Anthony did not let go. His grip was firm all the way until Rylee’s eyes began rolling up the back of her head.
He’s really going to end her. I immediately grabbed his arm. “Anthony! Let go! You’re going to jail if you do this! Do you want to leave me behind to raise the children on my own?”
The effect was instantaneous. It was as if I had slapped him awake. Anthony’s grip loosened, and Rylee collapsed to the floor, gasping and coughing.
“No… You’re l-lying!” Her voice was completely hoarse. “You can’t be… that lucky!”
I was abruptly reminded of what John had told me. He said Rylee had a baby as a result of sexual assault. She must have felt that this marked the beginning of her downhill relationship with Anthony and her fall from grace.
After she knew how I had experienced the same disgusting treatment, she thought she could finally drag me into hell with her. The hatred in her heart could only disappear when I became an abandoned pawn everyone looked down on.
However, she seemed to have forgotten that God would not turn a blind eye to her evil deeds, and today was no different.
After pushing Anthony’s hand away, I stared down at Rylee. Without wasting my time on her, I ordered the maid, “Bring her out.”
Turning around, I scanned the messy dining table and added, “Mrs. Eriksen, take the children upstairs to sleep. You can wake them up to watch the fireworks at midnight.”
“Yes, Mrs. Featherstone.”
Although the children seemed unwilling to head to bed, they sensed the weird atmosphere and headed upstairs obediently.
The reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve was ruined just like that.
At that moment, Nathaniel took off his napkin and shot me a look. Then, he pulled the chair out for Nora and walked toward the door.
Nathaniel tried to pat Anthony’s shoulder when they passed by but was avoided.
Despite getting ignored, Nathaniel did not get angry but changed the subject. “Anthony, do you still remember your real self?” Without waiting for an answer, he turned around and grinned. “You should be able to recall now. Haha!”
After saying that, he left swiftly hand-in-hand with Nora.
It was annoying how no one could blame him despite causing all the drama and leaving right afterward.
Turning around, I realized that Anthony’s expression was dark, seemingly on the verge of losing control of his emotions.
Is it worth getting so emotional over Rylee’s words? People would probably think that he still has feelings for her.
Taking a deep breath, I lowered my eyes and swept a glance at the two figures. How can they be so ignorant not to leave in this situation?
Since the children were out of their reach, I dragged Anthony upstairs and ignored them.
After sitting him down on the sofa, I sat on the coffee table and sent an interrogative gaze at him.
Initially, Anthony was still able to meet with my gaze. However, as time went by, he drooped his eyelids unnaturally.
Okay. I can confirm that he has something regarding Rylee hiding from me.
“Talk.” After experiencing many difficulties in life, I was no longer scared to face reality.
Anthony feigned ignorance. “What are you talking about?”
“The secret you’re hiding.” With a half-smile, I poked a finger at his chest and tried to ease the atmosphere by cracking a joke. “I already noticed that something is off. You, Rylee, and Mr. Melton must have something going on that I don’t know. If you tell me the truth, I’ll let you off easy. Otherwise, who knows what’ll happen.”
However, Anthony tried to prove his innocence and stared at me. “You already heard what happened. It’s like what you said. Mr. Melton tried to force himself on you but failed. I only got angry because Rylee slandered you right in front of the kids.”
He’s quite good of finding excuses, isn’t he?
“Really? You’re not lying to me?”
“That’s all,” he confirmed.
Standing up, I circled him. “Why can’t I seem to believe it?”
After all, Rylee’s attitude was the same as before, so there was no need for him to get infuriated over it. Plus, his reaction was definitely not only because of anger.
To be precise, he seemed to be a bit embarrassed over it.
However, what was the reason over it?
Staring at his figure, I got lost in my train of thought. In the end, I could only sigh that I had gotten myself the most secretive man in the world. Thus, I could only solve it my own way.
“All right, then. I believe you.” By saying that, I could let his guard down. This way, there would be more chances for me to find out the truth.
As it turned out, I was right.
After the fireworks performance around midnight, I accompanied the children to set up more fireworks. Anthony, however, was secretly phoning someone.
He thought he had fooled me, but he did not know that Mrs. Eriksen supported my plan of preventing an affair. Since she was well-acquainted with everyone in the household, Anthony’s every single action would not be overlooked by me.
Confirming that Anthony was hiding something from me, I purposely made an excuse that I would set things right with Summer. In reality, I hailed a taxi and waited for Anthony near our house.
The chauffeur was a middle-aged man that seemed honest and good at his job. Unexpectedly, he was quite a chatterbox.
“Miss, are you waiting for someone? How about you call and remind them? Since you’re being so anxious, perhaps your husband is having an affair?”
Finding it funny, I decided to laugh and admit to it. “That’s right. We had a pair of twins, but he got sick of me after they grew up. Now, he’s out to look for another woman…” While talking, I pretended to bury my face in sorrow. However, I did not avert my gaze from the same spot as before, fearing I would miss my target.
“What a pity! However, you shouldn’t be too sad about it. Men are all the same. You still need to endure it for your kids’ sake…” Halfway through his sentence, he passed me a tissue box. “Here. Wipe your tears away. You do have it rough.”
Right at that moment, Anthony’s car suddenly passed by us at lightning speed.
“That’s him. Quickly follow him!
The chauffeur was taken aback and dropped the tissue box on the floor. “Are you kidding me? That’s a race car you’re talking about!”
Well, I did seem to be pushing it. “Don’t worry. Just try your best. I won’t blame you if you can’t manage to catch up with him.”
“Okay. Sit tight!” The chauffeur immediately turned around and switched gears, and the car speeded off.
I was hurled back onto the passenger seat by the strong impact. If I did not react quickly enough, I would have lost my balance and fallen.
The chauffeur was definitely not your normal taxi driver!
Thankfully, it was a lucky day for me as we managed to catch up with Anthony’s car near a red light.
“Let’s not be too obvious. Can you switch to the lane furthest from his?” As Anthony was a careful man, it was easy to give me away if I was not cautious enough.
“I understand.”
We maintained a distance of two cars for about twenty minutes when Anthony’s car finally stopped in front of a café.
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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