“Has Ezra left?” Anthony avoided my question by changing the topic.
I was about to pour myself a cup of tea, but set the teapot down when I heard that. “You knew he’d come?”
“It was a guess,” Anthony said with a chuckle. “Looks like my guess was correct, after all. Things are different now compared to how they were twenty years ago, and they’re the ones that are afraid of me now!”
Ezra’s promotion depended heavily on his performance, and those around him had tried really hard to get him promoted. However, things have changed, and people of higher positions received more attention from the public. Thanks to the great emphasis placed on transparency, even the tiniest of mistakes were greatly magnified. As such, Ezra had tried to appease Anthony in hopes of staying out of trouble.
More importantly, Anthony wasn’t the only enemy Ezra had. Apart from lower-ranking officials like Louis, he had another rival who was also going after the promotion. Despite the rival seemingly have a higher chance at victory, they were both evenly matched and extremely cautious in their approach.
“Ezra is just trying to stall for time right now. Once he gets that promotion and eliminates his rival, I’m the first person he’ll be coming after. In fact, I think he’s already making his plans on getting rid of me as we speak. You may be my wife, but you are still a member of the Stanhope family. The reason Ezra came here in person was to test the water and see if there was a need to go after you as well.” Anthony sounded really calm as he explained it to me.
I had been really confident and even sneered at Ezra when he brought up Anthony in our conversation earlier, which showcased my position and status in the Stanhope family. Ezra knew without a doubt that they would go after him should anything happen to me, and that would be disastrous for his future. On top of that, I had the Moore family on my side as well, so it was unlikely that Ezra would make a move on me any time soon.
However, I couldn’t help but worry for Anthony as the Stanhope family and the Moore family wouldn’t have a justifiable reason to back him up if anything happened to him.
“Anthony, are you sure about this?” I pursed my lips as I tried to suppress my feelings of unease.
He’s one man going against a pack of wolves! There’s no way it isn’t dangerous!
Anthony let out a huge sigh and said after a brief pause, “Trust me, okay? I’ll come to pick you and Summer up as soon as it’s over.”
He then hung up the phone, and I had John accompany me to the hospital with his bodyguards.
Despite knowing that Ezra wouldn’t do anything rash at the moment, I didn’t want to put Summer’s safety at risk again.
We’ll find out if Jackson would be able to wake up today, so I have to be present at the hospital!
I saw Nick’s car when I arrived at the entrance of the hospital. He had just gotten out of his car and seemed to be lost in thought as he stared blankly at the building.
“Nick! You came!” I called out to him while making my way over with John’s help.
Nick shot me an indifferent look and said coldly, “Yeah, after getting a call from Lydia. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
John glanced at both of us before putting two and two together. “Oh, so you’re that other guy in the picture? Man, you sure have a messy relationship!”
I pinched John on the arm and motioned at him to shut up before turning towards Nick. “You’re the head of the Harrisons now. I figured you wouldn’t come for the sake of your company and family.”
“Jackson sure as hell didn’t think about all that when he shielded you from that knife!” Nick snapped back at me sarcastically.
John grabbed him by the collar before I could even respond and lifted him off the ground. “Hey! You apologize to Sienna right this instant!”
Nick simply clenched his teeth in silence, and the two of them stared at each other, both refusing to back down.
I tried tugging at his sleeve but to no avail. Having no other options, I took a step back and acted like I was in great pain by clutching my tummy while bending over. “Ugh… It hurts… Help me, John…”
John released his grip on Nick the moment he heard that and immediately ran over to hold me steady. “What’s wrong? Are you all right? Try to relax, okay? We’re at a hospital, so don’t you worry! I’ll get you a doctor right away!” he asked anxiously while shielding my tummy with his free hand.
Nick had fixed his shirt and began walking up the stairs at the hospital’s entrance, but John was panicking so much that he didn’t even notice that. “Hurry up, Nick! Get a doctor!”
He turned around when he heard no response, only to see Nick disappearing into the distance without even looking back. “Damn you, Nick! I can’t believe you’d be so heartless to Letty after all she did for you!” he shouted angrily in disbelief.
Seeing as Nick had already went inside, I decided to drop the act and stood up straight while tugging on his arm. “That’s enough, John. I’m fine now.”
“Hmm?” Realizing that he had been tricked, John grabbed me by the shoulder and asked, “You know what? I just noticed something… You’re always taking the other person’s side, no matter who I get into a fight with! Why would you betray me like that?”
I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle in response. I feel kind of bad for John at times, but it can’t be helped… He’s too snarky and hot-tempered for his own good! Until he learns to control himself a little more, he’ll just have to bear with it!
“I was just worried about your safety, John! I don’t want you getting hurt, you know?” I said while wrapping an arm around his and dragging him towards the hospital.
John eventually gave in to my pleas and promised to stop getting into fights with Nick.
Lydia was holding her child tightly as she stood by the window and stared worriedly into the ICU. She was so depressed that she didn’t even notice us coming.
Seeing how terrible she was feeling, I decided not to call out to her and simply stood quietly by her side.
Nick was dressed in an isolation gown as he sat beside Jackson’s bed. I could tell that he was saying something to him as I saw his lips moving, but I couldn’t quite make out what it was. Nick had a gloomy look on his face, but Jackson showed no response whatsoever.
“He’ll wake up.” Lydia’s voice came from beside me all of a sudden.
I turned towards her and saw that her gaze was focused on Nick as she continued, “Jackson never told you why he wanted to leave the country so suddenly, did he?”
She didn’t have to look at me for me to know that question was meant for me. “No, he didn’t.”
“Jackson followed his mom when she remarried into their current family. He had an older brother, and although they were both boys, the treatment they received was very different. Jackson would be blamed for everything his brother did wrong. This child belongs to his brother as well, but that guy is about to get into a marriage of convenience soon, so Jackson was forced to raise the child instead.
I know he likes someone else, but he never talks about it. Every evening, I’d see him smoking a cigarette all by himself beneath the street lamp outside… I suppose we all yearn for the love of our family… He was planning on having the three of us visit you when we returned to the country, but something in him seemed to snap when he got to your doorstep and saw your guests…”
She was interrupted by the sound of the door opening, followed by Nick screaming anxiously, “Doctor! Doctor!”
Standing outside the ICU and watching the doctors and nurses desperately try to rescue someone produced a feeling of helplessness that could only be understood by those experiencing it firsthand.
Jackson didn’t wake up, but his vital signs did return to normal. The doctors said his condition had stabilized, but there was no telling when he would wake up. It could take a few days or even a few months.
The sky was dark by the time I picked Summer up on our way home, and the drive home was a smooth one with John escorting us.
Back at the Stanhope residence, I saw Hunter and Louis having a conversation in the living room. Summer had always liked Louis for how friendly and gentle he was and threw herself at him the moment she saw him. “Grandpa!”
“If Summer calls the both of us ‘grandpa’, does that make us equals?” Louis said with a chuckle.
Emery sure has insights… Hunter is of a similar same age as us, so it would be more appropriate to have Summer call him ‘uncle’ instead.
“Where’s Emery? Why isn’t she here with you?” I tried to change the topic as I sat down.
“I think she was having a gathering with her besties or something, so she won’t be leaving anytime soon. Besides, the stuff that Mr. Stanhope and I talk about would probably bore her to death anyway,” Hunter replied casually.
Louis seemed to admire him a lot as he chimed in, “Hunter’s a very capable guy. I had been carrying out patrols throughout the past few days, but thanks to his suggestions, I was able to come back sooner and take a few days off!”
Hunter responded by nodding with a humble smile on his face.
“I know Emery doesn’t mind, but what about you, Professor Zane? How are you able to cope with not seeing her for so long?” I tried teasing him playfully, but he just smiled shyly at me without saying a word.
I felt like something wasn’t right somewhere, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. Seeing as Louis and Hunter still had work to discuss, I brought Summer upstairs to get some rest instead.
As the conflict between Anthony and Ezra came to a temporary halt while they prepared for their next course of action, K City was able to regain a moment of peace.
I completed my second bar exam in early September, and John forbade me from leaving the house ever since for fear of any mishaps during the birth process. He even had a private doctor stay in the guest room and remain on standby.
My babies were expected to be due around the end of December, so I still had two months to go. As I became increasingly lethargic lately, my nightly phone calls with Anthony before bed gradually became weekly ones, and the last time I heard his voice was a month ago.
The weather was still pretty hot in November. While Emma and I were cooling off in the garden out back, we got a surprise visit from Holden.
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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