I knew perfectly well what Anthony wanted. He wanted me to need him and hold him in my heart.
The light in the bedroom was dim, but his eyes appeared strangely bright. We stared at each other; I was at a loss for words.
After a long while, Anthony let go of me and stepped back a few paces dejectedly. He smiled sarcastically to himself.
“Good for you, Sienna.” He turned to leave, but I reached out and grabbed his arm.
I had things I wanted to say to him from my heart, and almost instinctively, I blurted, “I want more than anybody else to place you first, but I’m afraid that if one day I find myself unable to leave you, you’ll be the one to leave.”
He turned back and looked at me with a penetrative gaze. “Was that why you neglected my feelings? Out of all the people in your heart, you chose to hurt only me?”
I shook my head and felt terrible about the pain in his eyes. “No, I’ve never meant to hurt you. I just don’t feel secure. I’m afraid that you would leave me and not want me anymore.”
Anthony was startled. His slim frame stiffened as he pulled me in for a tight hug. “Don’t be silly,” he whispered huskily in my ear.
We hugged for a while, with my head on his chest. “No matter how badly we fight, we should never threaten to leave each other, alright? Sienna, I will never let you go, and I’ll never divorce you.”
I said nothing. I was stupid for not knowing how to be married.
It was the end of the year. Most of the staff in the company were on leave, but Anthony was still here.
Mrs. Eriksen did not celebrate New Year’s with us, so it was only me and Anthony left.
I brought him over to Glenwood. Nick was still hard at work as his company did not allow leaves, and Jackson was busy caring for Summer.
When he opened the door to me and Anthony, he froze in surprise. Swiftly, he rearranged his features into an expression of serene indifference and reported, “Summer just fell asleep.”
I nodded and entered. “Was she alright last night?”
“Yeah, not too bad,” he replied as his gaze fell on Anthony and quickly looked away.
I recalled his incident at the college and attempted to make introductions. “This is Jackson, my friend from college. You should be acquainted with him.”
Jackson glared at me. Turning to Anthony, he smiled apologetically and said, “Mr. Featherstone, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Anthony responded.
Anthony exuded a cold and unfriendly presence; I found him unapproachable. After introductions with Jackson, he left to visit Summer.
I tugged on Anthony’s arm and followed Jackson to Summer’s bedroom. She had her milk formula and was fast asleep.
Anthony looked stunned when he saw Summer and raised his hand as if to caress her, but pulled back on second thought.
I guess all men are like that. They don’t know how to deal with newborns.
Jackson brought Summer’s dirty clothes to the laundry room. “Do you plan on taking the medicine today?” He turned to me and asked.
It was an awkward moment. I looked away at Summer’s underfed frame and nodded. “Yes.”
He stole a glance at Anthony and saw him watching the child too. Jackson raised his eyebrows and departed the room, leaving behind me and Anthony.
He was transfixed by Summer. After a long while of staring at her, he asked, “Is she Jared’s?”
I did not expect him to ask this. “No…” I jumped and shook my head.
I sensed his inquiring gaze and lowered mine. The words that came to my lips went unsaid.
“Does Jared know?” he went on as he stroked Summer’s cheek with one long finger.
“No, he doesn’t,” I replied. As Anthony probably guessed everything at this point, I had no reason to hide it from him anymore.
He nodded and watched as Summer smiled in her sleep. It was a pretty sight. “We’ll let Mr. Kane make the preparations, and then we’ll register her. Since it’s the New Year, we could take her back to my family and let them meet her.”
Anthony noticed that I didn’t respond and frowned. “What is it?” he asked.
“Nothing.” I shook my head, but my heart was filled with a warm glow.
“Thank you, Anthony!” I said after a brief pause. Caring for Summer was something I had to do, and it really made matters easier for me that he decided to think of her as his own.
Jackson prepared the herbal remedy for me. It was a big bowl of dark liquid, and it made my stomach turn just looking at it. But it had to be done.
I pinched my nose and gulped it down. Almost by reflex, Jackson handed me a lozenge. “The doctor said that you need to massage yourself along with the medicine, and an adult should test it out.”
He said it as a matter of fact, and it slowly dawned on him how inappropriate it sounded. Jackson glanced embarrassingly at Anthony and promptly left the room.
“It’s not good to take so much of that, you know,” Anthony said.
I grunted in agreement, as my gaze fell on Summer. “I want to visit the hospital in a while.”
“I’ll accompany you.” Anthony volunteered.
I wanted to reject, but Summer chose that moment to wake up and cry loudly.
I wasn’t good with comforting infants and did not dare lift her up, so I scrambled out to fetch Jackson.
He was in the kitchen. He did not know how to cook so he employed a housekeeper. He heard Summer too and was on his way over.
“She must be hungry,” Jackson said as he grabbed the milk bottles.
I followed close behind. He suddenly stopped in his tracks and I ran right into him.
“Jackson, you…” I clutched my nose which seemed to have received most of the force from the collision. He and I were both stunned.
When we returned, we found Summer already in Anthony’s arms, tiny and frail like a newborn.
Summer stopped crying. She stared adoringly up at Anthony with her large unblinking eyes.
Jackson was surprised. He strode over and gave the bottle to Anthony. “She should be hungry, try feeding her,” Jackson said as he let out a cough.
Anthony sat down and coaxed the bottle to Summer’s lips with tenderness.
Usually cold and haughty, he couldn’t have been more different than when he sat there with the baby in his arms. I was at a loss for words, and thought privately to myself at how very sweet and lovely it was, but also pretty funny.
Jackson had no words to spare and promptly exited the room.
I walked over to Anthony’s side and watched Summer drink vigorously, with her eyes still latched onto him. “When did you learn to feed babies?” I asked him.
And such a small one at that.
He looked up at me. “When you were pregnant,” he said simply.
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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