Marcus paused to draw breath. His hands were interlocked at the fingers on his knees with an expression of sternness on his face. “I think I’ve made myself very clear with Mr. Zimmerman. My fiancée has a good life now. I do not wish for anyone to bother her again, including you and other irrelevant people.”
“Hah!” Emery shouted. “You’re insane. What right do you have to make decisions for Sienna? She has a family and her own happiness. What’s more, she had rejected you a long time ago. Don’t you think that this opportunistic behavior of yours is depraved?”
“I don’t care,” Marcus stated nonchalantly as he leaned back.
“I just want her to have a good life. I don’t care about anything other than that.”
“But Sienna cares. Doesn’t that…”
“Enough.” Marcus did not give Emery a chance to rebut. With a look of impatience, he continued, “I’m not in the mood to listen to your lecture. You just need to know that if it weren’t for me, Sienna wouldn’t have been able to rid herself of Armond. Now that Armond is dead, she has no more threats. I can’t possibly let her go through that suffering again! Only I am capable of caring for her. You don’t have to come and visit anymore.”
“Impossible,” Emery argued. “Don’t think that you can imprison her forever. I am her best friend. The Stanhope family…”
“The Stanhopes?” Marcus laughed coldly. “Not even a death obituary could stop it. Do you think that she would be able to live in peace if we returned to the past?”
At the mention of this, Emery was speechless.
Marcus took the opportunity to get up and adjust his coat. At the same time, he haughtily said, “I can’t take it back now. Rather than having all of us live in confusion from now on, let’s pretend that Sienna doesn’t exist anymore. I will arrange for her to take on a new identity. If you really want the best for her, you would mind your own business.”
Alexander could not bear the sight of Emery being speechless with anger. “Marcus, watch yourself!” he warned.
Marcus pretended not to hear him. “See our guests out,” he called out to the maid.
Alexander was probably not used to being asked to leave. Being young and brash, he stood up and raised his arm but was stopped by Emery. Without another word, they departed together.
Marcus watched their backs disappear and was motionless for a moment. Suddenly, as if he had a sixth sense, he turned to look upstairs where I was.
I was still in a daze processing what I’d learnt when Marcus turned to look at me. I narrowly missed being spotted by retracting my neck violently.
The night was peaceful but my emotions were in turmoil.
Emery and Marcus had my best interests in mind from different angles. However, they made the same decision of hiding it from me.
The old memories buried deep in my subconsciousness–were they really as unbearable as everyone made it sound?
If they were worth cherishing, where did the pain and suffering come from?
I realized that even I was unaware if I could bear the consequences of rediscovering my lost memories.
After that day, I led a dull, dreary existence that lasted for a long time.
Marcus was left to his office by day, leaving me alone at home like a full-time housewife. Other than the occasional foray out of the house to kill my boredom, my life basically revolved around the daily happenings of the villa.
It was likely caused by having plenty of rest that I have recovered exceptionally well. Though I still had trouble putting on weight, my mental health was comparable to an ordinary functional human being. At least I didn’t spend two-thirds of the day sleeping anymore.
Marcus gave me a new phone. It was completely foreign to me and I did not know how to use it.
One day, Emery called me.
“Sienna, let’s go out shopping. I’m outside your door. Come on.”
Before I had managed to ask her how she had gotten my number, she hung up on me.
When women hear the phrase “shopping”, they would become very excited; I was no exception. After a hasty change into something simple and comfortable, I exited the house into Emery’s car.
“How’s life with Marcus?” Emery asked with forced casualness as I sat down.
“Not too bad.”
Marcus and I were rather courteous towards each other. During this period of being with him, we began to run out of things to talk about. Occasionally when I mentioned the past, he would calmly divert the subject of conversation. Though I knew that it was done in my protection, I still thought that it was an overreaction on his part.
The fact that Marcus was not in a hurry to repair our relationship had put me at ease.
“Is that so?” Emery nodded thoughtfully. She looked as though she had something to say but after a pause, she decided to let it slide.
Soon, we arrived at the largest mall of the city center.
Emery had practically emptied out the outlets of designer clothing in a frenzied spree, to the shock and awe of an ordinary citizen like me. Nevertheless, the art of selecting and filtering products in a retail store was a familiar process to me, and I spent an enjoyable afternoon in Emery’s company just chatting and shopping.
The only person I interacted with in Marcus’s house was the maid. They treated me as the mistress of the house. Whenever I made some lighthearted banter, there always seemed to be a distance between us.
It was a lazy afternoon well spent. As we were leaving the mall, we were suddenly hounded by the paparazzi.
Over the past six years, Alexander had dabbled in showbusiness in K City. He became famous overnight after receiving the award for the best actor. As his girlfriend, Emery was placed under the constant spotlight. People were desperate for a slice of gossip in regards to Alexander’s private life.
“Sienna, let’s look for a place to hide!” Emery cried as she frantically pulled my arm and ran back from where we came. I felt like a stiff mannequin being dragged along for the ride.
The paparazzi were not professionals in their field for nothing; in the blink of an eye, they were in full pursuit and soon ran us down and separated us.
Emery felt overwhelmed and could have barely taken care of herself, much less of me. She kept running and soon led the paparazzi off.
They came and went like a hurricane. Their target identified, the paparazzi pursued with full force. In other words, Emery had “sacrificed” herself.
I was just about to head out and hail a cab when a casual glance around stopped me in my tracks in surprise. Gregory was at the entrance staring at me. His charming features were alight with delighted mischief.
“Mommy, I ran into you again!”
Was this how rich families cared for their six-year-old children?
He was the heir apparent of the Featherstone family. By standing still unsupervised, he became an easy target for kidnappers. There wasn’t a bodyguard anywhere near him.
I walked over and knelt down next to him. “Why are you here all alone?”
Emery invited me out at last minute. Even if Gregory was precocious enough, it would have been impossible for him to know ahead of time to intercept us.
As soon as I spoke, the wunderkind suddenly pouted. He tugged on my thumb and said in a pitiful voice. “Mommy, I’m lost. I’m scared.”
What?
Child, you had harnessed your father’s resources on your own to make an appointment with a stranger. It wouldn’t do for you to be so pathetic at such a young age!
“Alright, I’m here. No one will capture you.” In the end, I gave in to him. I tousled his hair in an attempt to comfort him as I picked up my phone. “Greg, what’s your Daddy’s number?”
As soon as I unlocked my phone, Gregory snatched it off my hands. “Let me do it, Mommy,” he said. “Daddy is at work; I am not allowed to call him. I’ll just text the bodyguard and tell him where I am.”
To my amazement, the child sent out a text with a fluent understanding of my device right in front of my eyes. It took him less than a minute.
“Alright, Mommy. Mr. Campbell will be along to pick me up soon,” Gregory said smugly as he handed the phone back to me.
I heaved a sigh and took the phone from him.
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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