Chapter 58 – His Second Chance Love: The Freezing Silence

He sneered bitterly as his eyes fell upon the cheese I was offering him. In a thoughtless manner, he quipped, “I have hoped that the daughter they’ve found is you instead of Rylee. That girl is too much of a schemer, and will only cause trouble if she is to stay in Pear Garden in the future.”

Confused by his outburst, I could not help but smiled, “You sounded as if it is so easy to become a daughter of your family.”

He peered at me with a condescending look as if he were looking at an idiot, “Really? You seriously think that my mother is so free that she would purposely look for you just to have a casual chat?”

What does he mean by that? Is he referring to the matter the other day?

Having no idea what he was implying, I asked, “What do you mean by that?” It was true that Cameron had asked me some strange questions that day and although I was puzzled, I did not think those questions would amount to anything.

Now that Nick had brought it up, doubt started to grow within me.

“Hmph!” With a tinge of derision in his voice, he prodded, “You are lucky to be able to marry Anthony with that little IQ of yours. I reminded you before that you possess similar features to my mother, just as Rylee. Are you so naive to the point where you’ll believe that people would actually resemble one another for no apparent reason in this world?”

I furrowed my eyebrows deeper and demanded, “What do you mean?”

Rolling his eye at me, he revealed, “It simply means that my mother has already taken your DNA as well as Rylee’s DNA for a paternity test.”

Having said that, he seemed a little confused as he continued, “I thought you were the one at first. I never expected Rylee to be the one confirmed by the paternity test.”

My mind was filled with a thousand unanswered questions by then. Surveying the hall, I decided that it was unwise to interrogate Nick here, hence I dragged him into the lounge next to the corridor.

Glaring at him, I questioned in a serious tone, “So the lot of you stole my DNA for a paternity test just because I bear some teeny resemblance to Ms. Anderson?”

He pursed his lips and replied, “Of course not. My mother has been searching for more than twenty years. She would not persist for so long without a clue to lead her on. Since many of your experiences are consistently similar to Rylee’s, my mother wasn’t sure who was the genuine daughter. She plotted with Anthony to meet you and Rylee separately. Only after that she went and did the paternity test for both of you.”

I was not interested to know what similarities I shared with Rylee. Rather, I was more interested to know whether my initial meeting with Cameron was the result of Anthony wanting to save Macy, or him merely returning Cameron a favor.

I couldn’t believe that I was kept in the dark and completely clueless about everything the whole time.

“Does Rylee know about these things at first?” I asked, feeling uneasy.

He nodded, “I think that Anthony must have told her in advance. That’s why she has kept herself close to my mother after that. It surely doesn’t look to me like she doesn’t know anything.”

I felt like laughing out loud. Throughout the whole thing, I was the only ignoramus all along.

“Hah!” I wanted to chuckle, but my chortle was stuck halfway in my throat. I had been made a complete moron and an oblivious fool to such a degree that I would not have realized even if I were to be sold off.

Seeing that I was upset, Nick paused. Perhaps he had realized his tactlessness, he tamped down his sarcasm and started talking to me in an emphatic manner. “Don’t think too much about this. No one told you about this matter because they were worried that you might get the wrong idea about the whole thing. Since no one was sure of the outcome, so…”

“So, you decided for yourself that I should be kept in the dark, like a fool?” I burst out, baring the discontent that had filled my heart.

Frowning, he defended himself, “Sienna, you know full well I don’t mean that.”

“I don’t know! I never knew!” I rushed out of the lounge. I had naively thought that as long as I was kind and trusting toward others, I would not suffer too much hurt. However, it seemed that I was too gullible, and life always had a way to even out everyone’s share of sufferings.

In the main hall, droves of people had arrived. All of them were high-ranking officials. In the midst of the crowd, Rylee was the center of attention. As Cameron and Zachary greeted the guests, they also introduced her to everyone. Such a beautiful and heartwarming scene.

It’s true, some people have been blessed with good luck since birth.

Getting my emotions under control, I proceeded to circle around the food area. No matter how pitiful my life is, I can’t neglect myself. I need to get some food in me. After all, The little one in my tummy still needed to grow up.

Feeling distracted, I accidentally walked into someone. The cake that I had just put onto my plate rolled a few times before it splattered onto someone’s suit.

“I’m so…” Panicked, I looked up only to see Joe’s stern and sneering face.

I immediately regained my composure. I even retracted my apology. I knew that in this situation, an apology would not make an ounce of difference. Instead, it would only lead to more unnecessary arguments.

I wanted to avoid any confrontation. But apparently, Joe had decided not to let me off that easily. Glaring at me, he sneered, “Sienna, tell me, are you feeling bitter now? Are you jealous? With Rylee being Cameron’s daughter, her whole life is going to go through a drastic change for the better. Meanwhile, a woman who grew up in the slums like you will never be worthy of someone as noble as Anthony no matter how hard you work.”

I put down my plateful of food and directed my scowl at him, “Since I am not worthy of him, do you consider yourself worthy then?”

“You…” His anger shot up his face as he prepared for a retort.

Before he could do that, I interrupted, “I have married Anthony. We even have a child together. Seeing how much you loved to mock me, can I surmise that this is due to you not feeling qualified enough to be with Rylee? Is your inferiority complex bubbling inside you so much that you’re coming to me to vent it all out?”

“Nonsense!” Flushed with anger, he took off his stained suit and threw it at me before he demanded, “Get it cleaned.”

There were times when I thought that Joe could be quite endearing. Every time he tried to annoy me or get in my way, he would always be the one who ended up getting flustered, just like right now.

Even though he had never beaten me once, he still kept trying. And that in itself made him adorable.

Glancing at his suit in my hand, I remarked coolly to Joe, “I would advise you not to let me handle your suit. Who knows, you might end up wearing a wet suit in this grand party here and that would definitely not score you any appearance points in Rylee’s book.”

“I don’t care! Figure out yourself how you’re going to clean my suit!” Not wanting to say more, Joe took the food in his hand and walked to Rylee’s side before handing it to her. The birthday banquet officially began, and Cameron went up the stage to speak.

Rylee noticed how Joe was looking distracted, hence she scanned around. When she spotted me, her delicate face produced a provocative yet disdainful smile.

I returned her look before realizing that the suit in my hand needed my attention more. As I racked my brain, trying to figure out what to do with it, Anthony walked up to me with a small gift box in hand.

With a cold look, he said curtly, “This is Ms. Anderson’s birthday gift.”

With that, he passed me the box in his hand. When he saw the suit in my hand, he frowned and asked, “Whose suit is that?”

“Joe’s. I accidentally bumped into him and spilled some food onto it just now,” I explained while examining the box he passed to me. Did he prepare it?

He glanced at the suit with impatience and suggested, “Just throw it away!”

At this moment, the banquet had become lively as Rylee was ushered onstage by Cameron. Squinting and trying to get a better view, I poked sarcastically, “Isn’t my dear Mr. Featherstone supposed to be escorting the lovely Rylee?”

His face soured as he ignored my jibe, “Sienna, shouldn’t you explain to me how you and John got acquainted?”

If it were half an hour ago, I would definitely have explained it to him. At this juncture, however, I did not feel like explaining at all.

Walking to a nearby trash can, I threw Joe’s suit in as I coldly answered, “There is nothing to explain. It is exactly as what Mr. Featherstone sees.”

Meanwhile onstage, Rylee and Cameron were hugging each other, staging a mother-daughter bonding scene. To show her maternal love, Cameron announced that she would put fifty percent of her properties under Rylee’s control. Also, the latter would gradually be integrated into Cameron’s company to learn management skills.

At the same time, Rylee would also move in with Cameron at Pear Garden. After all, she was the long-lost daughter that was finally found after two decades. With Zachary onstage as well to show his support, the signs were clear. The stars had aligned in such a way that Rylee now had the powerful backings from two of the most prominent persons in both D City and J City.

Turning to look at him, I could tell that Anthony was really in a bad mood. Luckily, we were at a party, or else he would have initiated a quarrel. He restrained himself and said sternly, “You will be my dance partner later.”

In response, I scoffed and said, “Is Mr. Featherstone not afraid that Ms. Lorraine may… Ah, no. I mean she should be Ms. Moore now. Shouldn’t Mr. Featherstone be Ms. Moore’s dance partner instead? Don’t worry, I won’t participate so as not to disturb you two.”

“Sienna!” he gritted his teeth as he pulled my wrist. His sudden force made me felt a jolt of pain. Seething with suppressed anger, Anthony threatened, “Stop being so stubborn.”

Me? Stubborn?

I was bitterly amused. Locking my eyes on him, I nodded and said, “Anthony Featherstone, you really are something else, you know that?”

Glancing around and seeing John approaching, I shook myself loose of Anthony’s grip and headed toward John. Sometimes the devil can be much better than the angel.

John’s eyes narrowed and studied me as I approached. With a smirk, he remarked, “Letty, this is the first time you’ve voluntarily come to me.”

Ignoring the gloom in his eyes, I asked, “When can I leave?”

“For you, anytime!” he shrugged as he raised his eyebrows questioningly, “Where do you want to go?”

Since he had stated earlier that he wanted me to accompany him to this party, and he did not mention anything else, I took it to mean that as long as I had shown my presence, I was free to leave at any time.

With that thought in mind, I glanced at the gift box in my hand before turning to look at Cameron who had already finished her speech.

Carrying the box, I walked toward her. When she saw me, she beamed at me and greeted, “Ms. Stanhope, I do apologize should you feel any misgivings about my lack of reception, it seems that I’ve underestimated the number of guests.”

I smiled faintly. Her politeness had seemingly added more distance between us. “Ms. Anderson is too polite. Here’s the birthday gift I prepared for you. I wish you a happy birthday and may you stay youthful at all times!”

It was obvious that she was in high spirit that night. Laughing good-naturedly, she took the gift and replied, “Ms. Stanhope is too kind. I’ll gladly accept your blessings and wishes then.”

Zachary, who had brought Rylee to mingle with the other guests, saw me chatting with Cameron. After whispering a few words in Rylee’s ear, he proceeded to walk toward us.

Rylee peeked at me with a darkened glare before she walked away.

Zachary was tall and imposing. Even with his age, his noble temperament and awe-inspiring aura were still present. Peering down at me, his dark eyes had a hint of affection in them when he asked, “Are you Sienna?”

I nodded, and simply greeted him in a way that I usually do to other people. “Hello, Mr. Moore.”

“Hahaha!” he guffawed good-naturedly as he nudged Cameron who was beside him, “This girl looks like you when you’re younger. Not only the looks but also the attitude and resolve.”

Cameron nodded in agreement as her eyes softened. She smiled and said, “When I first saw her, I had the same thought too. If I hadn’t read the DNA test results, I would have thought that this child is my daughter.”

“Letty,” Zachary called as his gaze fell upon me again. “May I call you with that name?”

I nodded. Something in my memory seemed to be triggered. However, perhaps it was a memory from long ago, all I could see was a fleeting scene that flashed past my mind in a blur. All I got from that memory was the vague sense that his voice sounded really familiar.

“Your parents…” “Dad, mom!” Just then, Rylee interrupted what Zachary was about to say. With a flute of champagne in her hand, she sauntered gracefully over on her high heels. Looking at Cameron and Zachary intently, she said, “Mr. Smith has something to discuss with the two of you. He’s waiting on the second floor.”

Taken aback by the suddenness, both Cameron and Zachary looked at one another before glancing at me, “Ms. Stanhope, please excuse us, for something has come up. If there’s anything you need, feel free to tell them to Rylee.”

With that, they went up the second floor, leaving me behind with Rylee.

“Ms. Stanhope, shall we have a chat?” Rylee initiated with a look of arrogance.

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