Chapter 361 – His Second Chance Love: The Freezing Silence

Chapter 361 – His Second Chance Love: The Freezing Silence

The following day, I was supposed to go to my class at K University. When I woke up, there was a crowd gathered outside the gate.

Paparazzi! Anthony’s villa was in a secluded location. Not many people knew about this place.

Obviously, someone has maliciously spread the news and attracted the paparazzi’s attention.

I grabbed my phone to call Anthony.

From the pop-up screen of my phone, I saw a photo of Marcus and me. It looked like it was taken when we met yesterday.

Whoever leaked the photos did it with ill will as all the photos published hinted at an intimate relationship between Marcus and me. The earlier incident with Nancy had barely blown over and now a scandal with the CEO of White Corporation made headlines.

I was sure the affair between Anthony and I would be uncovered too.

Guess I would have to lie low for a couple of days.

Anthony called to comfort me. “Fret not. I have tightened the security at the villa. Those paparazzi would not dare to trespass. You just stay put at home till I come back.”

Surprisingly, I was not worried, even though this was the first time I had to deal with such a crowd. “Ok. You get on with your work. I can do my revision at home.” I calmly reassured him.

There was sufficient food at home so it would not be an issue to be trapped in the house for a few days.

I grabbed some food and sat down to surf the headlines. The keyboard warriors were indeed impressive. Details of my background and the incidents that happened four years ago all surfaced.

Luckily, my relationship with the Moore family was not exposed. The affairs at the Stanhope’s were a little complicated and touchy so the paparazzi did not go big on that. They probably would not want to risk getting into legal trouble with the Stanhope family.

So the focus was on my love affairs with Marcus and Anthony.

I was expecting the paparazzi to hound me for a couple of days. Surprisingly, when I peeked on them in the evening, more than half of the crowd has dispersed.

I could not be sure what happened to the paparazzi. I assumed Anthony was helping with the damage control. Summer was not able to come home to me. John had to bring her to the Stanhope residence.

I was just about to call Anthony for updates when the phone rang. It was Emery on the line.

“How did it go? Have you decided how you are going to thank me?” She was never someone who beat around the bush.

I have not the faintest idea what she meant until I glanced at the small crowd of paparazzi still waiting outside. “You are the one who got rid of paparazzi?”

“Oh my! Don’t you read the news? Such major news and you are still oblivious?” she exclaimed.

Indeed. I went back to the sofa and turned on my tablet. Professor Marrying Up! The Moore Heiress Engaged To A College Professor! That was headlines all over the town.

“You are behind that news?” It was an extremely demeaning headline. Hunter may not have come from a rich and influential family, but he worked his way up and became a professor at a renowned college. His personal accomplishments and capabilities were widely recognized.

“Hunter was the one who told me to do so,” Emery revealed. “You know I hated the idea of being under public scrutiny, so we have never planned to go public with our wedding plans. However, your scandal with Marcus was obviously orchestrated. Not only were juicy details leaked, but the spotlight was also shone on the incident that happened four years ago. It would have been easy to deal with if those were blatant lies. Unfortunately, most of the information exposed was somewhat true. Both the Moore family and Anthony wanted to protect you from this unwanted attention. We could not think of a better way to divert the public’s attention other than releasing news of my wedding.”

That made sense. K City had just a few paparazzi and they had been hounding the same few big shots and celebrities. They likely ran out of gossip subjects.

Emery was in her thirties but her family never pressured her to wed.

However, in the public’s eye, she was the “It girl” who had it all—looks, wealth, capability. The city was awash in speculation that she would marry into another influential family. After all, it was common for moneyed families to use marriage as a means to strengthen the clan.

Once news of Emery’s wedding was out, it became the talk of the town. No wonder the paparazzi left me alone.

“What do you and Hunter plan to do now?” Once the news went out, it meant they would not be able to have a low-profile wedding anymore.

Emery seemed to take it in her strides. “All we need to do is to make public our wedding details. Poor Prof. Zane will have to get used to his newfound fame.”

“I am sorry… Yesterday’s meetup with Marcus was unplanned. I did not expect someone to be stalking and prying into our relationship.”

“It’s no big deal. It will blow over.” She went on to remind me, “but don’t forget our dinner date. You have to make time for it.”

“Of course! I will not miss that,” I cheerfully replied.

Night fell.

I was fast asleep and did not notice when Anthony got home. I woke up to the sound of running water from the bathroom.

I lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, still groggy from sleep. Anthony came into the bedroom, wrapped in a towel. He did not switch on the lights for fear of waking me.

I leaned over to switch on the bedside light and turned around to find him looking at me. He was wet, fresh out of the shower.

“Did I wake you?” His handsome face had a smile on it.

I shook my head. I had always been a light sleeper and would have woken up anyway.

By the time he came to me, he had already wiped his body dry. His hair was dripping wet though. I sat up, took the towel from him, and started drying his hair.

“Are there any more paparazzi outside?” I asked. Although most of them had shifted their attention to the Moores, there were still a few hanging around.

He grabbed me and sat me on his lap, his chest still cold from the shower.

“They have all left.” He sounded tired and rested his chin on my collarbone.

“No! That is ticklish!”

“Where is your itch?” he murmured.

I pursed my lips bashfully.

“Have you taken your dinner?” His voice was mellow and subdued.

“Yes,” I replied with a nod.

He bent and suck hard on my neck. “Little liar! The food in the fridge was untouched.”

I did not expect him to be so attentive and observant.

“I was not hungry. I snacked.” It was the truth. I seemed to have put on some weight since I came back to K City.

“How can you consider snacks as a meal?” he grumbled.

“Of course, we can!” It’s true, especially for ladies.

He would have none of that. After I dried his hair, he carried me and made his way downstairs.

It was dark. I clung to his neck for fear of falling. “Anthony, where are you bringing me to? It is late. Aren’t you tired?”

“To grab some food,” he uttered.

For me? “I am really not hungry. I swear.” I was not a little kid anymore. I could have fixed myself a meal if I was hungry. Alas, he ignored me and continued making his way down. I had to plead again, “It is late. I would get poor digestion and suffer badly tomorrow.”

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