The man’s lips curled into a smile. He took a sip of water from the glass and looked at me before asking, “I know you grew up as an orphan, but hasn’t Anthony taught you patience and respect after he married you?”
So condescending. How dare he question my attitude after what he has done to Anthony!
“Of course, he taught me well,” I responded with a perfunctory smile. “But I’m afraid not everyone deserves my respect and patience.”
He let out a cold snort and leaned against the couch, crossing his legs. His eyes held a silent warning as he gave me a condescending stare. “Anthony or the twins? It’s your call.”
“Excuse me?” His statement got me confused.
“The twins belong to the Hall family. Do you want to hand them over to me, or do you want me to get rid of Anthony, so I can become the custodian of the kids?” Christopher threatened in a nonchalant manner.
What? He came all the way here to see me because of my children?
Instead of atoning for the mistake he made two decades ago, Christopher was now threatening to get rid of Anthony to get his hands on our babies.
Why does he want to do this? What on earth does he want?
It was obvious the man did not care for Anthony at all.
A father who wanted his son to vanish off the face of the Earth. How outrageous!
Rage throbbed in me like a heartbeat, but I tried to keep my cool. “Listen carefully, Mr. Hall. My children will carry the Featherstone family name. You faked your death twenty years ago and made Anthony’s life hell. And yet, you now return merely to snatch our kids away? Are you heartless? How can you even bear to do such a thing?”
I minded my words, not wanting to ruin things any further for Anthony, but I wanted Christopher to know how angry I was.
Had Christopher been a decent human, he would have known that his request was absolutely nonsensical. I thought I had knocked some sense into his head and made him feel sorry for the things he had done. Yet, I saw no remorse in his eyes after my outburst. He remained unaffected.
“Are you done talking yet?”
The way he spoke and his tone was exactly like that of Anthony. I felt like I was dealing with another Anthony, but I could not read his mind as he showed no emotions.
Imagine how scary it was for me to deal with Anthony with zero emotions.
Anthony was a man who would not show mercy to all his contenders even when they had conceded defeat. And that was how he made a name for himself and the Featherstone family in K City. Right now, I was dealing with someone like him all by myself.
I squinted and organized my thoughts before noting calmly, “Anthony is your son. How could you do this to him?” I willed my voice to stay calm, trying to defuse the tension.
“If you really have no intention to apologize to him, then at least tell him the truth,” I continued, “Tell him about the accident. Tell him about his mother.”
“That’s none of your business.” Christopher folded his arms across his chest. “You should be glad your children wouldn’t need to go through what Anthony experienced.”
The man paused for a moment and let out a mirthless laugh that left me feeling baffled. He then lowered his eyes and mumbled, more to himself than to me, “That’s the only reason we kept him alive.”
“That’s enough!” I could not take it anymore. “You really think Anthony is solely a tool to procreate? Don’t you care for him? I’m absolutely disgusted by how you present yourself as the perfect man to others.”
He’s nothing but a heartless beast!
Christopher was apparently taken aback by my reaction. His expression turned grim for a moment before he warned in a calm voice, “Do you know the danger of talking to me in such a manner?”
His threat worked. I instantly regained my composure and consciously kept a distance from him.
There was no point in arguing with him, but I could tell he was not confident that things would work out the way he wanted. Otherwise, he would not have come all the way here to confront me.
I must not let my emotions get the best of me. It’s not about me now. It’s about Anthony; I need to be strong and do this for him.
I let out a heavy sigh, stood up in a gradual manner, and took a sidelong glance at the phone nearby.
I inched closer to the phone while trying to divert his attention. “You’re right. I might be too young to understand the consequences of my actions. However, I must seek Anthony’s advice since he’s the father to my kids.”
“Just give me the kids,” Christopher cut in, “I’ll handle Anthony.”
While Christopher spoke, I moved close to the phone, immediately crossing my arms to distract him while I dialed Anthony’s number.
I supposed Anthony would have known that he had been tricked by now.
As expected, he answered the call almost immediately.
After turning off the screen while leaving the phone on, I casually walked up to Christopher.
“You want my kids because you want them to inherit your family business,” I stated, “But why don’t you consider Anthony? Is it because of his mother? Do you hate Anthony because of something his mother did?”
That assumption sounded awful coming out of my mouth, but that was the only way I could think of the clear all the misunderstandings.
We all need closure from broken relationships.
He laughed. “I thought you would know the answer, given how you had him investigated into before.”
“How did…”
“Enough!”
Before I could complete my sentence, Anthony’s furious voice roared from the other end of the phone.
Both Christopher and I could all hear him, even though I had not turned on the speaker. He must be at his breaking point.
I could not imagine the pain he had to go through after knowing why his father left him to fend for himself.
The moment Christopher heard his voice, his eyes flitted around the room, trying to trace the source. He knitted his brows when he realized what I had done and shot me a disdainful look.
He stood up, walked to the phone, and raised his brows. “You’ve married a capable wife, Anthony, but trust me, one day, you’ll let her down. I would advise you to give me the children as soon as possible. There’s no point in fighting to the death over this.”
With that said, he got up and left.
There was a point in time during that conversation where I thought the truth had come to light, but I still had a lot of doubts.
Once Christopher was gone, I immediately picked up the phone. After a short pause, I cleared my throat and asked, “Are you all right?”
No answer came for me.
“Anthony?”
There was no still no response from him.
I then unlocked the screen with a tap of a finger and realized he was no longer on the line.
He must have had an emotional breakdown and ended the call after hearing what Christopher said.
Instead of wasting time, I immediately changed into new clothes and asked Millie to drive me around, even though I did not really have a destination in mind.
While doing so, I gave Joseph a call. “Where is Anthony?”
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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