He cast me a sideways glance, fastening my seatbelt for me. I didn’t quite like the scent in the car, but it was too chilly to roll down the window, so I bowed my head and looked for perfume in his car.
“I thought you would defend your brother,” he commented indifferently.
I let out a snort. “I told him to cherish her, or else he might lose her. He brought this upon himself, so he can’t blame anyone else but himself. It’s pointless to advise someone like him.”
Unable to find any perfume in the car, I let out an exasperated sigh, planning to buy a bottle of perfume and put it in the car.
As he started the car, he saw my forehead crease and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“There’s an odd smell in your car and I don’t like it.” While speaking, I noticed the bouquet of roses on the backseat. My brows drew together. Was it the smell of the roses? But it wasn’t purely floral scent. There was a whiff of female fragrance.
He seemed to have caught it too. With his brows furrowed, he asked, “I guess I’ll have to get flowers myself next time.”
I tilted my head and glanced at him. “Who did you buy this bunch of flowers for?”
The man raised a brow at me. “I bought it for you.”
Pressing my lips together, I said nothing. The car headed toward the hospital. Summer had received a few treatments. Due to the pain, she started resisting it.
Therefore, when the doctor asked her to go into the operation theatre, she couldn’t stop sobbing.
Later, Jared came with two men trailing behind him. It had been nearly a year since I last saw him. The man was dressed in a pale blue shirt. His usual neatly styled hair was replaced by a buzz cut. His skin became tanned, but his dark eyes appeared more resolute now. The moment he met us, his gaze fell on Summer. His eye turned red-rimmed at the sight of the girl who was now as thin as a rake.
Summer was crying her eyes out, protesting against the pain she knew she was about to go through. In the meantime, Jared seemed to have something to say as he stared at her. In the end, he said nothing, but turned to look at the doctor instead. “Whatever the checkup, hurry up and finish it.”
A few doctors followed him and carried out various medical check-ups for Summer. Afterward, Joe came over together with Rylee. However, judging from their awkward interactions, they probably had a fight.
Jared was still doing the checkup, while Anthony and Joe went away for a discussion.
The feelings Cameron and Zachary felt toward Rylee were rather strange. Their resentment was complicated, yet excusable. In the beginning, the couple gave her all their love and care just to make amends to her. Nonetheless, they caused me some irreversible hurt and agony.
Though they did that willingly, Rylee was the one who sowed discord between me and my parents first. Thus, there was no way to judge the situation accurately.
As a result, Cameron and Zachary hadn’t disowned her publicly. That’s why they felt awkward whenever they met her.
Perhaps Rylee felt the same way as well. The mixed feelings that welled up in her heart were indescribable.
Unable to stand the awkwardness, she walked out of the ward and sat in the lounge in the corridor. I stood up, followed the woman, and sat by her side.
Giving me a side-eye, she said impassively, “Anth gets into trouble whenever he’s with you. You’re such a jinx.”
I couldn’t care less about her ridicule. “I thought you’ve figured out that you’ll never be able to drive a wedge between me and Anthony. You’re still living in your own bubble,” I replied in a flat tone.
“You!” She shot daggers at me with much displeasure. “Why are you so proud of yourself? Do you think that you’re that great? Anth is definitely going to dump you one day.”
“I’m pregnant.” Looking at her ferocious face, I announced calmly with a half-smile. “Anthony and I are getting closer to each other. We’re fated to stay together for the rest of our lives.”
Her expression fell at my words. Suddenly, I felt a twinge of sympathy for her. The woman had been living like a photocopy of someone else, not knowing what she herself actually wanted.
“So what if you’re pregnant? Once I show up, your relationship with him will crumble. Anth won’t abandon or stop loving me. Sienna, don’t you ever think that you’ll be able to live a peaceful life.”
Staring at her, I was neither furious nor scornful, saying calmly, “Rylee, have your ever pondered what you really want in life?”
The woman was stunned for a second. Then, she glowered at me and shouted, “That’s none of your business!”
I shrugged my shoulders and said coldly, “Since the day you’re born, you’ve been living under the protection of your parents and your brother, Parker. When they’re gone, Anthony and Joe were there to take care of you. I never understood how a woman can be as ignorant as you. The passing of your parents and brother didn’t knock some sense into you and make you realize that you can’t depend on others forever. What are you going to do if Anthony and Joe are no longer with you one day? Have you ever thought about how you’re going to live? All these years of enjoying what you’ve not worked for causes you to forget how you should live!”
“So what? Even if I know nothing, someone will support and take care of me. This is something that you’ll never have.” She was all puffed up.
I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Yeah, you’re right. You indeed have the ability to have someone to support and take care of you. In this world, there’re many incompetent people who can still live very well, just like you. Now I understand why Anthony chose to love and marry me, even though he met you first. Joe used to be so smitten by you, but now he admires the ambitious Kristina even more. Rylee, you never understood that a man will take care of you solely because of a belief. As time passes, he’ll eventually give up on a worthless woman like you. You’re like a plastic bag which someone threw away. Not only are you useless, but you pollute the environment and are an eyesore as well. People are eventually going to resent you and send you for destruction. I don’t know how you can be so proud of your inability, but let me warn you. Trash is bound to be destroyed one day.”
“You…” Provoked by my harsh words, she jumped to her feet, trembling with rage. Even her finger which was pointing at me quivered. “How dare you humiliate me this way? Who the hell do you think you are? Sienna, what’s the difference between you and me? You think you’re amazing just because you’re pregnant. Don’t be such a fool. You can still have a miscarriage anytime!”
Watching her lunge at me with a malicious look, I immediately perceived that she was about to do something to me. I became cautious and was ready to defend myself. However, before Rylee touched me, someone shielded me in his arms and shoved Rylee onto the floor.
Anthony’s frigid voice sounded beside my ear. “This is the last time I’m going to warn you. If you ever hurt her again, I’ll not let you off the hook.”
Sitting on the floor, Rylee was dumbstruck. Her reddened eyes were fixed on us. Wait, no. She was looking at Joe, who just came over and stood next to me, staring at her coldly. Usually, in circumstances like this, he would hold her up with much care and concern.
But this time, he kept his hands in the pockets. The way he eyed her was as though he was only looking at a stranger.
Her eyes misted over, and tears escaped the corners of her eyes. “Why does everybody bully me? I’m the one who got hurt. Why do you still bully me? Is it only because I don’t have a family?”
“That’s enough!” Joe suddenly yelled with an icy stare. “Are you done? You’re so disgusting. It’s been over ten years, but you’re still putting on the same show. Haven’t you gotten enough of it?”
Joe’s sudden outburst of anger was out of my expectation, probably Rylee’s too. The woman gawked blankly at him in utter disbelief. “What are you talking about?”
“Hah!” Joe scoffed. “You heard me, Rylee. Haven’t you ever feel grossed out by yourself? How long are you going to act pitiful? Do you think that all of us are brainless fools after all these years? I didn’t expose you only for the sake of your brother. Yet, you do it again and again, refusing to change yourself. If that’s the case, go back to J City and never show up in front of me again. Both Anthony and I have done everything we should for you over the years. Just leave and don’t come back to us again.”
Baffled, Rylee was at a loss for words as she gaped at him. The woman couldn’t believe her ears, so she asked again, “What do you mean?”
Joe frowned, replying in a stern voice, “I’m asking you to stop sticking around in K City so shamelessly. Pack your things and go back to J City.”
In an instant, Rylee turned ashen-faced, as if she was traumatized. She turned to look at Anthony, trying to choke back her tears. “Anth, are you going to ignore me too?”
The man was still holding me. His gaze was dark and gloomy. “Fifteen years ago, I promised your brother to take care of you, because you were still a minor then. Now that you’re an adult, you’ve nothing to do with me anymore.”
I was mildly surprised that Anthony was willing to let go of her. Nonplussed, I stared at him. He noticed it and placed his hand on my tummy. A warm, fuzzy feeling shot through me.
Suddenly, a rueful smile spread across Rylee’s face. “Now I know that everything is fake. Your promises, affection, love are all fake. You liars and hypocrites!”
My brows snapped together at her words. I just couldn’t fathom her mentality. No matter how Parker entrusted her to Anthony and the others, more than ten years had passed, and they all had their own families now. Besides, they had provided and taken good care of her as much as they could. In my opinion, Anthony and Joe had done more than enough.
How could Rylee take it as a matter of course? The woman was so self-centered to the extent that she thought their lives revolved around her. Even biological siblings had no obligation to take care of one another for life, not to mention that Anthony and Joe were not related to her by blood.
That was how selfish Rylee was.
Holding Anthony’s hand, I went into the ward. There was no sign of Jared, so I became worried. “How’s the checkup? Where’s Jared?”
Helping me to take a seat, he brushed my question aside. “You’re pregnant now, so regardless of what’s happening around you, you’ve to take the baby and me into consideration. Can you do that?”
I froze at his words. Only then I noticed that his face was a little pale. Perhaps Rylee’s attack scared the daylights out of him. I couldn’t help but smile. “Actually, I had seen it coming and was ready to defend myself, so Rylee wouldn’t have been able to hurt me or the baby. I didn’t put myself and the baby in a dangerous situation.”
Exasperated, he sighed softly. “Even so, we can’t afford to let such things happen again. Most of the time, a lot of things are not within our controls.”
Nodding my head, I asked him about Jared again. “How are things going at Jared’s end?”
He heaved another sigh. “Be patient. He just finished the checkup. The results will be released only after one or two days.”
I was a little anxious. “But Summer’s illness can’t wait any longer. By the way, has the hospital found a suitable kidney for her?”
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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