Everything started to go wrong when Anthony switched the DNA reports of Rylee and I, changing our fates. He not only destroyed my yearning for my mother’s affection, but also caused the death of my child.
By right, I should hate him, but I just couldn’t bring myself to feel that way. Love was quite an absurd thing sometimes. Because of love, one could even unconditionally forgive someone who threw them into the depths of despair.
Noticing my silence, Emery spoke, “Actually I really detest Cameron. She’s definitely not a woman who can contribute to the Moore family’s harmony and propriety. It’s actually not a bad thing for a woman to be ambitious, but she had gone overboard. I’m just worried that her actions might bring disaster upon the Moore family. As such, I didn’t have a good impression of her right from the start when she married into the family. I even tried various ways to chase her away. However, Sienna, sometimes, things just don’t go the way we want them to. Even though Anthony has hurt you in many ways due to his selfishness, he truly loves you. There’s no point for you to continue bearing a grudge against him. You should try to look ahead instead.”
There’s nothing I could say. It seemed like the situation had reached a stalemate and there were no clear boundaries between the causes and effects of everything that had happened.
Who was to determine what was right and what was wrong? That was the way life was.
After a moment of silence, I looked up at her and asked, “Have you eaten?”
Slightly taken aback by the sudden change of topic, Emery shrugged and answered, “Not yet!”
“Let’s get something to eat then!” I said as I got up and headed to the kitchen. Life had to carry on no matter what.
We did not have a housekeeper and only had a part-time cleaner who was not around at the moment. While I cooked some noodles, Emery leaned against the door and spoke, “I heard that Anthony was admitted to the hospital. Are you intending to visit him?”
I was in the midst of chopping some vegetables and froze when I heard that. Immediately after, I asked, “Did he catch a cold from last night?”
“Yup,” Emery answered briefly before walking over to help me. “He continued to stay in the snow after you left. We know that this was his way of punishing himself. He hoped to redeem himself by doing that. As such, we did not try to stop him. He truly loves you, but he had indeed hurt you along the process. There’s nothing we can do since whatever happened has already happened.”
I pursed my lips tightly and didn’t respond. I suddenly felt a stinging sensation in my eyes as a layer of mist formed on them. I guess it was from the spicy peppers I was holding.
After blinking a few times, I tossed the spicy peppers into the noodles and asked placidly, “Can you take spice?”
Knowing that I was intentionally avoiding the topic, Emery did not pursue and simply replied, “Yup, I’m OK with it!”
She left after we finished the noodles. It was still snowing heavily outside and I sat in a daze in the living room. After a while, I decided to add some wood to the fireplace and build a fire. When it was ready, I got myself a blanket and a book and started reading in the living room.
Should I visit Anthony? It seemed like it was best that I did not.
He did that in order to atone for his wrongdoings so that he could feel better. If he saw me, he would be reminded of his guilt once again and I would also be reminded of the pain. It wouldn’t do us any good.
Even though the damage had been done, it was not easy to say for certain who was to blame for it. Perhaps, God had decided to play a joke on us.
I was surprised to receive a call from Camelia in the afternoon. However, I had also kind of expected it.
“Can we meet for a chat?” The frostiness in her voice was a stark difference from the charm she exuded when we first met.
What a joke!
“I don’t think there’s a need for us to meet,” I replied indifferently, but not to the extent of being cold.
There was a moment of silence on the other side of the phone before she said, “Of course, there is a need. There are some things we have to face ultimately, don’t you agree?”
I pursed my lips at her words. Camelia was definitely a match for Marcus in terms of their stubbornness. No wonder they said that people who were similar were more likely to be attracted to each other.
“Sure then!” I agreed and we decided on the meeting venue.
Looking at the weather outside, I got a little lazy to go out. It was the perfect weather to snuggle by the fireplace with my book.
I went upstairs to look for suitable clothes to wear and was glad that Anthony had previously bought me some warm and fashionable winter wear.
After getting dressed, I took an umbrella and started walking to our meeting place. As the venue was just nearby, I chose not to drive.
A thick layer of snow was piled up on the road. However, I saw someone sweeping the snow away from the pathway just slightly ahead, making it easier to walk.
When I passed by another villa, I could hear joyous laughter coming from that direction. It came from a couple trying to build a snowman.
The woman had created a huge pile of snow using a shovel while the man tried to shape the snow into a snowball. He had created a flat surface and seemed like they were ready to make the snowman.
What was important was not the process of building a snowman, but that the two of them seemed to be so happy and having so much fun together. After retracting my gaze, I smiled to myself.
Being able to spend every day with the one we loved, having kids together and growing old together. Isn’t that how life is supposed to be?
As I drift away further into my thoughts, unknowingly, I had already reached the café. Since Camelia was there yet, I sat down at a window seat and ordered a cup of coffee while waiting.
I had never been a fan of coffee as I found it too bitter and hard to swallow. As such, I asked for more sugar to go with it.
Camelia was chauffeured to the café by her driver. Her winter wear was a little thick and bulky, but it was still apparent that her stomach had grown bigger since the last time we met.
Supporting her waist with one hand, she sat down next to me and ordered a glass of hot milk. Then, she pulled her collar down a little as it was warmer inside the café as compared to outdoors.
While she was rubbing her hands together, which seemed to be frozen from the cold, the milk she ordered was served. Then, she put her hands to the glass to warm them that way instead.
I looked at her quietly and did not speak. It seemed like I was waiting for her to finish warming her hands.
After a while, she finally looked at me and at the same time, sized up the surroundings.
With an air of confidence, she spoke casually, “I can tell that Anthony had protected you well.”
I downcast my eyes in response. The media’s enthusiasm on me had not completely died down yet and Anthony had arranged for some bodyguards to stay close to me. However, they had tried to be discreet in their movements.
It was quite a feat for Camelia to be able to make that observation.
“I already know about that sum of money,” She started speaking and fixed her gaze on me. “When I met him four years ago, it was at Corbett Street. I loved to eat the spicy pasta at one of the eateries along that street so I go there pretty often. It was raining heavily that day and he was staring blankly into space in the middle of the street. He didn’t even realize it had already started to rain. Perhaps he was so good-looking that I subconsciously walked towards him and sheltered him with my umbrella.”
That “him” whom she was talking about was Marcus.
I didn’t interrupt and listened quietly.
“Women from M Country were not brought up the same way as women from Chanaea, like yourself. Since young, we were taught that men were supposed to be gentlemanly and there were certain things that men were supposed to do. Even though sheltering him with an umbrella wasn’t really a big deal, but because he’s so charming, I was really attracted to him. As such, I wasn’t able to pull away. After sleeping with him, I became addicted to his charm and shamelessly stuck to him from then on.”
I looked up at Camelia and nodded. I didn’t think much of her story up till that point.
Then, she carried on, “He wanted to build a career in M Country and I happened to have the resources he needed. Given the circumstances, we got engaged in M Country. When he met you, it was right after our engagement ceremony. I was not able to understand why he grew distant after that. My pregnancy was just an accident. I only knew afterwards that you and him were not on the same page.”
She touched her stomach and stared outside the window for a moment. It was still snowing heavily. “I checked. Even though I didn’t see anything, but Sienna, I don’t think you’re being very fair to him. He’s truly good to you. Come to think of it, God isn’t very fair to him either. Both him and your husband were born with silver spoons, but in the area of relationships, your husband had way better luck. Marcus’ parents did not have a good marriage and passed away one after another. He also gave you his heart but was unable to get your affection. Sienna, I think you owe him,” she continued.
I looked at the woman. I still found her as adorable as before. She was not the same as Rylee in the sense that after knowing what happened between Marcus and me, she didn’t insult or humiliate me, but rather tried her best to understand the man.
It was because she loved him. As such, she was able to put herself in his shoes and felt for him.
“Camelia, I can’t control who I love. You’re right, I do owe Marcus and I’m trying to make it up to him using my own ways. There’s someone else I love. You should know better than me that I won’t be able to force myself to love Marcus just because I feel bad towards him. Of course, I’m sure that isn’t what you want either, right?”
Camelia appeared to be momentarily stunned before nodding her head and said, “Yup. That’s why I asked to meet you. I love him, but you’re the one who has his heart. I’m not here to blame you. After all, I couldn’t manage to win him over even after so many years. Perhaps, I’m just not good enough. The reason I’m here is also because I wanted to thank you.”
I paused for a moment and asked, “Thank me?”
She pursed her lips and answered, “Thank you for not loving him.”
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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