Chapter 56 – His Second Chance Love: The Freezing Silence

Not many people knew about this villa. Only those who were close to us knew we were living here.

Cameron was dressed in an elegant icy blue frock with a designer bag slung across her shoulder.

I hesitated for a few seconds before going out to welcome her warmly. “Ms. Anderson, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you’d be here.”

She smiled faintly and replied, “I didn’t inform you about my arrival. Ms. Stanhope, please don’t blame yourself.”

The villa was separated into the rear house and main house. Anthony and I spent most of our time at the rear house, while the main house was where we’d serve our guests. The tea room and garden were in the main house, too.

I brought Cameron to the tea room. After asking Mrs. Eriksen to prepare some fruits and light snacks. I started boiling some water on the stove. “Ms. Anderson, are you here to talk to Anthony?”

She shook her head as her gaze fell upon my hands. In a soft voice, she complimented, “I’m here to see you, Ms. Stanhope. By the way, Ms. Stanhope, I must say, you have a pair of really lovely hands.”

After a polite greeting, I chuckled lightly and said, “You must be joking, Ms. Anderson. Your hands are even fairer and softer than mine.” Such was the conversation between two women – pretentious, polite, and full of insinuations.

Seeing that she was here personally, I was sure that she did not come for just a mere chat. I went to retrieve some Black Ivory coffee beans that were bought by Anthony and smiled, “I usually don’t drink coffee much. Anthony, however, loves them. Let me serve you some of Anthony’s prized coffee beans today. I hope that you’ll find them suitable to your taste.”

She laughed politely. Spotting the coffee beans in my hand, she smiled, “This is one of the world’s most expensive coffee. Even those with money can’t possibly buy this easily in the market! To be able to taste such rare coffee is indeed an honor for me. I have to thank you for that, Ms. Stanhope!”

I chuckled along with her. Meanwhile, I was still wondering what was the reason for Cameron’s visit. Taking a few sips of coffee, I could not hold my curiosity in any longer and uttered, “After chatting for such a long time, I still can’t figure out why you’re here for me today. Is there anything I can help you with, Ms. Anderson?”

She took a sip of coffee, looked straight at me with her beautiful eyes, and said in a soft tone, “It’s nothing much. It’s just that the last time I saw you at Pear Garden, I couldn’t help but think that you look familiar to me. After that party, I can’t stop thinking about it. Hence, I came here to meet you.”

Hearing her words, I was stunned. I had thought that the reason she came looking for me was to discuss about Nick. Never have I expected that she was here because she found me familiar.

As I refilled her coffee, I smiled, “Mr. Harrison has said the very same thing in the past about how familiar I look. For me, I think it’s quite normal. After all, there are many in this world who resemble one another. Even Ms. Lorraine, who we are both acquainted with, shares some similarities with me in looks.”

Previously I had seen her together with Rylee at a cafe, therefore I did not hide that fact.

Taken aback for a moment, she regained her composure and smiled as she agreed, “Ah, I guess that makes sense. So, Ms. Stanhope, are your parents still around?”

I shook my head as suspicion crept into my heart, “No. My parents left me when I was still very young. I was raised by my Grandma, as such, I don’t have much impression of them.”

“Is your grandmother still around then?” Her follow-up question was getting a little too personal for my liking. Sensing that she might have overstepped her bounds, she quickly changed her tone. Looking at me earnestly, she confessed, “Ms. Stanhope, please don’t cast any doubts on my intention. I have this bad habit of being too curious and more often than not, I tend to ask too much. Pardon me.”

Having said that, she took out an exquisite-looking envelope from her bag and handed it to me. “I’m having a small party over at Pear Garden tonight. If It’s alright with you, you’re more than welcome to attend with Mr. Featherstone.”

I stretched out my hand and received the exquisite envelope. After breaking open the wax seal, I saw a birthday invitation inside. The piece of paper reminded me that Nick had actually mentioned to me before that his mother was having her birthday tonight.

Putting the invitation card back carefully, I looked at Cameron and replied, “Thank you, Ms. Anderson. It is an honor to be invited by you.”

She laughed politely before lowering her head to take a sip of her coffee. After a momentary pause, she looked intently at me and said, “Ms. Stanhope, I heard you’ve been married to Mr. Featherstone for two years. I could tell that the two of you have a lovely relationship after seeing you and Mr. Featherstone together at Pear Garden last time.”

I simply smiled in response. After all, Cameron was just an acquaintance to me, hence I did not feel like talking about my personal life. After sipping her coffee silently for a while longer, Cameron excused herself and left.

Mrs. Eriksen saw her leave and looked at me questioningly, “Letty, isn’t she the richest woman in the world?”

I was caught in a surprise. Looking at Mrs. Eriksen, I asked, “You know her?”

Nodding her head, she recounted, “When Mr. Featherstone was still around, she paid a visit to the Featherstones before. I’ve seen her around.” After a brief pause, Mrs. Eriksen muttered softly, “She has been looking for her child for so many years, but I’m afraid her search would be for naught.”

With my curiosity piqued, I could not help but asked, “Mrs. Eriksen, you know that she is looking for her child?”

“The reason she paid a visit to the Featherstones last time was because she wanted to ask Mr. Featherstone about the matter from twenty years ago. It just so happened that I was there serving tea when I overheard their conversation. Mr. Featherstone had been keeping an eye out over the years but to no avail. After all, the child has been lost for more than twenty years! With no particular eye-catching details or distinctive features, it’ll be like searching for a needle in a haystack.”

After cleaning and storing the coffee mugs away, my phone suddenly rang. Taking a glance at the caller ID, I could feel my body tensing up. Without informing Mrs. Eriksen, I quickly got up and rushed to my bedroom.

Back in my own room, I accepted the incoming call. As I held the phone, gearing myself up for the arduous conversation ahead, my body started trembling uncontrollably. “What do you want?” I managed to utter sternly.

There was a peal of leisurely, low-toned laughter on the other end of the phone. “My, my, Letty. What are you so nervous about? As your elder brother, can’t I ring up my own sister anytime?”

I had always hated John’s dark laughter. Biting my lips to control my anger, I told him off sharply, “John, both of us are no longer children like five years ago. We all have our own lives now. So please, I’m begging you, just let us off. Leave us alone!”

I did not want to go through the hellish experience that he put me through ever again.

“Letty, come on. We’re siblings. How could I bear to let you leave just like that? Without you around, such a lonely life is not worth living. I need you!” Such words would have been heartwarming if they were coming from a normal person, but since it was from him, it sounded vile.

I could feel myself on the verge of collapsing as the feeling of despair gnawed on my heart. Still holding onto the phone, I inquired hoarsely, “John what the hell do you want?”

Like a devil, his mere presence instilled terror in others. Such was the description that fitted John Stanhope.

“You!” He hung up after spitting out the word sinisterly.

Just when a myriad of emotions was rushing through me, a message soon arrived from him. It read: Lucksville Lane 221, four o’clock. Letty, be there or be square.

As I held onto my phone, looking at his message time and again, I forced myself to calm down. I tried to convince myself that it was impossible for a person to fall into the same trap over and over again.

Since I could not avoid John, I might as well brainstorm a way to make him stay away from me on his own accord.

Bzzzzzzttt! My phone vibrated suddenly, indicating an incoming call.

It was Anthony. The moment I picked up the call, a frosty voice filled with indifference came from the other end of the line, “Get ready. You’ll be accompanying me to a party later.”

Still feeling troubled because of the matter regarding John, I tried to come up with an excuse after a pause, “Is it necessary for me to attend? I’m feeling a little unwell today. I want to stay home and have a good rest.”

There was silence on the other end of the line before it was broken by his deep voice. “Is it very serious?”

Shaking my head, I assured him, “It’s not that serious, but I don’t want to go out.”

After a pause, I asked tentatively, “Is the party important?”

“It’s fine. Go ahead and have a good rest then.” His voice was low and almost devoid of any emotions.

After hanging up the call, I sent a message to Macy. After that, I spent some time preparing before getting in my car and drove directly to the address sent by John.

It was four o’clock in the evening.

The sun was blazing and people were coming and going on the streets. The address John sent me pointed to a high-end private dress shop.

Keeping my guards up, I did not step in immediately. Taking out my phone from my pocket, I called John, yet I could not get through to him. Just then, a young lady in a green dress ambled out from the shop.

With a smile on her face, she looked at me and asked, “Are you Ms. Sienna Stanhope?”

Surprised, I nodded.

Still smiling, she said, “Please come in, Ms. Stanhope. Don’t worry. Mr. Stanhope has given us his instructions. Please leave everything to us.”

I followed her up to the VIP room on the second floor. After giving some orders to a few people, she brought me to pick a gown.

I could tell what they were going to do since I wasn’t a fool. That being said, I had no idea what was John actually up to. It wasn’t before long before my phone was confiscated.

After that, I was escorted to the dressing table, the girl in green dress smiled at me and said, “Ms. Stanhope, don’t be nervous. Since Mr. Stanhope has already prepared everything, all you need to do is cooperate with us.”

Within ten minutes or so, the whole process was done. Looking at my almost unrecognizable self in the mirror, I frowned and felt displeased.

John himself did not show up but instead arranged for a black, sleek Bentley to wait for me outside the store. As I glanced at the car, I noticed that the chauffeur looked really young.

Feeling reluctant to get into the car, I stared at the man with my arms crossed and questioned, “What’s the address? Since I have a car, I’ll drive myself there.”

“Does this means that Ms. Stanhope doesn’t trust me?” the chauffeur asked with a smile on his face.

I nodded and replied curtly, “Yes.”

Perhaps he did not expect me to be so brusquely direct, he was slightly taken aback. It didn’t take long for him to recomposed himself though as he tried to convince me with a smile on his face, “Ms. Stanhope, don’t worry. Mr. Stanhope just wants to bring you to a party where he hopes to introduce you to everyone.”

“Cut the crap and just tell me the address.” I wasn’t going to let my guard down since I had no idea what John was up to.

In response, the chauffeur got out of the car and opened the door for me. With the smile still plastered on his face, he said firmly, “Ms. Stanhope, please don’t make things difficult for me. By the way, Mr. Stanhope knows that you’ve given Ms. Markle a call. In fact, he has already sent someone to pick her up too. Surely you don’t want to trample on his kindness, right?”

Is this a threat?

Is he using Macy to threaten me?

After mulling over it for a long while, I gave a bitter laugh and got into the car in an elegant fashion. I guess John really understood me, huh.

The chauffeur drove me to a resort located somewhere in the southern part which was more than an hour’s drive away. At first, I had no idea where I was being taken to.

However, after seeing the car driving into the golf course, which was located in the southern suburbs, I instantly knew where I was. After all, J City was a famous ancient capital for three successive empires back in the past. Despite the rapid infrastructure development and modernization in this present day, it still managed to retain its cultural heritage of the old city.

Although the place was not a military nor political capital, many great talents had been produced here in the past century. As a result, many senior citizens who used to hold high positions in the capital preferred to own a piece of real estate here in J City, seeking a stable investment for the next hundred years for their offspring’s generation.

As such, these precious lands in the southern area of J City had become a melting pot for those with power, prestige, and possessions. The saying that all were created equal was simply not true. For the ordinary everyday folks, this luxurious land in the southern suburbs of J City was way beyond their means even if they had strived and toiled hard for a hundred years.

Despite so, there were still many people who racked their heads daily to try to enter here. In their minds, they thought that anyone they met here had the potential to be their life’s benefactors and would help them paved their way to success.

Upon entering the compound of the golf course, the car stopped. Someone came and ushered me out to get into another privately contracted black Bentley which was waiting by the side.

The moment I boarded the car, I saw John inside with his usual smug, masculine aura and a gentle expression. A pair of clear, foxlike eyes were fixed on me as he greeted, “Sienna! It’s been a while!”

Unable to react in time, I propped my long skirt and wanted to get out of the car. However, it was too late as he wrapped his arms around me and pinned me to the seat. In a low voice, he whispered, “Be a good girl now, won’t you? For our first encounter, I have hoped that we can be a tad more romantic.”

---