I was still deep in contemplation when Cameron came in. Her voice snapped me out of my reverie.
“Letty, we’ve prepared your favorite food, like sweet and sour pork ribs, grilled eggplant, and blueberry cheesecake. Let’s eat lunch now. You can come back to Emery and the baby afterward.”
Dumbfounded, I glanced at my watch. It was already noon.
Recalling that I was supposed to have lunch with Anthony, I declined her offer, “I’m afraid I can’t stay for lunch, because I need to head to the Featherstone Corporation soon.”
Cameron flashed me a sly smile. “Are you going to have lunch with Anthony?”
Her question stunned me, and I said nothing.
She giggled at my reaction. “Mr. Featherstone is already here. He’s in the living room now. Let’s go.”
I was a little surprised. When did he come?
Stepping into the living room, I saw Anthony sitting at a huge dining table, which could seat up to sixteen people. Most of them at the table were strangers to me.
I sat at the vacant spot beside Anthony, asking him in a soft voice, “When did you come over?”
“I came a while ago,” he replied in a deep voice.
“Why didn’t you call me?” I questioned. Then, I saw someone I knew at the table. It was Robert.
Anthony held my hand. “I did, but you didn’t pick up.”
I was puzzled. Fishing out my phone, I saw a few missed calls. Only then I realized that my phone was in silent mode.
“I’m sorry. I switched my phone to silent mode.”
Holding my hand, he didn’t say a word.
The people at the table made small talk with one another. Emery stayed in her bedroom, as she was on bed rest.
After lunch, the visitors took their leave one by one, while Zachary walked them to the door. In the meantime, Cameron grabbed my hand and said, “Why don’t you both stay the night and leave tomorrow? There’re many rooms here.”
I shook my head and replied impassively, “It’s getting late.” I was rather taciturn.
Anthony seemed to have noticed that I’m in a grim mood. He made an excuse and took me out of the villa.
Outside the living room, Robert said goodbye to Zachary before he got into his car with the help of a young man.
As Anthony and I were walking out, I found the young man familiar, but I couldn’t recall where I had seen him.
After Zachary sat in the car, the young man turned around and bid farewell to Zachary.
Glancing at his aloof and stern face, I finally recollected that he was the man who saved me in J City.
Why was he here?
Was he one of the Murphys or just working for them?
“Let’s go.” Anthony’s voice sounded beside my ear and broke me out of my trance. As I sauntered toward the car, I locked eyes with the young man.
Nevertheless, he only cast me an indifferent glance before he got into the car and drove away.
It was late at night when we arrived home. Exhausted, I headed to the bedroom after saying a few words.
Leaning languidly against the couch, I was worn out. A few moments later, Anthony sat by my side. The man seemed to have something to say, but he couldn’t find his words.
Still, I chose to remain silent. Over the past few days, we appeared perfectly normal. He was still gentle and caring toward me, while I beamed with joy whenever I saw him.
Yet, something just felt different now. It was even more unbearable than fighting like cats and dogs or shouting at each other at the top of our lungs.
“Sienna, we…” His voice trailed off the moment his phone rang.
His forehead puckered, but he picked up the phone anyway. “What’s the matter?” the man asked in an icy tone.
I couldn’t hear what the person on the other side of the phone said. Unexpectedly, Anthony jumped to his feet with his brows snapped together. “Don’t panic. I’m coming over.”
After ending the call, he gazed at me apologetically. “Sienna…”
Before he finished speaking, I interrupted him with a gentle smile, “Go ahead. Watch out on the road. Don’t be anxious and settle everything calmly.”
He was nonplussed by my response. In the next second, a smile spread across his face, and he planted a kiss on my cheek. “Sure.”
Immediately, the man left.
After sitting on the couch for some time, I remembered that I had not spoken to Summer for a long while.
Standing up, I headed to her room. The five-year-old girl was now more disciplined than before.
Her room was very tidy, and she was studying at a table. The moment she saw me, a sweet smile appeared on her face, and she ran toward me. “Mommy, did you go to see the baby this afternoon?”
I grinned. “Yes. Who told you that?”
“Uncle John called and told me this morning.”
Surprised, I smiled at her. John was quick at getting updates.
I carried her up and sat on the bed. With a solemn face, I gazed at the little girl. “Summer, I’ll be away for several days. Do you want to stay with Mr. Featherstone or Uncle John and Grandpa?”
She tilted her head while staring at me in bewilderment. “Mommy, aren’t you going to bring me along?”
“Summer, you need to go to school, so you can’t go around with me all the time. Just stay in K City. Uncle John, Grandpa, and Mr. Featherstone will take good care of you.”
“But I want to go out and have fun with you, Mommy,” she protested with a frown.
“Summer!” I raised my voice. “You can come with me during the school holidays. Do you remember that you’ve taken a day off previously? Everyone has their own responsibilities, children and adults alike. Just like how Mr. Featherstone goes to work every day, you need to go to school every day too.”
As usual, knowing that I was angry, the little girl no longer argued with me. She kept quiet for a moment before saying, “Okay, Mommy. I’ll listen to you.”
Opening my mouth, I wanted to say something to comfort her, but in the end, the only words I could say were to ask her to take care of herself.
At night.
It was already 12 a.m. when Anthony came home. In my sleep, I vaguely felt that he got into bed, but I was too sleepy to ask him how things went.
The next morning, he had left when I woke up.
Flora knocked on the door. “Good morning, Mrs. Featherstone. Your breakfast is ready. Before Mr. Featherstone left this morning, he asked me to send his clothes for cleaning.”
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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