“Anthony!” I called out to him desperately as I felt my legs go weak from anxiety.
Despite insisting on us sticking together a while ago, he had disappeared completely from sight within seconds when the crowd began rushing about.
The next thing I knew, an arm had wrapped itself firmly around my waist.
I turned around immediately and saw Anthony leaning in close as he tightened his grip on me.
His sudden appearance caught me completely off guard, and I found myself frozen in shock for a couple of seconds.
“I’ll recognize you.” He then took a moment to catch his breath before continuing, “No matter where we are, no matter how many Siennas are out there, I’ll always be able to recognize you instantly. Won’t you have a little more faith in your husband?”
I knew he had a strong understanding of human behavior, but I didn’t think he would notice such a subtle change in my facial expressions.
Regardless, my feelings of unease had nothing to do with him as they stemmed from my fear of the unknown. Unsure of what to say, I simply pursed my lips and kept quiet.
Anthony broke into a wry smile and gave me a comforting hug before holding my hand as he led me through the crowd. “For now, let’s go watch the couples make their vows. I’ll take you somewhere special later.”
We soon arrived at the venue for the event and saw that the organizers had placed choral risers on the stage for the ninety-nine couples to stand on. That way, neither of them would have their faces blocked by the person standing in front of them.
Their wedding attires looked a lot more vibrant under the warm lighting, and the colors were reflected on the faces of the guests standing close to the stage.
Instead of the overwhelming euphoria that I experienced during Anthony’s proposal earlier, seeing the couples boldly make their vows on stage had a kind of soothing effect on me. It helped suppress my feelings of unease temporarily, and I silently gave them my most sincere blessings.
Anthony then brought me out of there after the couples completed the ritual.
“If you like it, we can have people organize their weddings here every day,” he said as we casually strolled down the street.
Knowing that he was trying to distract me, I teased him by asking sarcastically, “Aren’t you supposed to do that for me alone? What, is it too expensive for you?”
Anthony arched an eyebrow at me and replied with a smirk, “I’m fine with that. You might not be able to handle it, though.”
“Are you underestimating me? Besides, it’s not like it takes a lot of effort to play the role of the bride. All I have to do is walk a few steps and sit in the carriage…” I mumbled softly as I followed behind him.
Anthony simply chuckled in response and said nothing further, which struck me as a little strange.
It wasn’t until we moved further away from the crowd that I realized Anthony was headed outside of the area.
“Are we heading back now?” I asked as we got closer to the entrance.
I kind of feel like spending some time with him alone. It is our wedding night, after all. Honestly, it has been ages since I felt like just clinging to Anthony and spending lots of time just doing nothing in particular. Maybe it’s because we’ve already gotten to that stage where everything is stable in the relationship.
“Not yet,” Anthony replied and continued heading toward the parking lot.
He then found the black MPV that Joseph had parked there and opened the door before helping me into the car.
The car was empty, save for a laptop that Anthony began working on after sitting down.
He then pulled up a bunch of pictures on the screen and zoomed in on them so I could have a clearer look.
They were all pictures of “me” attending high-end social events with different men, but the woman in the picture obviously wasn’t me.
In the last picture, I was able to clearly see the incomplete photograph that was in the woman’s purse.
Although I had finally found out that the mysterious man was none other than Nathaniel, it was nothing worth being surprised about.
After all, Nathaniel was incredibly adept at making comebacks. Given how he had taken out the entire Hall family, it would make perfect sense that he was the mastermind behind everything.
“Feel safer now that you know who’s behind all this?” Anthony asked casually, showing no signs of pressure from Nathaniel’s actions whatsoever.
“A little, I guess.” I let out a long and deep breath and stared at the pictures on the computer in confusion. “Nathaniel hates the Hall family and has always wanted to be free from it. Why would he still do this to us now that he already got what he wanted?”
“Don’t bother trying to understand a madman’s logic!” Anthony replied with a sarcastic chuckle.
Having found someone to target my emotions at, I exclaimed angrily, “It’s really annoying, though. We could all go our separate ways and live our lives peacefully! Why won’t he just leave us alone?”
As much as I hate to accept this fact, there are always people who can’t stand others living happily and will do everything they can to take that happiness away. When will this madness end? Are they planning on fighting until one of them is dead?
After taking a moment to calm myself down, I turned toward Anthony and suggested, “Should we take the initiative to arrange a meet-up with Nathaniel and see what he wants? It doesn’t matter if he wants money, power, or even an apology. We’ll just give him what he wants in exchange for him to leave us alone.”
Anthony gave me a gentle caress on the back before staring blankly ahead as he said, “He doesn’t want any of those.”
His tone was calm, but I could feel the tension in his words and asked with a frown, “You mean… He just wants to destroy us completely?”
Anthony was quick to reject his own theory. “No, he has no reason to go that far. There are no unresolvable conflicts between us, nor do we owe him anything.”
The lighting in the car was really dim, and I couldn’t even make out his facial expressions unless he spoke.
After a moment of silence, Anthony sat upright all of a sudden and put the laptop aside before tracing a pattern on my palm.
“Do you know what I just wrote?” he asked after completing the pattern.
I was so distracted trying to figure out his emotions that I didn’t really pay attention to what he was doing. “Stanhope?” I guessed as all I recalled were the letters “S”, “T”, and “O”.
“Correct,” Anthony said with a smirk before tracing another word on my palm.
This time, I paid attention and gave him my answer before he even asked. “Featherstone, your family name.”
Anthony finished tracing the word before looking up at me as he said, “Nope, that’s the wrong answer. I traced the word ‘Stanhope’ both times.”
“That’s impossible! I clearly saw you trace the word ‘Featherstone’!” There was no way I would get it wrong as I had been staring at his finger the whole time.
Anthony simply maintained the faint smile on his face as he continued tracing the third word on my palm.
This time, he even made sure to slow down and traced the word in a neat and clean motion, so it was hard to get it wrong.
However, I had learned from my mistake and waited till he traced the last alphabet before saying confidently, “It’s ‘Audrey’.”
“Wrong again, Letty. I’ve been tracing the same word I did before.” Anthony’s reply didn’t surprise me in the slightest as I was kind of expecting it at that point.
“What are you playing at, Anthony? I don’t get it at all!” I exclaimed with a frown.
Anthony simply chuckled before looking up at me as he said seriously, “The wrong answer isn’t always wrong. Remember the answers today, Letty. It’s going to be our secret.”
Sensing that he was trying to hint at something, I took a moment to process his words and eventually understood what he meant.
That would be a great way for him to identify if someone with my appearance is the real Sienna! Anthony had come up with a perfect counter to Nathaniel’s strategy, so we’d be able to handle them should they make a move! There really is no need to let a bunch of clowns like them affect our mood.
With that in mind, the tension in my chest seemed to have disappeared completely, and I smiled at Anthony as our gazes met.
Anthony had managed to relieve my anxiety and concerns in just thirty minutes simply through his understanding of my emotions. This man was still continuously giving me surprises even at his age.
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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