Anthony thought about what I said, though he never did reply to me.
There was no traffic in the dead of the night, but Anthony was still driving carefully. Something about him made me feel uneasy. I could still remember how he looked that night no matter how many years had passed. He was as calm as a pond on a windless day, but I could feel his love for me underneath that fa?ade, still going strong as ever.
If he had to make a choice between revenge and dying for me, I had no doubt he’d choose the latter, but that was just hypothetical. No need to waste a life on something imaginary.
It was quiet the whole way through. Anthony parked the car at the roadside when we approached the crossroads near the Stanhope residence.
I saw Millie’s car, so I unbuckled myself. When I was about to go out, Anthony suddenly said, “You’re mistaken.”
Well, that came out of nowhere. “Sorry?”
Anthony gazed into my eyes. “You’re the most important person to me. Nothing else matters. Yes, you might have guessed it wrong this time, but that doesn’t mean you’re always wrong. I’ll risk my life for you if you were ever in trouble, and nothing can stop me. You’d better give up on dying, or I’ll dump everything on you. You can try handling my job.”
I was surprised he would go so far for that, but he was right. I was too at ease the moment I came out of the lab. I even started thinking that I should leave my life in the hands of fate. Naively, I thought everything I cared about would be alright as long as Anthony was there.
But I forgot about the fact that Anthony could never accept my death. Even the thought of it was torture for him. There was nothing more devastating than watching the person he loved waste away while he could do nothing.
It was then I realized he needed someone to tell him everything was fine. Even though I knew everything was not fine, I looked him in the eye and told him otherwise. “I won’t. Even if I am going to die, I’ll send Thora and her backers to jail before I do. I’m not going to leave my kids alone. They’re too adorable for this world.”
Anthony stopped frowning and started smiling. He knew the kids were more important to me than anything.
To think that a business genius like him would ask the same question three times just to get my confirmation. He was just like a child asking for candy.
I unbuckled myself and, before he realized it, kissed him on his cheek. Then I went out of the car, avoiding his passionate gaze.
When I went into Millie’s car feeling all smug, she revved up the engine and took me back to the Stanhope residence. I looked back at Anthony, who was still in his car. He was becoming farther and farther away, but still, his gaze was fixated on me.
It wasn’t until he disappeared from my sight did I turn back to Millie. “I want to know the truth.” I stared at her through the rear-view mirror.
She looked at me calmly. “Mr. Featherstone should have told you everything.”
“Yes. He let me see the truth he wanted me to believe.” I gave her a solemn look. “The apparatuses, the volunteers, everything. Everything looks so natural, so reasonable, but you guys overlooked one thing. There was nothing in the corridor, so even if I did fall, I should have bruises all over. But all I have now is my neck injury.”
I didn’t know why Anthony lied to me, but I didn’t dwell on it. All I wanted was for him to be safe and sound, and that was what he did. Also, he ordered me not to die. That was a sweet bonus.
If that was the truth Anthony wanted me to see, then I would go with the flow.
Millie said nothing, but that silence was an answer in itself. My face fell as I asked, “How much did he pay you? Holden told me skills and loyalty are the most important things for mercenaries. I’m your employer, but you worked with someone else and lied to me. You ruined my trust. You’d best give me a reason for that, or I’ll terminate you.”
Suddenly, the tension was palpable. After a few moments of silence, Millie stopped the car by the roadside.
She wound down her window, lit a cigarette and took a long drag before turning to me and said, “It was indeed someone who works for Anthony that knocked you off yesterday. My contract with you is to keep you safe, and investigative work is not part of our deal. If you have doubts that I’m taking double salaries, feel free to cross check with Anthony. If you don’t wish to see my face, I will do it out of your sight. But I won’t leave until I fulfil my contractual obligation.”
The woman was all calm and collected, as though she had already anticipated that her secret would be exposed any time. That, or this was all within Anthony’s planning and expectation.
Nonetheless, I didn’t wish for him to learn that I was now aware of his arrangement.
After some considerations, I decided to give Millie one more chance. “I believe you didn’t do that for money. However, this will be the first and last time you tried to pull something like that with me. If you choose to pledge your allegiance to me, we can still work things out between ourselves. Alternatively, if you wish to continue your work for Anthony, then I’ll terminate our contract right now. I’ll make sure you’re fully compensated based on the contract, but I’ll ask that you stay away from me as I don’t want someone I can’t trust around me.”
Millie tilted her head a little and was quick to come to her decision. “One last time.”
It was her way of apologizing and promising.
Since I decided to forgive her, I chose to re-establish mutual trust between us.
“Fine. Let’s just put this behind us and move on. Since investigative work is not your strong suit, will you look for someone with such talent in your circle? I want to know what Anthony is up to.”
“Certainly.”
“It’s late. Let’s just head home.”
Millie nodded and tossed the cigarette butt out the window before starting the car and heading for Stanhope residence.
Staring out at the blurry neon lights flashing by, I felt a sudden weight on my shoulder.
Anthony, what do I do with you?
The man went to great length with John to come up with such an elaborate lie so that I could wait for the research of my antidote without worrying, and to stop me from ending my own life.
Although his plan was full of plot holes, it was not without any success.
Since I couldn’t determine the imminent threats he was facing, I kept a tight lid about “my death” for the time being.
After that night, Anthony kept himself busy and didn’t contact me for one whole week.
I was in no rush to confront him. Instead, I instructed Millie to speed up the investigation covertly. However, before any useful information could come to light, a piece of news materialized out of nowhere.
Legendary investor Elliot Jacobson injected ten billion into Moore Corporation, making him the second largest shareholder after the Moores.
Instantly, all the media outlets in K City had their cameras zoomed in on the sudden appearance of a new big wheel in the corporate world.
Incidentally, Elliot had indirectly expressed his interest in me when asked about his love life by the press, resulting in some tabloid’s exploitation of our stories to boost their magazine popularity.
Some even went one step further with an in-depth report about the possibility of our union based on common business interests.
“Elliot Jacobson. Seems like a nice bloke, I must say. Not only is he good looking and loaded, he also sounds like a gentleman with no scandal. His only two previous relationships during university time ended on amicable terms. If these were true, he does appear to be a husband material. Aren’t you the slightest bit interested?” Emery asked suggestively while reading the tabloid filled with our photoshopped images.
I rolled my eyes, looked at her with distaste, but kept my comments to myself on this matter.
On another level, this piece of news might actually serve as a nice addition to the rumors already circulating around Anthony and Thora, which showed that he and I were drifting further apart. If Ezra dropped his guard because of this, it might provide Anthony with the perfect cover.
As for Elliot, I had made myself pretty clear when he visited the Moore Residence last time. I assumed a seasoned investor like him wouldn’t shoot himself in the foot.
“Enough about me. It’s Monday morning. Instead of slaving away in your own office, you’re here to bug me. What’s going on?” I tried to change the topic.
“Don’t you remind me.” Finally tossing the magazine away, Emery sighed. “It’s Hunter. He’s been following me everywhere and pestering me to reconcile with him. It’s so annoying!”
“You can’t hide from him forever. Maybe it’s time to consider applying for a restraining order, given the harassment he’s causing you. You two are already divorced, there’s no need to hold back.” Emery had her fair share of pain and grief from this marriage. She deserved to have a better life, not being entangled in this mess from her past.
“Forget about him, I’ll deal with it later,” she said while shaking her head as her attention shifted elsewhere in the next moment. “By the way, I’ve taken over The Jade. Some fresh seafood has arrived from overseas yesterday. Will you be my guest?”
“Of course!” I agreed readily, and we left my office in tandem.
Although Anthony had made up the mutation of the poisoned cells in my body to make his story more believable, they changed my treatment plan and made me stick to a strict diet regimen at the Stanhope residence. I had enough of their nonsense.
As soon as we arrived at the restaurant, Emery asked for their most prestigious private room.
“My apologies, Ms. Moore. The room is occupied at the moment.”
I knew The Jade only had one VVIP room. It was almost as exclusive as a five-star hotel’s presidential suite. Guests who could afford such a room that came with an outrageous price tag were not ones to mess around with.
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.
Leave a Reply