I fell speechless after hearing his comment.
Soon, it was noon. I was wondering what we should have for lunch when Anthony’s phone rang.
He answered it with a frown. Judging from his conversation, something must’ve happened to Jared.
After hanging up, he came to me and pulled me in for a hug. “I can’t have lunch with you. Something is wrong with Jared’s project, so I have to leave.”
I gave him a nod. “Okay.”
With him around, I couldn’t really focus on work.
He grinned. “Are you that desperate for me to leave?”
Er, is it that obvious?
I flashed a smile. “No. You’re busy, right?”
He brushed his finger across the tip of my nose affectionately. “Remember to have lunch. I’ll see you at night.”
“Sure!”
At the sight of his broad shoulders, I recalled what Stacey told me earlier. My heart skipped a beat as I called out, “Anthony, be careful!”
He turned around and shot me a grin. “Okay!”
Not long after Anthony left, I received a call from Rylee.
Her voice was calm. “Sienna, can we meet up?”
I rejected her at once. “Rylee, I have nothing to say to you.”
She fell silent for a moment. “What about Anthony? Can we talk about him?”
I was quite irritated by now. “What about him?”
“I’m outside White Corporation’s building now. Let’s talk somewhere else.”
“Sure.”
Downstairs, I saw Rylee clad in a white dress. As she had just suffered from a miscarriage, her face was pale and haggard. It seemed like she had lost some weight.
With her arms crossed, she stood beside a white Maserati. When she saw me, she raised her brows and said, “Let’s go!”
I nodded and entered her car.
“You seem to be doing well without Anthony.” I broke the silence. I wasn’t mocking her.
The Moore family gave her the best as they wanted her to run the company.
Her expression clouded over. “It has nothing to do with Anthony. Nothing to do with you, too.”
Clearly, she was in a foul mood.
At the cafe, we found a table and sat down.
She ordered a cup of black coffee. When it arrived, she stirred it slowly and elegantly.
I ordered a glass of milk as I wasn’t interested in coffee.
As her gaze darkened, I spoke out. “You resemble your mother a lot.”
Both of you like black and bitter coffee.
Rylee looked at her coffee silently. She seemed to have understood what I was trying to say. “When will you stop?” she inquired.
Her sudden question took me aback. “What?”
She arched a brow icily. “Felix was sentenced to death. Mr. Clinton is currently under investigation. My mother got implicated, too. To take revenge, you’ve successfully killed my child and ruined my mother’s reputation. Aren’t these enough?”
“No!” I retorted. “I wasn’t the one who killed your child. I’ve never wanted to sacrifice someone’s life to comfort myself. Your mother is still influential, right? Cameron might be under investigation, but she’ll still be a billionaire if she’s innocent and gained her fortune rightfully. If she was involved in shady deals, she’ll get caught eventually, right?”
Biting her lip, Rylee took a deep breath and glowered at me. “Karma will come for you!”
I was amused. “Karma? You have a crush on Anthony, so your mother set up a trap to kill his wife. Now, she’s about to lose her reputation and standing. This is karma.”
Rylee’s jaw hardened angrily at my words. She grabbed her coffee and flung it in my direction. The coffee wasn’t hot, but it stained my clothes instantly.
I sat still and stared straight at her.
Seemingly emotional, she stood up and glared at me. “Sienna, you lost your child. If you want another, you can get pregnant anytime. What about other innocent people? Felix’s about to die. Hector Clinton’s career and my mother’s future are ruined. Do you think you’re above us all? I think you’re the most heartless person I’ve ever seen. After wrecking my relationship, you took the person I love away from me. You destroyed the life my brother arranged for me before he died.”
I sneered and grabbed a napkin to wipe the coffee off my face. “Innocent? If Felix’s innocent, then what about the people he killed? Don’t you know why he’s sentenced to death? Is Hector innocent? Don’t you know how much money he has extorted over the years? What about the people he harmed? As for your mother, she isn’t innocuous at all. You know how she murdered my baby, right? Look how much she has achieved over the years. Imagine how much illegal stuff she has done!”
I couldn’t help but snicker at this point. “Your brother. Yes, Parker’s indeed smart. He asked Anthony to take care of you because he knew he’d die soon. His death isn’t anyone’s fault. But his request trapped
Anthony forever. You love Anthony, but does he love you?”
Rylee’s jaw was still clenched. I smiled at her and continued, “Clearly, you know Anthony doesn’t like you. Your brother made you his responsibility, so no matter how much Anthony despises you, he’ll still take care of you because he gave your brother his word. How could Parker burden Anthony’s life with just one promise? Is he innocent?”
“Nonsense!” she blurted out. “You’re wrong. If you didn’t show up, Anth would marry me and take care of me forever. He was stumped because of your arrival!”
I chuckled. “Stumped? When his grandpa told him to marry me, he could reject the offer. Do you really think Anthony would allow it if he weren’t willing? We’ve been married for only three years, but he has already fallen for me. What about you? How many years have you been by his side? Why didn’t he marry you in the end? If he thinks of you as a woman, he would’ve married you before I came into the picture, right?”
Rylee was sobbing profusely by now. I knew my words had gone straight into her heart like an iron shard. The pain must be too much for her to bear.
“Stop harming my mother. You’ve achieved your objective. I’ll stop clinging to Anthony or try to ruin your marriage. I admit defeat. Spare my mother and the Moore family. We’ll stay away from each other. You and Anthony can live happily ever after.”
Rylee sounded agitated. She knew well I wouldn’t let Cameron off easily, but she still went ahead and begged.
Perhaps she loved Anthony dearly, or she enjoyed it when he paid attention to her. Nevertheless, that had nothing to do with me.
“I’ll live happily ever after with Anthony. Thank you for staying away from him. But I will not let your mother off easily. I’ve just started. There’s still a long way to go.”
Rylee paled visibly. Desperate, she declared, “Sienna, I agreed to stay away from you. Why won’t you stop? You know that if I insist on asking Anthony to take care of me, he won’t leave me alone. There will always be another person in your marriage. Are you okay if I cling to him forever?”
I drew my lower lip between my teeth. She was right. After all, Parker was dead. Anthony would have to keep his word, no matter what. If something had happened to Rylee, he would need to take care of her.
I sneered at her. “Rylee, if you’re willing to sacrifice your whole life, I don’t mind your existence. After all, we share a bed at night. You know he doesn’t love you romantically. I can’t believe you’re okay with waiting for him. You’re not even his mistress. If that’s the case, why should I mind?”
As the color drained from her face, I continued, “Your existence might bother us occasionally, but you’ll have to waste the rest of your life doing this. However, if you leave Anthony, you’ll have a different life. You’re pretty with a powerful family background. There will be other men who would make you happy. Look, Joe is a good example. It’s obvious he really likes you. Even if Cameron’s reputation gets torn to shreds, you can still take care of her. The Moore family is too strong for me to destroy. So, as long as you leave, I won’t get to sabotage your future.”
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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