Anthony had his jacket draped over an arm, perhaps compelled to remove it by the heat. He was wearing a wine-red shirt and looked more peaceable than he usually did.
His attention seemed to be on the lunch box in my hand. Anthony wrinkled his brow, then ordered, “We’ll head out for lunch in a while. It’ll be good for us to report on the respective developments in our work then. We’re expecting some people in the afternoon, so everyone can take the chance to get to know each other.”
Leedon agreed vigorously.
I reserved my comments. I’d eaten my fill, and was resolved to remain professional.
As I emptied the leftovers into the bin, Anthony drew near. I assumed that he had further matters to discuss with Leedon.
I turned and entered the base. Its area spanned approximately five thousand and three hundred square feet, and the laying of its foundation required human labor. We planned to continue the rest of its construction using solely AI technology.
No matter what other opinions I held of Rachel, I had to confess that her intellect was truly astounding.
An immense frame had already been erected inside the base and was already inlaid with reinforced concrete. It was break time, and most of the machines had temporarily wound down to rest.
I wasn’t familiar with construction work. Over the course of handling a few other projects, however, I’d gained a superficial understanding of how things worked.
“I heard you managed projects such as these at Featherstone Corporation previously. Now that a few years have passed, how does it feel to be back in the shoes of the Director once again?” A voice rang out from behind me. I turned my head only to see Rachel sauntering over.
Her flowing dress made an exceptionally bizarre contrast against the dusty landscape.
I poked at a steel bar beneath my feet, and it rolled off, harmless, to the side. I then turned to her with mock applause, saying, “Aren’t you afraid of losing your balance? Your high heels must have cost a fortune!”
Scornfully, Rachel replied, “A fortune? It just cost me a few thousand. As for you…”
She looked at me disdainfully, her gaze sweeping over me from head to toe. “I guess Anthony doesn’t really care about you much. You’re the dowdiest president’s wife that I’ve ever met. I suppose the total cost of everything that’s on you, including your phone, isn’t worth more than five thousand?”
I answered cheerfully, “Yes. They’re just things.”
Rachel sniffed contemptuously. “There’s no need for you to carry on like this. Let me give you a piece of advice. Divorce Anthony, and I’ll give you a hefty sum of money. You can’t compete with me anyway! By dragging things on, you’re just making yourself look more pitiful.”
“A sum of money?” I let out a faint smile as I asked with curiosity, “How much exactly?”
She showed me contempt before querying, “How much do you want?”
“The thing is, I don’t know how much you are willing to give!” I stated the truth. Based on her current income, she should be able to offer quite the sum.
“Five hundred thousand! That’s enough for you to afford a house with two bedrooms here, in A City,” she replied in an ostentatious manner.
I smiled and uttered, “Five hundred thousand is a large sum. I might need to work extremely hard for a long period of time.”
“It’s good that you know!” With her arms folded, she gazed at me haughtily like a boastful sparrow.
I lowered my head to look at my outfit. No wonder she’s so arrogant. I guess she has the right to be.
After all, my outfit is only worth about five hundred. It definitely pales in comparison to her luxurious and extravagant get-up.
“So? What do you say?” She inched closer. “Since you don’t love Anthony anymore, why don’t you just quit? I’ll even pay you for it. That way, you’ll have enough money to live however you like.”
I chuckled. “That does sound like a good idea.” Glancing at her, I frowned and added on, “However, how can you be sure that he would choose to be with you after separating with me?”
She answered confidently, “I’m the best candidate available; there is no one better. Once we have our own children, he will shift his focus to our family. For a man, romance doesn’t matter anymore after a certain age. Am I right, Sienna?”
“Yes, I see that you have a plan in mind already.” I pursed my lips and smiled. “You must feel like you’re in control of the situation now. But Ms. Zimmer, there is a plethora of beautiful and graceful ladies in K City. Considering Anthony’s outstanding qualities, I believe they would not mind it’s Anthony’s second marriage. Do you think your talent and beauty are unrivaled? Just wait till you see the beauty of the prestigious bachelorettes around here.”
Glaring at the despondent expression on her face, I continued, “In addition to your talent that you are so proud of, the ladies here in K City are also well-versed in arts. Their talent far surpasses yours. Not to mention, a man as wealthy as Anthony would want to marry a lady based on her ability to educate children, not her ability to work. He would also want his wife’s family to be influential and strong. With that said, it looks like you have neither of the qualifications. Am I right?”
“Y-You…” Her expression changed drastically. Livid, she stared at me and extorted, “Who cares if that’s the case. If he was willing to marry an orphan like you, then why can’t he marry me?”
I let out a smile. “You forgot about the most important thing—love. As you said, love becomes irrelevant after years of marriage. Honestly, that is only the case for the average family. Privation and endless hard work to sustain a family are what strip marriage of love. Do you think Anthony fits into that profile? No. What a man like him craves after a certain age is mental nourishment. That’s why for him, love is crucial.”
She darkened her face and sneered, “Sienna, since you no longer want to be with him, why do you bother arguing with me? You could’ve just quit. Aren’t you just playing hard to get?”
I smiled nonchalantly. “You’re overthinking this. If you like him, I honestly won’t mind you chasing after him. I’m only mad because you’re blaming me for your failure to do so. By the way, regarding the five hundred thousand that you mentioned just now, I’ll consider it. I’m kind of short on money recently.”
Having said that, I turned around and was getting ready to leave the base. To my surprise, I stumbled upon Anthony at the entrance.
He glanced at me with his gloomy face and asked in a deep tone, “I’m only worth five hundred thousand?”
Stupefied, my heart skipped a beat. Did he overhear our conversation just now?
I feigned a smile. “The thing is that was the highest she could go.”
“Sienna, what the f*ck are you going on about?” asked Rachel, who was catching up to us. She put on a pitiful look and uttered, “You said so yourself that you didn’t love Mr. Featherstone. You even told me that you despise him for being a nudnik to you.”
She paused for a while before gazing at Anthony. “Mr. Featherstone, can you even trust her words? If she intended to get money, she would’ve just asked you for it. The pittance that I offered wouldn’t have mattered.”
Her statement was actually quite reasonable. Anthony stared at me with a sombre expression on his face.
I was speechless as part of me knew what she said was true. I shrugged and uttered, “That’s enough, I still have work to do. You two can continue acting in your depressing love story by yourselves!”
Anthony scowled and grabbed my hand before gazing at Rachel. “Leave now!”
“Mr. Featherstone…” Rachel wanted to say something but was scared off by Anthony’s minatory expression.
Only Anthony and I were left in the base; our eyes aligned. He frowned and queried, “Was that necessary?”
I was rather perplexed. “What do you mean?”
He pursed his lips. “Do you think that you can simply just get someone to push me away?”
I pondered for a while before asking, “Then I’ll be more cautious in selecting a suitable candidate for you.”
“Sienna!” He was infuriated. “What do you take me for?”
Peeved, I tore his hand apart from mine. “Anthony, it’s been so long. I’ve said all that is needed to be said. What’s missing now is just the divorce certificate. Honestly, I really don’t care who you end up with; it’s none of my business. Thus, there’s no reason for me to set you up with any woman!”
Glaring at his angry face, I finished what I wanted to say all in one breath. “Whatever happens between you and Rachel or any woman is none of my business. We could get the divorce certificate now if you so wish. You told me yourself that you’re willing to let me go if I really couldn’t accept it. Since that’s the case, then there’s really nothing between you and me anymore. With that said, I hope you will know your boundaries.”
After that, I immediately left the base. Leedon, who was getting ready to head to the scenic spot, saw me coming out of the base. “Ms. Stanhope, do you want to go to the scenic spot? Let’s go together,” he suggested.
I walked up to him and replied, “Okay, thank you.”
And so, I got up with him on his truck and headed toward the scenic spot.
Sometimes, it actually feels good to live freely, without any worries. In the truck, Leedon and I were talking about the intricacies involving the Murphy Corporation project. He uttered, “We’ll be rather busy these few days. You might take a while to get used to it. I’m just giving you a head up so that you can be mentally prepared. Sometimes, we won’t be able to finish our work even if we worked until midnight. We’ll have to wake up early the next day and pick it up from there.”
I was stunned for a while. “It takes at least an hour to get back to the urban areas from here. Going back and forth would be time-consuming.”
He nodded and smiled. “Yeah, that’s why some of us decided to live here for the time being. However, we won’t be so busy tonight. After we are done eating and socializing with Mr. Featherstone’s customers, we can go straight back home.”
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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