Anthony suddenly chuckled, and an evil glint flashed past his eyes. “Do you honestly want me to answer that question?”
I nodded and replied, “It’s an answer you should’ve told me ages ago.”
Nathaniel took a step forward and stood beside me, but his grin had since faded. “You know, I’d like to know that answer as well.”
Anthony scoffed. He suddenly acted as if he wasn’t bothered about anything and almost seemed generous when he said, “Okay, then let’s play a game. Give me your hand.”
“A game?” I asked because I couldn’t catch up to his quick thinking.
“Yeah,” murmured Anthony. He raised his brows, then looked at my hand, which I had left dangling at my side.
I moved as though I was possessed and reached out for him.
Anthony used his finger to trace his surname on my palm.
After writing that, he retracted his hand and looked right into my eyes. His lips parted, and he asked, “What did I write?”
The entire scene felt so familiar that I had goosebumps. Nathaniel once hired someone to assume my identity. We were trapped in the car for a while at the time, and Anthony played this game with me.
At that time, I answered…
“Featherstone,” I replied mindlessly as I stared at him.
“Wrong,” replied Anthony mercilessly, but his words were an exact duplicate of what he said back then.
I insisted, “That is not possible. I know what I saw. It’s Featherstone.” When I spoke, I kept my gaze on Anthony.
Nathaniel, on the other hand, stood at the side and kept staring, but he couldn’t figure out what was going on.
In the end, Anthony said, “Fine. I will give you one more chance to answer that question.”
He held my hand and wrote Audrey’s name.
My nose became runny, and my voice was thick. I was smiling and crying at the same time while answering, “It’s my daughter’s name.”
Anthony grinned before he retracted his hand and replied, “That’s not what I wrote, either.”
There was a pause. When he spoke again, he emphasized every word. “Here’s my answer to your earlier question.”
After saying that, he turned around to leave, never sparing another look at me.
I stood there on the spot, stunned and at a loss for words. My hand remained in mid-air as tears rolled my cheeks. Yet, the familiar warmth filled my heart once more.
Nathaniel took the opportunity to fan the flames. “See? That’s the kind of man you’re willingly sacrificing yourself for. It doesn’t matter if what you’re saying is the truth. He simply doesn’t believe in you, and he will find fault in every word you say from now on.”
Naturally, Nathaniel didn’t know that there was more to the story.
Back then, Anthony said that he wrote “Stanhope” both times.
He also said that the wrong answer wouldn’t remain wrong forever, and that was our secret.
That day, in that house, I finally understood what he really meant. He was telling me that he would choose to believe me, and he wouldn’t regret his decision, even if it turned out to be the wrong one.
Peace resonated with me, and I was so happy that I could barely contain it. Still, I suppressed those feelings when I heard Nathaniel’s words. I glared from the corner of my eyes and growled, “Are you happy now? Anthony will never trust me again!”
Nathaniel wasn’t going to let me vent, so he continued mocking me. In fact, he sounded pleased when he replied, “I was simply reminding you that juggling two men is not an easy feat. Things turn out well for you, right? Now, you need only focus on loving me.”
I had always hated how presumptuous Nathaniel was, so I took advantage of the situation and raised my voice. My tears, for some reason, also freely flowed as I complained.
“Loving you? Yes, it’s true that my heart is filled with love, but that love is not directed to you! Anthony is the man I have loved my entire life; my youth and memories are all linked to him. Heck, even my life and my entire sense of being are connected to him. He hates me now and is angry at me. That makes me feel a hundred, if not a thousand, times worse than being stabbed in the heart. Do you even understand the agony of being hated by the person you love? No, you will never understand it. All you ever do is make things worse. It seems that torturing me is the only way for you to be happy, and that makes you nothing more than a cruel murderer. You might as well just stab me to my death right now!”
Slowly but surely, a frown appeared on Nathaniel’s face. He stared without saying a word, and I had no clue what he was thinking about at the time.
However, I didn’t bother to try deciphering it. Instead, I held on to the opportunity to vent out all of my emotions. Then, I fell back against the wall while staring blankly at the floor.
The truth was that I was trying to figure something out. I was wondering when Anthony began planning everything, but Nathaniel couldn’t know that. With my head down, I looked like an angry wife who had just been chased out of the house.
I only had a slipper on, and between sobs, I muttered, “He doesn’t love me anymore… He doesn’t love me anymore…”
A few moments later, Nathaniel’s phone rang. He returned to the living room to pick the call up. After that, he rushed out of the door. I stopped crying as soon as he closed the door.
For the entire time, I kept my expression blank as I got up from the floor, put on my slippers, and went to wash my face. When I was done with all that, I grabbed some food from the refrigerator and cooked for myself.
Pretending to cry was a tiring task, and I actually got hungry after Anthony left.
I think that was the time I truly appreciated movie stars and understood how tough their job was.
I couldn’t help strategizing as I ate away. It was crucial I figure out how Nathaniel would treat me after this incident because it’d determine what my next move should be.
If I’m right, this incident is one of the defining moments in this war. Nathaniel had, in a way, recalled his army, and this may be my shot to infiltrate his army’s base.
At that moment, I knew how Anthony felt, and I believed that all I had to do was to help him in any way I could.
We were on the same side and were fighting the same war. The only difference was that he was fighting from the corporate angle, while I was attacking from the emotional side.
Being certain of all that made me feel better than I had in a long time. That, in turn, got my appetite to return, and I finished everything I cooked.
When I returned to the second floor, I noticed that the door to the room next to mine was left open. The decoration suggested that it was a study, and Nathaniel’s laptop, the one he used yesterday, was sitting right there. It was resting peacefully on the desk.
My eyes glowed, but I made a beeline to my bedroom and slammed the door shut.
I’ve learned my lesson after going through all that. In that house, anything that was easily accessible was of no value to me. They were only there to allow Nathaniel to trick and mock me.
There was no point in making any moves, so I ended up crawling back onto my bed and napping.
I was half asleep when I felt someone holding me from behind my back. That instantly scared me so much that I woke up. I sat up and turned on the lamp on the nightstand.
When I saw Nathaniel there, I scrunched my nose and pulled the blanket away. Then, I walked toward the living room in a fit of anger.
Nathaniel chased after me. After a while, he caught up when we were by the door and gripped my wrist. The man then asked impatiently, “It’s the middle of the night. Why are you acting up?”
“Let me go. Let me go!” It took me everything I had to finally break free. I turned around after that and dashed out the door to walk down the stairs.
When I was out of the house, I walked right into Nathaniel’s car and opened the door.
As suspected, he left the keys in the ignition because we were in a secluded place.
Nathaniel chased over at that moment. I ducked quickly and got into the car. After that, I fired up the engine. Ignoring Nathaniel’s protests, I turned the steering wheel before I stepped on the gas without hesitating.
However, Nathaniel managed to open the door at the last second and got into the passenger’s seat.
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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