“Actually, your grandmother was against the idea of the Murphys being involved in illegal activities. She had brought the sandalwood box away with her to intimidate the Murphys and get them to turn themselves in. When Grandpa figured out the truth from your grandmother on the day the incident occurred, it was too late because the Murphys had dispatched a team of hitmen to wipe my parents out before the task force could reach them. They had long passed on before they could be rushed into the operating theater.”
Anthony clenched his fists with all his might, and I could hear the sound of his fingers cracking. It was clear to me that he could barely suppress his emotions, judging by bulging veins that could be seen on his forehead.
I caressed his hands in an attempt to console the pitiable man. It must be tough to deal with so many things over the past decade on his own.
A voice cut in out of the blue. “Can you guys get to the point already?” It turned out John had been eavesdropping on our conversation at the stairs. Suddenly, he craned over and walked down the stairs, glaring at me in the eyes with his face full of despise. “Is that the reason you insisted on coming here?”
Ever since Hannah had gotten married, John had grown increasingly aggressive.
“Did you swap the DNA report because you thought Rylee would be a better pawn or were you afraid of Letty leaving you? Have you long figured out the relationship between her grandmother and the Murphys! Have you kept Letty by your side to get your revenge?”
“John…” I tried to stop him from carrying on. I was afraid of the future that might be in store for me, but I couldn’t bring myself to finish my sentence. I knew it was only a matter of time before the truth was revealed.
Anthony looked at me with his abysmal pair of eyes. After staring at me for a few seconds, he looked elsewhere and answered curtly, “Yes.”
That one-word reply was all it took to shatter my heart into pieces.
John, who was overly worked-up, suppressed his wrath and asked, “Kudos for being a man and bearing the consequences of your actions. Now tell me. Have you made use of Letty’s identity as a member of the Moore family to get Zachary and Cameron’s aid to go against Ezra?”
I secretly hoped Anthony would prove John’s hypothesis wrong, yet the man replied with a determined look, “Yes.”
“Wonderful!” Gritting his teeth, my brother looked at me and growled, “Did you hear him, Letty? He has been making use of you since the beginning! As long as you bring up the request to file for divorce with him, I’ll get everything done on your behalf! I won’t allow him to bring any of your children away from you!”
I had no idea if that was the thing I wanted; my mind was all over the place. I started panting heavily in an attempt to catch my breath.
“I won’t deny the things I’ve done, but it doesn’t mean you’re in a position to determine our next best course of action on our behalf.” Anthony deadpanned his reply, emanating an intimidating presence as he did so.
John was equally irked. He rushed over and grasped Anthony’s collar, yelling hysterically, “Stop getting full of yourself! Do you think you’re better than a hooker when you deceived a woman to acquire your current achievements in life?”
“I have never deceived Sienna.” Anthony kept his words short and simple, making himself clear.
Seeing as to how things were about to spiral out of control, I quickly interjected, “John, could you please leave us alone for a moment?” Things were tough on our end because we had countless people coming after us. I couldn’t afford to have either of them pick on one another anymore.
“No way! I need to teach this jerk a lesson for putting you and the children’s lives at stake to achieve his goal!” John’s hand balled into a fist, about to throw a punch at Anthony.
“John!”
My desperate plea must have reached my brother’s ears because John turned around and looked at me, moving his fist away from Anthony reluctantly after a moment. He then walked away and took a seat on the nearby couch. The frustrated man proceeded to remove his tie and unbuttoned a few buttons, slouching against the couch.
Silence fell in the living room, and I knew it was the peace before another storm. Perhaps I wasn’t particularly surprised after going through the swap of life with Rylee.
Anthony and my relationship had started due to all sorts of misunderstandings and coincidences. As the person he held dear, I could feel the emotions associated with his words.
When I felt my dear children moving around in my belly, I caressed my baby bump gently. They seemed to be reminding me to live a life with no regrets and let bygones be bygones.
It wasn’t easy to forgive and forget the first time, but it wasn’t much of a challenge for many to do it a second time. I foresaw a future with the man in front of me, so the thing that mattered the most was the affection he had for me and my children.
“Anthony, I want to know this… Do you still love me? Does the affection you have for me have anything to do with the Stanhope family and the Moore family?”
Standing in front of the lamp, Anthony’s shadow enshrouded my view as though a giant was right in front of me. We used to be one, but our future would depend on his answer.
After a long while, he looked at me with his brows arched in confusion. He placed his hands on my shoulders and announced, “Sienna, I love you to the extent I have been deceiving myself to forget your identity as the granddaughter of the person who brought upon my parents’ demise. Vengeance used to be the only thing keeping me alive, but your presence has given me a brand new reason to live.”
I returned the favor and placed my hands on his shoulders, replying in a hushed voice, “Can you please put the grudge you held aside for the time being for our family’s sake?”
The only thing keeping us apart was the secrets we had been keeping to ourselves. Since we had let the cat out of the bag, I wished not to allow anything to get in the way of our relationship anymore- neither of us wished to be apart from one another.
Nonetheless, moving on was easier said than done. Anthony, who had been pretty patient, went dead silent.
I refused to give up just yet. I placed his hand on the baby bum[ and uttered softly, “Anthony, Macy is dead, and Jackson is heavily injured. Armond has gotten you over because he wants to figure out if we’re on good terms with one another. If you keep going after him, we’ll all end up dead. Is that really what you want?”
The man before me remained silent. It would be extremely difficult for him to get rid of the pent-up grudge that had built up within him over the past three decades.
Although I was conscious of his feelings, leaving him to hold onto the anger was a risk we as a couple couldn’t take.
I took a deep breath and moved away from him to collect my thoughts. After regaining my composure, I looked at him in the eyes and said, “I know I’m supposed to support you as your wife, but as a mother, I don’t think it’s wise to stay by your side because our children’s lives are at stake. If you insist on exposing us to unnecessary risks, I’m afraid I’ll have to leave.”
When I was eighteen-year-old, I married someone who wouldn’t take me seriously. When I was in my mid-twenties, I forsook everything and devoted myself to our relationship. Unfortunately, I couldn’t bear to lose my children when I was in my mid-thirties.
At that point, John couldn’t take it anymore. He yelled, “It’s not up to him anymore! The ones behind the scenes must have been alarmed after we waged war against the Ziegler family. We have reached the point of no return. In short, filing for divorce is the only option available to keep you safe.”
I was reluctant to give up on our marriage that had lasted for a decade, yet John’s words worked like a charm and reminded me of our dire situation. If it was merely a showdown between Anthony and his foes, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Unfortunately, it had morphed into a feud between two families, and that included my children and me.
It was evident Armond, who had gone into hiding and showed up out of nowhere, came prepared. As Anthony had broken Mitchell’s arms and waged war against the Ziegler family because of me, Armond could easily verify my relationship with Anthony. Perhaps he wouldn’t show me any mercy the next time he got his hands on me.
When Cameron and Zachary walked into the foyer, they were startled by the silence in the spacious living room.
“What’s going on?” Cameron, who was quite a distance away, asked before making her way into the living room.
When we heard her innocent question, we snapped out of confusion and snapped back to our senses.
I returned to my seat and massaged my swollen temples, feeling exhausted. “It’s nothing. Why are you guys here in the middle of the night?”
Cameron and Zachary exchanged glances casually. “We’re merely here to visit you and Summer because it has been quite some time since our last meeting.”
It wasn’t the best time to visit. It was evident those were merely excuses they had made up to disguise the actual goal of their visit. Perhaps they had come for Anthony.
Should I consider myself lucky or not? They’re trying to keep me in the dark with Anthony for my sake, yet it feels like I’m the outsider when they’re my biological parents.
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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