Chapter 57 – His Second Chance Love: The Freezing Silence

No matter how enchanting his words were, anything that came out of his mouth sounded malicious. Forcefully suppressing my fear deep inside, I put on a tough front and asked, “What have you done with Macy?”

Raising his hand, he edged closer and peered at me before saying casually, “She’s fine.” Lifting up my chin, he remarked helplessly, “Letty, you’ve grown thinner, but you still look stunning still!”

I lowered my gaze, refusing to talk to him.

“J City’s Harrison Family is a prominent centuries-old clan. They have produced many top military leaders and politicians throughout the years. In the business world, they are second to none. You’d better stay close to me later.” he said with a strict tone.

Hearing that made me frown. It’s been five years since we last met, I wonder what he has been doing for all these years/ How did he transform himself from a hacker into someone who could reach the pinnacle in both business and politics?

Just as I was lost in my thoughts, my ride came to a stop outside a European-styled luxurious villa. John alighted first from the car before opening my side of the door and ushered me out in a gentlemanly manner. He then whispered in my ear, “Make sure you hold my arms at all times.”

I hated and feared his hypocrisy. His smiling façade was simply revolting. He had always been the type of person who would stab someone in the back without even blinking an eye. Everything nice he ever did was always the precursor to his evil intent.

Yet I had no choice but to listen to him. Holding onto his arms, I got off the car.

The villa was architecturally elegant outside while tinged with culturally inspired design on the inside. The entrance led not into a hall as per a normal villa, but rather a cobblestone path that meandered through a small garden before arriving at the actual hall.

Walking arm-in-arm with John, I strutted on smoothly in my high heels.

Outside the hall, I caught sight of Anthony standing not far in front. He was clad in a black suit and a white shirt underneath. With crisp-white collars, short-cropped hair, and groomed-sharp features, he looked handsomely stunning.

His mere presence exuded a strong, manly aura that even among the crowd, he could still be easily spotted with a mere glance.

Realization finally dawned on me that this elegant party was Cameron Anderson’s aforementioned birthday banquet. Anthony, together with many from the J City’s business and political circles were invited. My eyes widened as I realized that I knew quite a few of them.

I was Anthony’s wife, yet here I was, holding onto another man’s hand. By showing up like this, I knew that it was akin to a slap on Anthony’s face.

I descended into a state of fear and worry and abruptly withdrew my hand.

However, John was never the type of person to miss out on opportunities to torment others. Grabbing my hand forcefully, he growled, “Letty, behave!”

I could only bit my lips as sweat started to break out from my palms.

Raising my eyes to look in the direction of Anthony, I realized to my horror that he had his sights on me too. His deep, dark eyes narrowed as his gaze fell on the black, drop-shoulder gown on my body.

Shortly after, he turned his attention to John and greeted, “Mr. Stanhope, it’s been a long while since I last saw you.”

What? Anthony and John know each other?

John pulled me closer as he smiled, “Indeed, Mr. Featherstone. It has been a while since our last meeting.”

The exchange between the two seemed ordinary enough that I could not sense anything wrong.

Anthony shifted his gaze onto me and queried, “And who’s this lovely lady beside you, Mr. Stanhope?”

“My fiancée!” John’s false admission clearly shocked Anthony. The latter’s expression became grim as his gaze turned frosty.

Still, he maintained his smile as he remarked, “Words on the street is that Mr. Stanhope has no interest in women. But I guess that’s not true, seeing that you have such a stunning fiancée by your side.”

John held my hand as he smiled, “It’s not that I don’t have interest in women. It’s just that I’ve been waiting for the right one to appear.”

Hearing those words, Anthony narrowed his eyes dangerously as his lips repeated softly, “The right one to appear…”

At this point, I was already in full-blown panic mode. I had never mentioned John to Anthony. Even though I might able to do so in the future, but for now, the matter itself had been exacerbated to a critical point. All I wished at that moment was for a hole to open up and swallow me whole.

However, I could not get away as my hand was held firmly by John. I dared not open my mouth either to denied the nonsense he spouted.

My heart was in a mess.

Anthony’s dark gaze fell upon me for a moment before he suddenly smiled and asked sarcastically, “How shall I address you now? Mrs. Featherstone? Or Mrs. Stanhope?”

My heart sank. Forcefully yanking away from John’s iron grasp, I stepped forward and grabbed Anthony as I stuttered, “A-Anthony, I…”

“Anthony!” Just then, a gentle and sweet voice of a woman called out from the side. Turning my head toward the source, I saw Rylee coming over. She was wearing a nude-colored, mermaid-bareback gown that fully accented her gorgeous figure. Lifting her gown skirt in one hand, she sashayed gracefully to Anthony’s side and hooked her arms into his.

Standing together, they looked like a match made in heaven.

Rylee was not surprised when she noticed me. Her expression betrayed a certain dislike as she greeted, “I see that Ms. Stanhope is here as well.”

As her eyes rested upon John who was beside me, she smiled faintly and remarked, “Ms. Stanhope, is he your… friend?”

She purposely emphasized the word “friend” in an ambiguous manner.

I looked down and averted her gaze. I was prudent enough to suppress the retort I had in mind because no matter how I put it, in the current situation, I would be merely making a fool out of myself.

“Letty, let’s go in.” John simply glanced at Rylee with indifference as a look of disdain flashed across his face. Holding onto my arm, he pulled me toward the hall.

Truthfully speaking, it wasn’t that John had no interest in women, it was that he was disgusted by women. He had been repulsed by women since the age of eight. If it were not for the fact that I grew up with him, he would have also hated me.

His special condition was like a sentence to hell for me, as it made it that much harder for me to escape from his evil clutches.

I could hear Rylee’s voice coming faintly from behind, “Anth, I’m surprised that Sienna is acquainted with Mr. Stanhope from Animus. No wonder Cameron told me that the guests tonight are all big names and prominent people.”

Animus Corporation?

Rather than a birthday banquet, it would be better to describe the party as a gathering of the societal elites. That night, Cameron was garbed in a black velvet gown that had golden flowers embroidered onto it and a pair of exquisite aquamarine-adorned high heels.

The woman was almost fifty years old, yet she looked young for her age, and seemingly free from the ravages of time. For others, beauty and youth would pass with time, but for her, time seemed to have added a certain charm to her, and she was still in her prime.

She caught sight of John from afar. Excusing herself from the few guests she was entertaining, she sauntered over to John with a glass of champagne.

“Mr. Stanhope, thank you so much for coming!” Smiling and holding her champagne, her eyes then fell onto me. Cocking her head at John, she asked, “And who might this be?”

Without waiting for John, I spoke first, “Ms. Anderson, you are looking absolutely gorgeous today!”

She froze for a moment before she regained her composure and smiled, “Ah, it’s Ms. Stanhope! You’re so dazzling tonight that I failed to recognize you at first. Do forgive me!”

Grinning politely, I said, “Ms. Anderson flatters me too much. I’m just a bit sloppy usually. It’s only natural that some simple tidying and touching up would make me look different. It’s not Ms. Anderson’s fault for not recognizing me in the first place.”

She looked at me intently for a while before noticing that John was holding my hand. Taken aback for just a slight moment, she mumbled faintly, “Do the two of you know one another?” before looking at John with doubts in her eyes.

John smiled, “Of course! We’ve known each other for more than a decade!”

Cameron obviously had more questions to ask. However, she suddenly fell silent upon noticing that many guests had directed their gazes outside the hall.

Instinctively, I turned my head to look as well. What greeted my sight was a middle-aged man dressed in a lavish coat with a suave temperament striding in from outside the hall, escorted by four men in black.

The appearance of the middle-aged man drew the attention of many people who rushed over to greet him. Right then, his gaze fell straight upon Cameron and he approached her promptly.

“Ah, it’s the great Mr. Zachary Moore of D City. Be it in J City or D City, the moment he makes his entrance, the nobles and the rich alike would tremble in fear,” John whispered with a straight face.

I observed both Cameron and Zachary discreetly and noticed that the level of intimacy exuded from both of them was different from that of ordinary people, and the curious side of me could not help but wonder.

“What’s up with them?”

John raised his eyebrows and looked at me mysteriously, “They’re a pair of lovebirds who are destined to be apart.”

I could not quite catch the meaning of his words. “Didn’t Ms. Anderson got married once before this? I heard it was to some ordinary guy. After that, she got remarried to Nick’s father and gave birth to Nick. So…”

So where did this Zachary guy fit in the picture? Seems like they have quite a messy relationship.

John sneered and whispered, “I guess the stories she cooked up for the outside world are too realistic.”

Just then, I saw Anthony leading Rylee to greet both Cameron and Zachary, I also noticed that Cameron had whispered something in Zachary’s ear.

As Zachary examined Rylee, his facial expression seemed to change a little. His initially determined look had a flash of surprise which he managed to recover from. Meanwhile, Rylee’s gaze was that of pure adoration.

I could not figure out what had transpired between them. John, who was observing me the whole time, was amused and whispered to me, “Rylee is the daughter that Cameron been searching for the past twenty-plus years. By the way, she’s also Zachary’s daughter. Do you get it now?”

I gawped at him in shock at the sensational revelation. Rylee is their daughter?

How in the world is there no rumor about this at all?

After Cameron and Zachary finished their conversation, they stole a glance at John and me. The moment Zachary saw me, he cocked his brows in surprise.

Cameron seemed to know what he was thinking, so she whispered a few words back in his ear that made Zachary regained his composure.

John released my hand and stepped forward to greet Zachary.

Now that I had regained my freedom, my eyes darted around to search for Anthony. The last I saw of him was when he was greeting Zachary. However, he was now nowhere to be found.

After looking around, I heard a familiar voice coming from the corner of the hall. I walked over and found Nick there.

He was surprised to see me but managed to utter his greeting, “Good evening.”

Seeing that he was not looking too good, I could not help but ask, “It’s your mother’s birthday. What’s with the haggard look? I just heard someone said that your mother has found her long-lost daughter. Why don’t you go over and check it out?”

“What’s there to see?” he said with a lonely look in his eyes, “Her mind and heart had always been filled with nothing but her daughter. As for me, I’m merely an accidental offspring.”

Hearing the sorrow in his words, I grabbed a plate of cheese and tried to offer him some, “Every child is a treasure in the hearts of their parents. Besides, she lost her for more than twenty years. Now that she has found her, let her savor her joy to make up for the lost time. After this, I’m sure everything will be back to normal.”

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