Swallowing a lump in my throat, I turned around to help Joseph up. “Come with me!”
However, Joseph tugged my arm and refused to get up. “I’m fine, Mrs. Featherstone. Please don’t put Mr. Featherstone in a difficult position.”
“I’m saving you!” When I saw how he was unable to differentiate who had his best interest at heart, I turned red with anger. “Wake up, Joseph! What Anthony has given you will only harm you. If you continue to follow him, you will only fall deeper into the abyss!”
The moment he heard my words, Joseph sat back on the ground, pitiful and powerless. “This is my choice.”
I furrowed my brows in disbelief. I was briefly stunned. In an act of desperation, I tried to pull him up. “No, you’re not being rational now. Whatever you say or decide just doesn’t make sense. You have to leave with me!”
Perhaps I wasn’t trying to fight with either Anthony or Nathaniel anymore. I probably couldn’t get past myself. I couldn’t allow myself to see a second friend abandon me under physical and mental duress.
Unfortunately, whatever little strength I had wasn’t enough to move Joseph’s well-built body once he put his weight on the ground.
When despair finally got the better of me, I released him and let out a dejected sigh. Lowering my head toward the ground, I suddenly felt my head spin.
Am I dreaming? Or is this all just an illusion? How did things escalate out of control as if there is no way out?
An awkward silence descended upon the scene. Neither of us intended to say a word. As for Nathaniel who was upstairs, he too didn’t take any action. I wasn’t sure if he and Anthony knew of each other’s presence and that this was all just an act to feel each other out.
Nevertheless, one thing was for certain. Regardless of whether Anthony was good or evil, he had shown all his cards. Getting Joseph addicted to ice was a sign of him walking toward the path of darkness.
There was no better person to run a cigarette business than a cigarette addict. The only thing Anthony was conscious about was not getting himself addicted. He had chosen to let Joseph take his place instead as a slave to ice.
At that moment, John’s words echoed in my head again. Looking at Anthony, I subconsciously hugged myself as if that was the only way to stop the iciness emanating from the depths of my heart.
I couldn’t help but ask myself if I could still love the current Anthony unconditionally.
Finally, Nathaniel came down the stairs. When he emerged, he scanned the surroundings before settling his gaze on Joseph.
Due to the episode earlier, the bag of crystal meth that Anthony had brought was now lying by Joseph’s feet. Bending forward, Nathaniel picked it up and studied it in his hand. He looked in Anthony’s direction and asked coldly, “How can such substandard goods be worthy of those closest to you? Anthony, by doing this, it will only serve to demoralize your subordinates.”
Anthony was unfazed. “You have to ask your men about it. Perhaps they feel that I’m only worth this much, and there is no need to bring out the good stuff.”
Nathaniel lowered his gaze without retorting. The next moment, he raised his hand and threw the drugs out the main door. Before we could react, he held up his other hand at Anthony, and somehow, there was a syringe in his hand.
His eyes glistened and his grin slowly widened. “This is the purest form available. Since he is someone you value highly, why don’t you inject him with your own hands?”
The purer the drug was, the stronger the addiction. Even though there might be a chance to quit in the future, one would have to go through even more pain.
Anthony lowered his head and glanced at the thick syringe. After receiving it, he walked toward Joseph and knelt down without any hesitation.
“Are you crazy, Anthony? Stop! If he can’t take it, he will die!” As all the alarm bells in my brain went off, I dashed ahead to try and stop him. Unfortunately, Nathaniel had grabbed hold of me. In the face of his massive strength, I was powerless to do anything.
Before I realized it, Joseph had offered his left hand. He rolled up his sleeves and clenched his fist so that his veins could be easily seen.
“Go ahead, Mr. Featherstone. Give it to me, quick. This is killing me.” Joseph’s eyelids were twitching uncontrollably as if he was on the brink of a coma.
“Anthony! I’m utterly disappointed in you. I beg of you. Don’t do this to Joseph!” I screamed, feeling the burn in my nose and tears in my eyes.
The moment Anthony’s hand moved toward Joseph’s arm, I turned away, unable to bear the sight.
Unexpectedly, Nathaniel was intrigued. Ignoring my blows, he grabbed my chin and forced me to watch Anthony inject Joseph with the syringe.
I watched as the thick needle was inserted into Joseph’s blood vessels. I saw the liquid inside flow into his body as Anthony applied pressure on the syringe. When the latter had injected everything, Joseph gaped at the sky with only the white of his eyes visible. After Anthony pulled out the needle, Joseph convulsed before rolling on the ground. There, he looked as if he was in heaven and hell at the same time.
Soon, the side effects began to kick in. Since it was his first time being exposed to ice that was so high in purity, Joseph started foaming at the mouth after a short moment of ecstasy. With blood dripping out of his nose, he looked as if he was an epileptic patient who could drop dead at any time.
Both Nathaniel and Anthony had the same look on their faces. Narrowing their gazes, they waited silently for Joseph to either endure through it or die trying.
Distracted by the drama, Nathaniel had unconsciously loosened his grip on me. Taking on one person was naturally easier than taking on two, so I used the opportunity to stomp my leg on his leather shoe before dashing toward Joseph’s side and dialing for the ambulance.
While waiting for the call to get through, I pulled out the knife I had prepared earlier from my bag and pressed it against my throat. “Either we wait for the ambulance, or I’ll die together with him. Don’t you feel smug about yourself yet!”
Anthony narrowed his eyes at me. “All they will do is detain him for a while at the hospital. Do you really think it’s for his own good?”
“Shut up.” An angry woman couldn’t care less about the ones she loved. “I don’t want to talk to you right now!”
“Have you finally reached your limit?” Supporting himself on his knees, Nathaniel bent down and leaned closer to me. He was smiling, but the smile did not reach his eyes. “Come, tell me—do you still love Anthony now?”
I swore I wanted to give it all up then, just as he wished. I wanted to scream to the world that I was done playing games and I could no longer care if Anthony insisted on walking toward his own doom.
However, the look in Nathaniel’s eyes sparked uncontrollable defiance within me. A voice in my head repeatedly reminded me that I was looking at a demon and not a man. The difference between them lay in the fact that a man knew how to show mercy while a demon didn’t, just like how a rat would never escape from the grasp of a cat.
Once the cat got tired of toying with it, certain death was the only fate that awaited the rat.
My gut feeling told me that if I admitted defeat now, none of us would survive.
At that moment, the call finally got through. A lady’s gentle voice rang out over the line. “Hello, this is the emergency services. How may I help you?”
With my phone in hand, I took a deep breath and ended the call. I got up to my feet and met Nathaniel’s puzzled gaze as I walked to Anthony’s side. Then, I lifted my heels, threw my arms around his neck, and gave him a kiss.
Anthony was initially caught by surprise as he quickly held his breath. But after regaining his senses, he struggled and pushed me away.
I stumbled backward but steadied myself again. I was unable to hold back the ecstasy I felt.
Given how honest the reactions of our bodies were, I finally found the answer I had been searching for.
Thereafter, I looked in Nathaniel’s direction. I saw him purse his lips and that his eyes were glowing with suppressed rage. Evidently, he was infuriated by my actions.
Well then, let me just add fuel to the fire.
“You’re right. There’s no way people with different values can be together. But compared to Anthony, principles don’t worth a dime. So I have changed my mind and will join both of you. I’ll fork out all my money and play this game alongside Anthony. That way, we can continue loving each other again. Isn’t that right, Nathaniel?”
Worried that my words were not effective enough, I put on an innocent expression and an ambiguous smirk as I continued, “What’s wrong? Isn’t that what you have been waiting for? Aren’t you planning to pull Anthony down from his pedestal and imprison him in this hell of yours? Since I can’t stop you from doing it, I’ll fall into it together with him. Now that you have the two of us, isn’t it a pretty sweet deal for you?”
I knew better than anyone else that Nathaniel didn’t just want to ruin Anthony’s reputation. He wanted to destroy him completely.
Therefore, there was no way he would allow Anthony to have his way in this underground world of his. Once he realized that every one had forsaken Anthony, he would consequently lose interest. By that time, Nathaniel would make sure that Anthony disappeared from the world.
From Nathaniel’s perspective, there was only room for one of them in this world, and he would naturally be the last one standing.
Having been with Anthony for so many years, I could clearly recognize it when he hated someone. With regards to the kiss just now, he neither waited coldly for me to finish nor push me aside from the beginning. His reaction indicated that he wasn’t on his guard against me. He was worried that his honest reactions would be exposed in front of Nathaniel.
In the face of an unpredictable foe, one had to use the element of surprise to defeat him.
This time, Anthony had no reason to accuse me of not being smart enough anymore.
Nonetheless, this was still an assumption on my part. To either assist Anthony or plan my next move, I needed him to give me a clear sign of confirmation.
After all, joining them was just a smokescreen I was using.
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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