It took a while for them to notice my presence, Anthony’s eyes softening in mirth when he saw me. “You’re awake.”
“Mhm.” I entered the room, sitting down on a chair beside John. “Why were you so insistent on buying this painting? What’s so special about it?”
I eyed John as I spoke, curious about the answer.
“We should take the chance to visit while the older relatives have returned to the country,” John randomly said instead, changing the topic. “It’ll be easier since everyone’s in one place; I don’t have to run here and there.”
On the surface, his words sounded like he was being considerate of other people, but I could detect a hint of sorrow in them.
After all, he hadn’t seen Emma in a long time. He had every right to feel frustrated.
Anthony didn’t react much, but I spoke up, “I think that’s a good idea. We’ll do as you say.”
A reunion with Emma and Drew might be just the thing to lift John’s spirits and prevent any further friction between him and Anthony.
As expected, my brother quickly sprang into action and grabbed his phone off the table, dialing someone’s number as he made to leave the room. “Ask your guy to explain everything to you,” he reminded me before walking out.
Does he think Anthony doesn’t deserve to be called by his name?
I looked exasperatedly towards Anthony, who didn’t seem at all perturbed. The corners of his lips quirked up as he helped me to my feet and led me to stand in front of the painting.
He gently lifted my right hand and guided it to touch the surface of the canvas. The rough, uneven texture of the dried oil paints under my fingertips added yet another layer of vibrancy to the artwork.
Perhaps it was because I lacked an artistic intuition, but I couldn’t feel any emotions rise within me even while observing the painting at such a close distance. After a short pause, I awkwardly pulled my hand back. “I’d rather you just tell me outright. I don’t have any talents in art, so I have no idea what you’re getting at.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. He turned around and picked up a single banknote, mysteriously pressing it into my hands.
“Am I supposed to absorb some sort of power from your wealth?” I joked. “Is this going to help open up my third eye or something?”
“Possibly,” he answered. “Feel it thoroughly, and then maybe you’ll understand the profoundness of this painting.”
Is he pulling my leg? Without thinking twice, I crumpled up the banknote into a ball in an act of defiance, acting as if I was going to chuck it at him.
But the moment my fingers properly closed around the ball of paper in my hand, a sense of deja vu came over me. My movements froze mid-air, and I slowly unclenched my hand to take a closer look at the note.
Is this a coincidence?
The texture of the banknote was the exact same as the texture of Nathaniel’s oil painting.
“Tell me what’s on your mind,” Anthony drawled out.
I snapped awake from my daze, reaching out and touching the oil painting again to make sure that I wasn’t hallucinating. “Are you trying to say that the canvas used for this painting is the same paper used to print this note?”
Anyone who had studied law before knew that the entire process of making banknotes, from designing to printing to being made available for public use, was a very strictly monitored process. No matter how high your position was or how much influence you had, no one was entitled to privately own the original material for these banknotes.
“Maybe it’s a total coincidence,” I rambled on. “There’s so many types of paper in the world. Maybe they just feel similar.”
He laughed out loud. “I haven’t even gotten started on the many possibilities, but you’re already jumping to Nathaniel’s defense. Are you really trying to patch up our relationship with the Hall family for me?”
“Not exactly.” I walked over and sat back down, placing the banknote on the desk. “This is a minor problem; we don’t need to make a mountain out of a molehill. All I want is to get our plans over and done with so that our family can spend the rest of our days happily. There’s nothing wrong with being a little selfish and keeping out of other people’s business as long as it doesn’t involve the safety of our family.”
“I’m just concerned that if the country is thrown into danger, it’ll be hard to ensure the safety of our family as well,” he said lightly, masking any and all emotions.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the point of view he was speaking from. Any other person with such a high-ranking position like him would find it hard to stay neutral in this sort of situation, and the Featherstone Corporation was currently the nation’s largest chain of estate brands. After becoming a billionaire, Anthony had gotten involved in an increasing number of other industries and countless deals regarding money. He only had so many chances to turn a blind eye.
John soon returned, leaning against the doorway as he gave us both a meaningful stare. “Hook, line, and sinker.”
At that exact moment, Anthony’s phone started ringing. It had to be Nathaniel.
But when he picked up his phone and checked the screen, Simone’s name was clearly displayed as the caller.
He answered the call and put his phone on loudspeaker before casually saying, “Hello?”
“Anthony! How could you not inform us that your in-laws had come back? You’re lucky your dad has connections and managed to get someone to go pick them up, or else they might think that we were being impolite! But never mind about that; hurry up and bring the kids over, and let’s all have a reunion dinner!”
There was a lot of background noise coming out from the speaker. It sounded as if the two families were getting along quite well.
And with that, the call ended.
We all exchanged confused glances with each other and at the phone.
Had we guessed wrong? What if Nathaniel wasn’t the one trying to cause us harm, but the Hall parents who had been watching over the whole situation since the beginning?
Anthony quickly gave us our answer.
He slipped the phone back in his suit jacket pocket, buttoning it back up. “Using other people to do your bidding prevents your own hands from getting dirty.”
He left the study, and John followed him out shortly after. I had no other choice but to trail behind them, the only one left dazed and confused.
I had gotten into the car when the realization suddenly dawned upon me: Nathaniel had woven Mr. and Mrs. Hall into his scheme! What a manipulative, calculative asshole.
What on earth does Nathaniel want?
There was no time to wonder about that. They were all enemies, and there was no guarantee that Mr. and Mrs. Hall would be easier to handle than Nathaniel.
Anthony appeared extremely calm and composed, keeping his head held high as he gripped my hand in his. “It doesn’t matter who we have to deal with first. Let’s just be grateful that Nathaniel made the decision for me.”
No one could have expected that a reunion after six years would turn out this way.
At the Hall residence, everyone was sitting on the couches in the living room, casually chatting with each other.
Even though I had seen them through video calls before, Cameron was still excited when she laid her eyes upon me. She nearly got to her feet and came over to us, but Zachary held her back, effectively preventing our planned “emotional reunion scene” from happening.
Anthony held my hand as we walked over towards them instead, bowing his head humbly. “It’s been a while, dad and mom. Uncle Louis, too.”
The “dad and mom” he was referring to was Zachary and Cameron respectively, completely ignoring Nicolas and Simone beside them.
I’d expected an immediate conflict to occur, but Nicolas surprisingly took everything in stride as he grinned at us. “It’s good to see you back!” he bellowed, patting the empty spaces next to him on the couch. “Dinner is starting shortly after, so have a seat.”
“Where are the kids? Did you bring them?” Simone looked around for Audrey and Gregory, glancing at the entrance and then us.
I wanted to make up some excuse, but Anthony beat me to the punch. “There’s no need to bring the children into the adults’ matters.”
There was no beating around the bush. He wanted to have a proper discussion.
When Anthony brought me home last time, he’d made sure that Nicolas was aware of his intentions. Nothing much had happened to either side recently except for that incident with the researcher that Nicolas had hired.
The faked calm atmosphere from before instantly turned tense.
We were the guests, so naturally, Nicolas was in a much more awkward position as the host of this little get-together.
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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