While we were walking away, I whispered to Millie, “Were Nathaniel’s bodyguards hard to handle? Seeing that you had to do it alone just now, how about I hire someone to assist you?”
Millie then put on a serious face and said, “Thank you for your concern, Ms. Stanhope. But there’s no need. I didn’t engage because Nathaniel had no intention to cause you any harm. I would only be causing you more trouble if I started a conflict with them. But if needed, they were no match for me, anyway.”
I was rendered speechless.
But right as those words left her mouth, we heard loud slapping sounds coming from nearby.
I waded in through the crowd, and as soon as I turned, I saw that it was Rylee and her set.
As I expected, the sounds originated from Rylee relentlessly slapping Anthony on the right side of his face.
Although he didn’t seem to mind the constant abuse, I couldn’t stand watching from the side anymore. Hence, I rushed toward him to shield him from Rylee. She missed, and her palm landed on my head instead.
The impact was so hard that I lost my balance. But Anthony was quick to react as he reached out to help me up.
But the moment I managed to stand upright, he swiftly took a few steps away from me and remained still.
His reactions were understandable because, firstly, we were in public. Secondly, we were in Rylee’s territory. He had no choice but to keep a distance from me.
Before I could even regain my composure, Rylee went bananas again. She started pointing at me and had a go at me. “You disgusting woman! Anthony had already left his family behind. He even lost his dignity just to please me. And yet, you still have the courage to come and defend him? You deserve everything that’s happening to you right now!”
I gritted my teeth and glared at her. But I had to hold myself back from retaliating because she was so mentally unstable.
“What? Did I say anything wrong? But then again, there’s nothing else you can do to me besides glaring. Did you see that? Your beloved Anthony stood still and let me slap him as I wished. Is your heart aching for him?” Rylee laughed hysterically and continued, “I will not let him off the hook, and the same goes for you. After I’m done with him, you’re next.”
“Are you done?” Anthony suddenly asked in a frosty voice.
“Anthony Featherstone, how dare you speak to me like that? Have you forgotten what you’ve done to me? There’s nothing you can do to repay me, not even with your life!” Rylee yelled in anger. Her tantrum didn’t seem like it was going to end anytime soon. She even lashed out at the crew and yelled, “What are you all looking at? Get lost! What a bunch of useless dimwits!”
Although the crew was infuriated upon hearing that, they had to do whatever she had instructed because she was an investor.
By then, Anthony couldn’t care to be gentle anymore. He walked toward Rylee and grabbed her by her wrist. Without hesitation, he dragged her away from the set.
“Let me go, Anthony! I said, let me go!”
Rylee’s voice lingered until both she and Anthony disappeared from sight.
The crowd dispersed soon after that. As I took a quick glance around, I saw Nathaniel standing right outside the studio expressionlessly.
Without a doubt, he had seen how I defended Anthony.
As soon as our gazes met, I looked away subconsciously and awkwardly. But yet, I could feel his eyes lingering all over me.
After a long torment that lasted a few seconds, he squinted and withdrew his gaze before he left.
I wondered if he had seen through me, or was he just jealous?
Although I couldn’t be sure, I had to assume it was the latter.
The more jealous he was, the more reason I had to stay out of his sight from then on. That was the only way to make him crave for me more.
For the next three days, I had to shut him out. I went to John’s house and fetched the kids. Throughout the entire time, I focused all my energy and time on them.
At last, on a Saturday afternoon, I decided to go to the garden for some relaxation after putting Audrey to sleep. That was when Nathaniel showed up out of nowhere.
He was standing motionlessly still on the gravel road leading to the back entrance. Perhaps the gloomy weather played a part, but I saw an utter sadness in his eyes when he was staring at me.
At that moment, I was wearing a set of matching pajamas I got for Audrey and me. My hair was casually tied up to a messy bun. In fact, I looked like a mess, to say the least. I wondered why he looked so sad, though.
“Oh, you’re here,” I greeted him coldly.
Without saying a word, he just kept looking back at me with those depressed eyes.
“Come and have a sit.” I was acting as though I didn’t notice the expression in his eyes. I poured a cup of tea and blurted, “Have a cup of tea to warm yourself up.”
Then, I silently enjoyed a sip of my tea.
A few moments later, Nathaniel slowly walked toward me, and instead of sitting down, he stood right in front of me. He was staring down at me as I sensed a hint of anger in his gaze. Maybe it was because he was unhappy with me behaving as if nothing had happened.
“What do you want?” I refused to look at him while I kept my palms warm with my cup of tea.
Without getting a response from Nathaniel after a long wait, I raised my head and looked at him. The moment our eyes met, he grabbed my wrist and gripped onto it tightly.
Argh! Due to my injured shoulder, I instinctively screeched in pain when I struggled to set my wrist free.
Although he did loosen up his grip for a while, he then squeezed even tighter. “You’re still in love with Anthony, aren’t you?” he fumed.
Refusing to give in, I lifted my chin and furrowed my brows. “What does it have to do with you?”
“Answer me now!” Nathaniel clenched his teeth as hard as he was squeezing my wrist.
I started breaking out in a cold sweat from the pain. I took a deep breath to gather my strength and snapped with my trembling lips, “Yes! I still love him. I will love him till the day I die! Are you satisfied now?”
“Shut up!” Nathaniel suddenly burst into a rage. He then grabbed my throat with his other hand.
Instantly, I started choking.
As I was gasping for air, I struggled relentlessly to break free. I was completely at his mercy.
Despite that, I still kept staring into his eyes with an absolute determination not to submit to him.
Nathaniel’s veins were throbbing, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked just like a murderous devil.
When I felt I was losing consciousness, I used my last remaining energy to let out a sinister laugh while still staring at him. “Haha. Y-You’ve lost.”
Almost instantaneously, it was as if Nathaniel came back to his senses, and he withdrew his hands at once.
I dropped to the chair I was initially sitting on. Although I was almost choked to death, I held my chest and laughed out loud. “Hahaha! When I was choking to death, did you feel that your heart was aching as well? Nathaniel, how does it feel when you have no control over something?”
He remained prideful when he stood strong before me. “There’s nothing I can’t control.”
“Yeah, I believe you.” I nodded and laughed even more eerily. “Then, do you care to explain why you have shown up here out of the blue?”
Even when he was hurt emotionally, three days was all it took for him to realize his urge to see me.
I supposed those were the most torturous three days in his life. However, it meant nothing. Because in his words, this was only the beginning.
Nathaniel kept mum because he had absolutely nothing to say. There was nothing he could say to reverse what he had just done. He had practically exposed his true emotions. He had no option but to admit the fact that he had fallen for the person who he claimed not to care.
Furthermore, he lost control over who his heart truly desired. Over the past decade, he had all the fun he wanted. From now onward, his days would be filled with misery and redemption.
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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