He must have felt his father’s temper brewing because the boy immediately added, “I won’t do it again, Daddy! Please forgive me!”
Anthony’s expression finally softened at that, and he gently asked, “Shouldn’t you be sleeping? What are you doing here?”
“I want to sleep with Ms. Stanhope!” Gregory exclaimed as he beamed with delight.
Anthony tried to turn his son’s request down tactfully. “Boys shouldn’t be so clingy.”
Gregory knew better than to go against his father’s orders, so even though he felt upset, he didn’t dare protest any further. All he did was lower his head as he idly played with his fingers.
He was such a pitiful sight that my heart went out to him. He was only a boy; there was no need to treat him this harshly.
“Are there rules that state boys can’t be clingy?” I asked as I led Gregory into the bedroom. “Children don’t know any better. They learn by observing adults.”
At least Gregory knows how to use his adorable charms and manners. Anthony forced himself on me, and he still has the cheek to scold his son? Ridiculous!
My words left Anthony speechless, and he could only look on in defeat.
I waited till he had gone into the bathroom before having Gregory sneak out to grab the phone so I could check any incoming texts.
There was just one text from an unknown number: I’m in K City. I’ll be back soon.
The content was strange, and there was no indication as to who had sent it.
Just as I was about to continue mulling over the text, Gregory asked if I could sing him to sleep. It was such a sweet and innocent request that I had to accede to it. He was exhausted, so it didn’t take long before he was sound asleep.
Feeling bored, I reached over to grab my phone, wanting to text Emery, when I heard the bathroom door open.
Fearing that Anthony might put on another act to gain my sympathy, I immediately turned off the lights and pretended to sleep while hugging Gregory.
I heard his footsteps gradually come closer until they stopped by the bed. After a moment of silence, he padded away, and the next thing I heard was the sound of the door closing.
Anthony had left.
What an odd fellow.
The next morning, I was awoken by Gregory.
He insisted on eating breakfast cooked by me, so I gave in and made something simple for the two of us. To my surprise, he finished everything I prepared and left what the chef had made untouched.
Anthony soon came down and joined us at the dining table. When he realized the food on his plate was different from what we had, he seemed very amused. “Is this how you treat your fiancé?”
I still hadn’t forgiven him for forcing himself on me the previous night, so I pretended not to have heard him.
“Sienna!” he repeated, this time more forceful.
“Gregory said he had never eaten his mother’s homemade breakfast, so I made some to coax him. Is that what you want too, Mr. Featherstone? Then again, I wouldn’t want to make your stomach upset from my food,” I replied, still refusing to make eye contact with him.
My snarky tone riled Anthony up, and he was about to rebuke me when one of his staff announced, “Mr. Campbell has arrived, Mr. Featherstone.”
Now that he had work to tend to, Anthony shot an angry glance at me before stalking out in a huff.
Once I could no longer hear footsteps, I snuck a glance at the stairs.
So it seems like Anthony isn’t that easy to provoke.
There were still no signs of the man coming back even after twenty minutes had passed. When the maid started to clear the table, I decided to ask if she knew where he was.
“Mr. Featherstone is currently in the study with Mr. Campbell.”
Knowing Joseph was still around put a dampener on my mood as I trudged my way up the stairs.
Once I got to the study, I could vaguely hear their voices from outside the room. I tried to eavesdrop on their conversation by placing my ear against the door, but it was useless.
After a moment of hesitation, I mustered up the courage and knocked on the door. “It’s me, Carlette.”
The door opened almost immediately; it was Anthony who walked out.
He stood at the door with no intention of letting me in. “What’s the matter?” he asked curtly.
I pursed my lips and sulked. “Don’t you want breakfast?”
“I’ll eat whatever Gregory had. I’m not picky,” he answered after giving it some thought.
“You want a kid’s breakfast?” Is he trying to compete with his own son?
“Sure. But given your personality, you don’t have to force yourself to make it if you don’t want to, Ms. Stanhope.”
With that, Anthony nodded toward the stairs behind me, hinting that I should take my leave.
I was about to do as instructed when I got hit by a sudden realization. “What do you take me for, Anthony? Did you bring me here so you can order me around and do whatever you like?”
The man remained calm as he stuck his hands into his pockets. As soon as he leaned against the door, I could see Joseph behind him, holding on to a stack of documents. “Don’t you want your memories back? Want to join in?”
“What? What are you two talking about?”
Anthony’s lips curled into a smirk. “Something you’d surely be interested in.”
I was so annoyed at the way he was keeping me in suspense, but even I had to agree that the temptation he threw out was too great to resist.
After a deep sigh, I sulked my way back into the kitchen and made the same breakfast for Anthony as I had for Gregory.
When I went back into the study with Anthony’s food, Joseph had already left. “Here. Your breakfast.”
Anthony accepted his food without a word and started eating.
However, he had only had two mouthfuls when he suddenly stopped.
What now? I opened my mouth to mutter, “I told you my food wouldn’t be good enough for someone like you.”
Anthony merely glanced at me before lowering his head to continue eating.
It was a simple breakfast set for kids, yet Anthony made it look like he was tucking into a feast. Seeing him eat with such gusto was surprisingly heartwarming.
Since he was busy eating, I decided to check out the documents on the table.
The documents largely detailed the lives of “Sienna” and Anthony. They were a young couple who had been through thick and thin to get to where they were until an accident on the island led to the demise of Sienna.
I had to continue pretending to be Sienna, no matter how long it might take. But even as I took in all the information laid out in front of me, I felt no connection with her.
As I pored through the documents, I felt my gaze slowly shifting toward Anthony. He was hard to fathom, but he was also just like everyone else. Still, it was hard to imagine that a man like him was capable of having such an intense and loyal love for another woman.
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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