He gazed at me and was silent for a while. “How do you know I’ll be happy? Sienna, do you know what happens when someone who has been living in the dark for many years suddenly sees the sun?”
I pursed my lips and met his gaze, allowing him to continue speaking. “If I’d never seen the sun, perhaps I wouldn’t find living in the dark difficult, but reminiscing about the sun from within the darkness is probably something you will never be able to relate to.”
His confession seemed to suck all the air out of my lungs, making me feel weak and powerless, but I couldn’t seem to find the words that could bring him solace.
With my eyes still fixed on him, I parted my lips to speak, yet, no words came.
He grabbed my hand and forcefully interlocked our fingers before pulling me into his arms. He pressed me tightly against his body and patted my back. “Forget it. If Anthony cherishes you enough, you’ll live happily for the rest of your life. But if he misses out on his chance with you-”
“I won’t,” Anthony cut him off in a deep and assertive tone.
I broke free from Marcus’ embrace and looked back to see Anthony coming out with a long coat in his hand. He walked to my side, took the coat off my shoulders, and handed it back to Marcus. He then placed the coat in his hand around me. “Thank you for the coat, Mr. White.”
Marcus narrowed his eyes at him and pressed his lips into a thin line. With a stony expression, he replied in a clipped tone, “No thanks are needed.”
Anthony hugged me to his side and led me straight into the living room. I struggled a little bit to keep up with his long strides and when we entered the bedroom, I noticed that the rage written on his face hadn’t yet subsided. Initially, I expected him to vent his anger on me, but surprisingly, he only barked, “I’m going to take a shower!”
With that, he strode into the bathroom. I knew he was angry.
He came out dressed in a white bathrobe that covered over his broad shoulders and narrow hips, looking elegant and poised no matter how I looked at him. Seeing me sitting on the chaise lounge, he said with a stoic expression, “It’s getting late. Go to bed earlier.”
Faced with his lukewarm attitude, I was at a complete loss. I lowered my head slightly and simply turned around to go into the bathroom.
When I came out of the shower, he was already lying down on the bed and seemed to be asleep.
After blow-drying my hair, I slowly climbed into bed. His back was to me, so I reached out to wrap my arms around his waist and press my cheek against his back before calling out softly, “Anthony, I can’t sleep if you don’t hold me in your arms.”
His body stiffened for a split second, then came his monotonous voice, “Go to sleep now.”
I pursed my lips and hugged him for a while. Seeing that he was still reluctant to turn around, I got up and crawled to the opposite side before wriggling to get myself into his embrace.
After nestling against his chest and making sure his arms were around me, I looked up to study his face. His eyes were closed and he had a slightly wan complexion that was probably due to overworking these few days.
I lifted my hand to stroke the stubble on his chin before murmuring, “Anthony, if you don’t talk to me, I’ll assume that you’re ignoring me. Let’s sleep on separate beds from now on. I don’t want to share a bed with such a cold husband.”
His eyes flew wide open to reveal his obsidian orbs that were particularly bright in the night. “Cold?”
I nodded. “Very cold. You’re even colder than the snow outside!” There was a subtle whine in my voice.
He raised his hand to tuck my hair behind my ear and sighed softly, “I just don’t want you to see him. Not even for one second!”
After a brief pause, he continued, “I know that Marcus was kind to you, but he has feelings for you and as a man, I see it clearer than you do. Sienna, promise me that from now on, you’ll stay away from him as much as possible, okay?”
I nodded and nuzzled his chest. “I know. It was just a coincidence just now. We’re staying under one roof, so it’s difficult to completely avoid each other. We’ll go home once Benjamin’s funeral is over and we won’t have to see him anymore.”
Pursing his lips, he tightened his arms around me and rolled over so that he was on top of me. “Then, make it up to me, hmm?”
A blush spread across my cheeks and I subconsciously tried to dodge, but I was imprisoned by his arms. Thereafter, he began savoring every inch of my body, from top to bottom.
…
As usual, Anthony was very busy managing the crisis that involved hundreds of hospitals. If it wasn’t for his willpower and competence, Featherstone Corporation would have been crushed by public opinion.
At the end of the day, there was nothing I could do. I didn’t know if there was some kind of history between Jared and Anthony. Hence, it wasn’t my place to comment.
The next day, after Anthony left, Sally came upstairs and insisted on taking me out with her.
Benjamin’s funeral was in a few days and she wanted to find a new house.
The White residence was left to Marcus, so after the funeral, Sally had to move out.
Over the course of these few days, I felt like I was going to freeze to death while house-hunting with Sally. She wasn’t satisfied with any of the houses, either saying that the natural lighting wasn’t good or it wasn’t close enough to the city center.
However, houses like the White residence that were of top-quality in all aspects from its environment to location were impossible to buy even if one had the money.
Sally had been living in the White residence for so many years. So naturally, she was reluctant to accept anything less than that. After all, she wasn’t lacking in money.
Alas, it wasn’t easy to find a suitable house on such short notice. When the day of Benjamin’s funeral came, Sally had to put her house-hunting on hold to settle funeral matters.
On the day of the funeral at the White residence, Sally got up early to make the preparations for the funeral procession.
After the guests paid their homage to Benjamin, the funeral procession began at noon.
Sally, who had been nervous for several days, finally let out a sigh of relief after the burial ceremony was over.
Standing before Benjamin’s tombstone, she bowed her head and said a prayer before she bid him farewell. She glanced at Marcus who was standing as still as a statue in front of the tombstone. Over this period of time, his demeanor had become crueler and colder.
His slender figure seemed to be shrouded in a layer of frost as he emanated a murderous intent.
After Sharon passed, the violence that lay dormant in him seemed to have awakened.
“Let’s go, Letty.” Sally tugged me away after one last glance at Marcus.
I opened my mouth in an attempt to comfort him, but the words died in my throat.
After getting into the car with Sally, she inhaled deeply before informing, “Anthony will come to pick you up later. I’ll get the driver to send you to the city center. He’ll be waiting for you there.”
I nodded without saying anything else. The image of Marcus’ lonely figure standing in front of his father’s tombstone kept replaying in my mind.
My heart felt oddly hollow. From now on, he would be on his own with no one to care or worry about him. Sometimes, freedom was only a nicer way to describe loneliness.
Sooner than expected, the car stopped in the city center. I got down and was surprised to see Sally getting down as well. Then, the driver headed straight for White Corporation.
My brows furrowed in confusion. “Aren’t you going to White Corporation?”
She hummed a response, then stared at the direction the car was going before sighing. “I’ll go in a bit-”
Before she could finish her sentence, a deafening sound shook the ground. I was slow to react, only turning toward the direction the car had driven off after a good few seconds.
A fuel tanker had run smack into the back of the White family’s black Bentley. The car was completely deformed. The chances that the driver survived the crash were slim to none.
Sally’s legs gave out beneath her and she slumped onto the ground. Her eyes widened in horror and her body trembled violently. Due to her shock, she spoke slowly, enunciating each word, “He wants to kill me. He really wants to kill me!”
I stopped breathing for a few seconds, then reached out to help her to her feet. She abruptly grabbed my arm and looked at me with disbelief in her eyes. “Letty, Marcus has gone crazy. He wants to kill me. He wants me dead!”
I found her speculation to be baffling. I patiently said, “Get up first. It was just an accident.”
“No!” She kept shaking her head. “It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t an accident at all. He planned this in advance. This is all a conspiracy. It’s all a conspiracy.”
I couldn’t help but frown. Guiding her to sit on a bench by the side, I sighed and said, “Wait for me here, Aunt Sally. I’ll go get you some water.”
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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