My mouth fell open; I had been rendered speechless.
Anthony gave me a puzzling look. I could imagine his thought process.
I lowered my head, pretending to adjust my outfit and glance around the room, intentionally avoiding eye contact with both of them.
Anthony said a moment later, “Call her Mommy next time.”
“Mommy?”
Gregory pouted and tugged on Anthony’s sleeve. “Do I have to play pretend that she’s Mommy?”
A sense of guilt rose from my heart.
Children can’t lie. It doesn’t matter how much they like you. They wouldn’t want anyone to replace their parents.
Although Gregory was only six years old, he was bright enough to understand what was happening.
He wished I could stay because he knew someone would become Mrs. Featherstone in the end, but he wasn’t willing to accept others as his mother.
I had a lot to do for him to accept me as his mother.
Well, such a process can’t be rushed.
I quickly kept my feelings in check after spacing out momentarily. Thora had tried to please him for so many years, yet to no avail. So how could I hope to gain his acceptance in just one day?
I leaned in to take the young boy into my arms. “Greg, how about I make some of your favorite dishes for dinner tonight?”
“I would love that!” In the end, he was just a child. Excitement was bursting from him at the mere mention of food. It seemed he had forgotten all about his worries from earlier on.
After dinner, I took a warm shower.
I heard my phone ping when I was busy blow-drying my hair.
There weren’t many contacts on my phone – only Emery and Marcus. It must be an emergency if it was from them.
However, when I reached the door, Anthony was sitting behind the bar in the living room naked other than a towel wrapped around his lower half.
He was staring sightlessly into space that he didn’t even notice me.
How can he maintain such a body at his age? That obvious V-shape that trails underneath the towel looks so sexy.
When my brain cleared, Anthony was standing in front of me. His muscular chest was nearly touching my breasts as his dark eyes studied me intently. “Like what you see?”
My entire body shrunk backward, and my face heated. “I didn’t…”
I straightened my back, remembering that we were in my room. “Why are you in my room?”
Anthony lowered his eyes with a deadpan look. “This is my bedroom.”
“No way,” I retorted. “Even though this is my first time here, I remember clearly that the first room on the left by the stairs…”
I realized something was wrong before I finished my sentence.
The room does have the best view and is near to the stairs. It does feel like it’s a master bedroom.
“You…” I raised my head in surprise and pointed at Anthony. “You purposely asked the maids to lead me to this room?”
Anthony only arched his brows, not giving me a response.
Embarrassed and annoyed, I dashed past Anthony and muttered, “Wait a sec. Something must have gone wrong somewhere.”
I turned around and looked at his innocent face. “I remember I only promised to pretend to be your fiancee to fight for your daughter’s custody and not actually marrying you for real. Am I correct?”
I signed the contract thinking the two of us had reached a consensus.
Anthony lowered his eyes, and his lips twitched. “What do you think?” I widened my eyes. What do I think?
Naturally, that would be me staying at my house while he stays at his.
Before I could open my mouth, he fixed his dark gaze at me while approaching me. “Did nobody tell you to study the terms clearly before signing a contract?”
I retorted as I retreated, “Mr. Featherstone, you’re a successful businessman. There’s no reason for you to exploit a commoner like me, isn’t it?”
At my remark, Anthony halted with an unreadable look on his face. Just when I thought he was about to let me go, he suddenly leaned in and held my hands hostage against the couch behind me. “You think you know me?”
With him so close to me, it wasn’t my first instinct to push him away. My heart was beating faster and faster in my chest.
But I hated being lied to, so I pretended to be calm and steeled myself. “It’s not too late to know now either. I want to terminate the contract.”
Finding my memories are important, but I don’t have to put myself on the line for it.
I hadn’t had the best impression of Anthony in the first place, but now, he had completely lost my trust.
Anthony’s face fell in that instant, a lingering sadness in his eyes. He let out a deep sigh as he muttered, “Letty.”
As I peered into his eyes, I couldn’t tell if he was calling me or the “Sienna” who no longer existed.
I had only just snapped back to my senses when I felt the warmth emanating from Anthony as he hugged me tightly.
As soon as our bodies touched, a searing pain once again shot through my entire body. All I wanted to do was push him away, but the sorrow in his voice made me hesitate.
“Can you please give me ten minutes? I just need a hug. I miss her so much.”
He had answered the question in my head. It was his late wife that he missed.
As a woman, there was nothing more humiliating than being used as a substitute for another woman, especially when it was by a man she hated. I tried to protest but couldn’t get any words out.
Even the strength I had earlier to push him away was gone. That left me with no choice but to give in.
Five minutes had barely passed when Gregory pushed the door and ran in with his tablet. His mouth slowly dropped open when he saw Anthony and I hugging.
“Are you kissing?” he asked innocently.
Anthony had almost his entire body on top of me, and since Gregory wasn’t tall, it did seem to him that we were in a very compromising position.
I snapped out of my daze and immediately wriggled out from Anthony’s embrace.
Anthony, however, didn’t seem to panic at all. He slowly turned around to face his son with a stern look. “Didn’t I teach you to knock on the door before entering any room?”
Gregory bit his lip as he scratched his head in embarrassment. “I forgot.”
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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