She was dressed in a hospital gown with the sleeves bound to each other, and she had a clean face with no makeup. With her hair tied into a bun, Rylee was running around the room like a child, while a nurse was chasing after her. The nurse looked exasperated.
“Why are they…” I thought that the people on the screen had passed away, or even begging on the streets just like Anthony’s condition back then.
Anthony’s attention was focused on the people on the screen. He appeared calm as he explained, “Perhaps, didn’t know what I want. I wanted them to suffer, but I realized that I couldn’t do that. Therefore, I’ll just feed them and let them live like normal people. Everyone will go through life and death. In the end, all of us are just ordinary people. Nothing is wrong with living a plain life.”
Yes. Ordinary people live plain lives. Nothing’s wrong with it. What’s the point of differentiating people with social classes? All of us are going to die in the end anyway.
I hugged him tightly and lay my face on his chest. Feeling his heartbeat, I said, “Do you know that I’ve always trusted you? I knew you wouldn’t change because you’re different. You’re not a cold-blooded animal. In fact, you’re soft-hearted and stubborn. Although you never say it, I understand everything.”
“I should thank you then.” Self-mockingly, he replied, “When I was undercover, I wanted to punch myself so badly, but you didn’t push me away.”
Hearing that, I chuckled and punched his chest lightly. “Yes. You have to suffer first. Otherwise, you would be too presumptuous.”
Anthony chuckled in response and did not resist me. Suddenly, he took out a medal from his pocket.
Benson gave him the medal. On behalf of the country, he rewarded Anthony with it for contributing to drug enforcement.
Although Anthony’s identity could not be revealed, his record was stated in the files. Now, he was a registered soldier.
Moreover, Alexander had promised that if the Featherstones were ever threatened in any way, Anthony could use the medal to request help in the army the Zimmerman family was serving in.
“What?” I thought that he was showing off the medal, so I pretended that I did not care about it.
Yet, he took my right hand and carefully put the medal on my palm. In a deep voice, he announced, “Letty, this is the first and only medal of my life. This is a gift for you.”
Knowing the story behind the tiny medal, I felt that it was particularly heavy on my palm.
“A gift for me? Are you willing to do that?” Anthony valued it very much. He had always kept it in the most obvious position in his study.
“I’m willing to. If I could, I would even give you my life,” Anthony teased.
“Stop it. You sweet-talker,” I whined.
However, Anthony ignored me and pulled me into his embrace again.
“When I was twelve, I wanted to become a soldier. I insisted that men should serve in the military at least once in their life. I want to know how much I can push myself to the limit as I protect this nation want to contribute to it. Not long later, Host my parents. My life was then filled with the drive to avenge their death. I gradually lost my direction, and I didn’t know what I want anymore. After that, I met you and fell in love with you. You kept me companied, and found the real me, who I’ve lost a long time ago. Although it’s late now, I want you to know that you’ve given me this new life, and this precious medal. I love you.”
I love you too.
As a result, I wondered if there was a limit to what he was capable of doing.
Meanwhile, although Garrett’s men didn’t fear death, they were not willing to lose their lives because of me.
Having heard the threat, Garrett raised his gaze at Nathaniel and fell silent in thought.
After a long while, he regained his senses and sneered, “Looks like I have raised nothing but a worthless dog. Instead of catching prey, you end up biting me instead. Well done, Nathaniel. Well done.”
Just as he spoke, he sprang up from the sofa and glared at Nathaniel face to face. Both of them were within striking distance of each other.
Even though Garrett was shorter than Nathaniel, he made up for it with his commanding presence. At that moment, both of them were standing toe to toe against each other.
“I’m not going to be fooled. After all, you’re not going to die for this woman.” Narrowing his gaze, Garrett’s murderous aura intensified.
Staring right at him, Nathaniel retorted steadily, “Mr. Jensen, why don’t you try me?”
With their eyes locked, the tension in the atmosphere reached a crescendo as an invisible psychological battle began. It felt as if all hell would break loose at any moment.
After a staredown that lasted a minute, Garrett wavered. Raising his hand, he signaled for the guns to be lowered.
He understood how desperate one could be when forced into a corner, let alone the fact that Nathaniel’s methods were never conventional. Therefore, a kamikaze attack by him was entirely possible.
“Do you think you can protect her?” Mr. Jensen scoffed. “The factions in Southeast Asia alone will never let her live!”
“Drop the scare tactics, Mr. Jensen. I’m not a three-year-old.” Nathaniel broke out into a faint but dangerous smile. “As long as you don’t bring it up, they have no evidence to accuse her of being involved. Even if you have the evidence and hand it over in an attempt to rebuild your empire, no one will trust you after that. You’re a smart man. I’m sure you know what’s best for everyone. In the end, you will still protect me. What happened overseas is just your excuse to dispose of Sienna, am I right?”
Garrett was stung at how Nathaniel saw through him. It took him a long while before he regained his composure and responded sarcastically, “You are indeed a sharp man. As I said before, only you are qualified to be my heir. Unfortunately, you have used your wits in the wrong place this time. The only thing that awaits you now is death!”
“Perhaps, you might be disappointed again,” Nathaniel smirked.
“Hmph! Retreat!” Garrett snorted and left with his men. Once they were gone, Nathaniel released me. He then dropped onto the sofa and heaved a long sigh.
After glancing at him, I turned around to head upstairs.
“Aren’t you going to thank me for saving your life?” Even though Nathaniel was resting with his eyes closed, he was entirely aware of all my movements.
I would have uttered my thanks if it was anyone else. Just not him.
“In that case, I should really thank you for burying such a huge amount of explosives in my home without my knowledge. Mr. Hall, if you had detonated them earlier, you wouldn’t need to agonize over a trivial matter such as my gratitude,” I sneered while suppressing the rage inside me.
Despite trying to kill my entire family, he still insisted that he loved me. At that moment, I was lost as to what his definition of love was.
“But I didn’t,” Nathaniel rebutted stubbornly. “Even the law has a lighter sentence for attempted crimes. And yet, you couldn’t wait to find me guilty before I did anything.”
I found his argument ridiculous. “If you really did it, I wouldn’t even have the opportunity to protest. Nathaniel, let’s be clear, you intended to kill me and my family. Do you need me to remind you of the number of people who died in your hands? In fact, killing you wouldn’t be enough to make up for it!”
“In that case, you should just do it.” Suddenly, Nathaniel vented his frustration. “After all, dying in your hands makes me happy.”
“You’re mad!” I snapped. Not wanting to continue the argument, I headed upstairs instead. Just as I did, I heard two gunshots echo through the house.
Thinking that it was Garrett’s men attacking, I turned to look. Instead, it was Anthony’s figure that greeted me.
Nathaniel too had noticed his presence. After the two of them exchanged glances, Anthony turned away first and called out to me. “Letty, come to my side.”
Although he was holding a gun, I couldn’t sense any animosity from him. As if he was worried that I would be frightened, he even slowed down his speech on purpose.
I nodded and hurried to his side.
Opening his arms, he embraced me tightly.
After being apart for such a long time, I was finally reunited with the familiar warmth and scent.
Having noticed Nathaniel’s piercing gaze, I was suddenly struck by a thought. Letting go of Anthony, I warned, “Run! Nathaniel has planted bombs all over the house!”
Just as I spoke, I grabbed Anthony’s hand and sprinted outside without giving Nathaniel another look.
Unexpectedly, Anthony pulled me back. Closing his eyes, he signaled for me to calm down. He then turned his attention toward Nathaniel with a darkened gaze.
Standing there, Nathaniel’s eyes were bloodshot at the sight of his rival. Not bothered to hide his emotions, he was filled with enmity toward Anthony.
“The police are on their way. Hence, you still have a five-minute window to flee.” Anthony broke his silence.
When I realized he had come prepared, my fears began to ease.
“Flee?” Nathaniel narrowed his eyes. With an indifferent expression, he spread his hands. “What’s the point of that? We might as well all go down together and end it all right here.”
When I saw how he was on the brink of lunacy, I grew increasingly worried. Tugging Anthony by his sleeve, I reiterated, “Let’s go. Now that Mr. Jensen’s men have been scared away, there’s no shame in leaving. Given how hard it was to reach this stage, I can’t bear for any more accidents to happen.”
In spite of my words, Anthony shook his head and calmed me down. “They don’t understand Nathaniel. He won’t do it.”
“No, he will really kill us all in a suicide attack,” I pleaded with Anthony to trust my judgment. After all, it was pointless to understand someone who was brutal and insane.
Watching us with a hidden smile, Nathaniel looked like he was enjoying a drama.
When I saw the confident look he had, I felt a shiver down my spine, causing me to tug harder at Anthony.
In the end, Anthony gave in to my pleas and followed me out of the villa. It wasn’t until we were about a hundred meters away that we finally stopped.
I heaved a sigh of relief once I was sure we were safe. Patting myself on the chest, I stared at the villa and admonished Anthony, “You were too reckless just now. So what if you were right that he was just trying to scare us? You of all people know how much he hates you. What if he really did it? What would happen to me or the children? Have you ever thought about that?”
After observing me for a long time, Anthony didn’t retort. Instead, he reached his arms over to hug me.
“It’s all right now. Everything is fine. Nothing else will happen.”
Instead of resisting, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him back, as if that was the only way to prevent us from being separated again.
It wasn’t until the police arrived that we let go of each other. Together with them, we reentered the villa.
By the time we did, Nathaniel was no longer there. Moreover, closer examination revealed that there were no explosives around the house. Nathaniel’s threat was nothing but an empty lie.
I asked Anthony, “How did you know that he was bluffing?”
Anthony smiled at me. “All the credit goes to you.”
“Me?” I pointed to myself, puzzled. Nonetheless, Anthony didn’t elaborate.
Now that I could drop my front, I no longer had the mood to guess what Nathaniel was thinking. Hence, I put it at the back of my mind and changed the topic. “Since you led the police here, why didn’t you wait a while for them to arrest Nathaniel?”
“That was my initial intention, but Mr. Jensen and his men left earlier than expected. We can only lure him out again using Nathaniel.” Now that he could drop the act, Anthony’s tone was relaxed. Smiling, he added, “Even if they were there, I still wouldn’t have done it, as I couldn’t risk putting you in danger.”
Anthony was worried for a legitimate reason. Hence, I guessed that everything had turned out for the best.
Anthony had almost gathered all Nathaniel’s incriminating evidence. The latter had also exposed his identity, so he would not escape for too long.
Although the police would patrol the villa, Anthony still felt that the place was unsafe for us to stay in. Hence, he sent us to John’s house late at night.
John was staying in Louis’ precious yard. The place was kept under strict surveillance by the security guard there. Moreover, there was a military base not far from the place, so Garrett’s people would not get near.
The moment we entered the house, I jolted when I heard a loud voice. “Mrs. Featherstone!”
When I regained my senses, I finally noticed that Joseph was right in front of me.
He’s alive!
“Joseph!” I exclaimed. “Y-You’re not dead! You’re alive!”
Joseph smiled as he explained awkwardly, “Yes. I’m still alive. I went into hiding for detox and recuperation. I must’ve embarrassed Mr. Anthony since I’ve recovered so slowly.”
“It’s not embarrassing.” I felt warm inside as I stretched out my arms to hug him. “Give me a hug. It must’ve been hard on you.”
Joseph turned to look at Anthony for permission before he gave me a brief hug.
“Thank you, Joseph,” I mumbled gratefully.
Joseph smiled without uttering a word.
Just then, Audrey and Gregory ran down the stairs and threw themselves at me.
“Mommy!”
“Mommy!”
“I missed you so much…”
“I missed Daddy too!”
“I miss you too!”
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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