“Yes.” I glanced at my watch and realized that it was almost seven; he would have gotten off work by now. “I went shopping with Emery and lost track of time. I’m coming home.”
“Send me the address and wait for me there.”
“No, that’s alright. I’ll hail a cab. I’m not that spoiled.”
I wouldn’t be able to argue with him if this went on. The only thing I could do was to forcefully hang up.
As a result, I left the mall accompanied by Anthony and his son.
It could be due to the father-and-son duo’s attractiveness that cause many to glance in our direction as we were walking.
At the entrance of the mall, we discovered that it was pouring outside.
The rain did not help matters in regards to the traffic conditions. Being close to seven, the roads would be congested. To hail a cab under these circumstances was completely based on luck at this point.
“Ms. Stanhope, why don’t you catch a ride with us?” Gregory asked with a tug on my sleeve. Before I could respond, he turned his large watery eyes toward his father. “Daddy, Ms. Stanhope has been kind to me today. Can we give her a ride home?”
Anthony stood silent without a reply.
We were all adults; it wouldn’t do to display our rejection too overtly.
I was about to respectfully decline when Anthony spoke in a low voice. “I’ll drive the car over. Watch the boy.”
I looked up and he was already leaving the mall.
Soon, Anthony returned with his black Maybach to the hotel entrance. Though it was drenched in rain, his prestigious status was on full display.
I was deliberating on whether I should get in when the mall security held an umbrella over me and Gregory.
With courteous gestures, he practically shoved us onto Anthony’s car. I had no choice but to allow myself to be chauffeured.
“Oh yeah! We’re going to Ms. Stanhope’s home!” Gregory cheered excitedly in the car.
I reached out and tousled his hair with a smile. I did not speak to Anthony after providing him with the address.
Anthony drove intently with Gregory and I in the back seat. We chatted the entire journey in a rare moment of camaraderie.
Anthony looked back at us through his rearview mirror and seemed distracted. I wasn’t sure if he was feeling wary toward me as I noticed that he stole glances at me more often than was necessary, as if he was studying me.
It wasn’t a pleasant feeling to be suspected like that. The strangest thing was that this car did not feel unfamiliar to me at all.
It bothered me and made me feel somber and thoughtful throughout the entire journey.
“We’re here.” Anthony’s deep voice interrupted me in my reverie.
With a jump, I exited the vehicle. “Thanks a lot, Mr. Featherstone,” I said gratefully.
The rain had already subsided. It would only take a few strides to reach the shelter of the villa from the side of the road where I was dropped off.
“Hang on,” Anthony called out before I got off.
With one swift motion, he descended from the driver’s seat, opened the trunk, and came up to me with a black umbrella in his hand. He stood in silence with the umbrella over the door in preparation for my descent.
I spaced out as I wasn’t used to this sudden intimacy. Before I managed to come to, Anthony said in a cold voice, “Are you getting off?”
“Oh, yes of course. Thank you for your trouble.”
Just as the words fell from my lips, I heard a familiar voice not far away.
“Scar.”
Anthony and I turned in unison toward the direction of the voice. It was Marcus.
“Marcus? It’s only a few steps. You don’t have to come out to receive me.”
Marcus had his grey silk pajamas on. With a transparent umbrella in his hand, he walked over in a leisurely manner.
“Is this a friend of yours?” Anthony asked. It could have been my imagination, but his voice sounded a few degrees colder.
“I’m her fiancé,” Marcus interjected at once.
I didn’t respond at the risk of sounding like I was overcompensating. The only thing I could do was smile awkwardly.
“Come here, Scar.” Marcus beckoned.
I walked over to him obediently.
Before I could even take a step, I felt my wrist being gripped roughly.
It felt very strange.
Anthony’s palm was meaty and rough. He barely exerted any force but when he touched me, it scalded like magma. My skin seared as the pain felt as if it had penetrated my skin and burrowed deep into my bone.
“Mr. Featherstone, is there anything else?” I asked while I was rooted on the spot without an attempt to push him away.
Though he did not use much strength, I had a sense that it wouldn’t be easy to wrench myself from his grasp.
He had acted proudly and haughtily this entire time, but now he wants to play the part of a scoundrel?
Anthony had a puzzled look upon his face as if he wasn’t sure what he was even doing.
Marcus fixed his gaze onto Anthony’s grip on my wrist. “Sir, please let go of her at once.” Marcus’s voice rang with cold fury in every syllable.
Anthony furrowed his eyebrows but did not insist. In the end, he did as he was asked.
I went over to Marcus and stood under his umbrella.
Marcus adjusted his umbrella to better shield me as he turned to address Anthony. “Sir, I’m wondering about your intentions towards my fiancee,” he said with hostility. “Aren’t you aware of social boundaries?”
“Marcus, listen to me.” I hastened to explain lest he misunderstood. “When I was shopping at the mall with Emery, I ran into Mr. Featherstone’s son who had lost his way. That was when…”
In a few minutes, I had briefly described the events of my afternoon to Marcus.
His countenance had relaxed somewhat after hearing my explanation. “This was clearly a misunderstanding,” he said to Anthony apologetically. “I should be thanking you, Mr. Featherstone, for sending my fiancée home to me.”
Anthony’s face remained expressionless throughout the entire encounter. He only gazed deeply at me for a while before he turned around and departed in his car.
“This man is very strange,” I remarked without thinking. “His mood changes quicker than the weather. I do not know how to interact with him.”
Marcus ignored me completely as he gave my shoulder a pinch. “It’s cold out here. Let’s get inside quickly.” Marcus ushered me to enter the house.
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.
Leave a Reply