John’s face looked glum. Meanly, he snapped at Audrey, “Audrey, what did I teach you?”
“I remember now!” Audrey’s features were squished in a moment of intense concentration. Suddenly, she raised her finger and intoned, as if she was reciting her lessons, “Other than Uncle John, any other men who are handsome are bad men!”
“That’s right,” John nodded his head in satisfaction. He gestured dismissively at Anthony, then turned to look at Audrey solemnly. “I’ll give you another chance. What do you call this man?”
Audrey’s mouth rounded into a perfect O. Proudly, she hollered, “You’re a bad man!”
“Good girl! I’ll buy you a new dress when we get home,” John said approvingly. Even as he teased Audrey, however, his eyes never once left Anthony’s face. The two men continued staring defiantly at each other, neither willing to concede.
What strange theories has John imparted to Audrey? I wondered in mild surprise. Does this mean that besides John, no other man in this world can talk to her?
I groaned inwardly. Men’s egos can really manifest in the oddest forms!
Anthony, however, looked utterly unfazed by the ridiculous skit he’d just witnessed. Beaming brightly at Audrey, he said in a mellow, cajoling tone, “Audrey, it’s Daddy! Are you sure you don’t want a hug?”
Aghast, John immediately tried to intervene, but to no avail.
“Daddy?” Audrey’s ears instantly pricked up. Wide-eyed with delight, she exclaimed, “Are you really my daddy?”
“Of course.” “No!”
Anthony and John answered Audrey both at once. The difference between the two men could not be starker. John had spoken vehemently, his eyes wild. He looked as if he was on the verge of erupting with fury.
Anthony, however, had given his answer confidently, with a look of serene assurance on his face. Entirely blasé about John’s indignation, he continued, this time extending both his arms to Audrey, “Come to Daddy!”
As he spoke, Anthony threaded his arms beneath Audrey’s, coolly lifting her out of John’s arms altogether.
Audrey looked at Anthony, hesitating for a brief moment. She then leaned towards him tentatively.
John was astounded by Anthony’s audacity. He tightened his grip on Audrey, then quickly retreated a few steps backward, ordering hotly, “Take your dirty hands off her!”
Anthony’s hands were left barren. They hung limply in the air for a moment, then fell back to his sides. A wry smile hovered on his lips, “It’s fine. Thanks for coming all this way to deliver my daughter to me, anyway.”
A cold gleam flashed across John’s narrowed eyes. Maintaining his firm grip on my arm, John drew Audrey and me aside. After gently setting Audrey down, John knelt before her, saying meaningfully, “Princess, you haven’t sung for Uncle John in a while, have you?”
When Audrey heard those words, she immediately danced in glee, clapping her hands joyfully. “Oh, goody! Uncle John’s going to fight!”
Without another word of warning, Audrey turned me around. Our backs facing John and Anthony, she immediately began singing enthusiastically, “Jingle bells, jingle bells…”
I found this entire scene peculiar and twisted my body to look back at John and Anthony. In those brief moments, the air behind me had become charged once again with clear animosity.
Anthony glanced at Joseph. Joseph, immediately comprehending, walked forward and rested an arm on John’s shoulder. Briskly, almost apologetically, Joseph said, “Mr. Stanhope, why don’t you step outside with me? Mr. Featherstone will take care of Ms. Audrey here.”
He’d just finished speaking when John violently shrugged him off. Caught off-balance by John’s abrupt jerk, Joseph fell to the floor.
Joseph’s moans of pains mingled with Audrey’s piping voice. Joseph made a great effort to get up, but John cruelly stepped on him, hard, condemning him to lie pinned on the ground.
“You were never a match for me. How dare you touch me? You’re really a worthy sidekick for Anthony! A dog behaves exactly like its master. You’re both pathetic,” John spat resentfully. Every word, though directed at Joseph, was clearly meant for Anthony’s ears.
In one swift motion, John took his foot off Joseph, then spun around and sauntered over to Anthony. Without hesitation, John threw a hard punch in Anthony’s face, then immediately followed it with a flying kick.
Anthony flew backward, landing on the grass patch by the curbside. He struggled to stand, but John lunged forward and wrapped both arms around Anthony’s neck. He strangled Anthony and the latter’s face instantly darkened into a deep crimson. The fall had entirely wiped off Anthony’s earlier dignified manner.
“You didn’t see this coming, did you? I wasn’t able to take Letty with me six years ago. I will now,” John jeered. Through gritted teeth, he continued, “Look at you. You haven’t improved at all. Do you expect to be able to keep Sienna with you based on that feeble amount of strength alone?”
By then, the servants had all crept out of the main house to watch the scene. They fretted over whether they should intervene but ultimately were overcome by their fear. No one stepped forward.
I, too, was dumbfounded by John’s sudden violence. Recovering, however, I glanced at Anthony’s pale face in worry.
Is John really intending to kill Anthony? I thought, horrified.
It seemed that I had no cause for concern, however.
When Joseph staggered over, however, intending to wrench John and Anthony apart, John had already taken a few steps back and was dusting his hands.
Beside me, Audrey was still singing blissfully. “Jingle bells, Jingle bells, jingle all the way…”
John coolly straightened his clothes, then directed an icy look at Anthony’s crumpled body. John then stepped over to where Audrey and I had been waiting and said tenderly, “Let’s go home.”
He once again knelt down and tapped Audrey gently on her shoulder for her to turn around.
As if rehearsed, Audrey spun around on her heels gladly. She clung to John, babbling eagerly, “Did you win, Uncle John? Did you win?”
John gazed at her soberly, then thumbed her on the nose. “Of course, I won! How can Uncle John ever lose, huh?”
“Hooray!” Audrey cried. It all seemed like a game to her where Uncle John had warded off the bad guys. However, her eyes darted alertly to Anthony, who was stumbling to his feet behind John. Audrey’s little brow furrowed at the sight. She pursed her lips, asking tentatively, “Uncle John, were you fighting that bad man just now?”
Audrey made it perfectly evident that she was rather unimpressed. Her frown had deepened almost into a sulk.
John looked behind him uncertainly. The arrogant demeanor John had been wearing from his earlier victory faded. He suddenly looked rather unsure of himself.
Anthony, to everyone’s surprise, rescued John from his humiliation. “Audrey, it’s all right. Daddy just tripped over and fell. It doesn’t hurt at all!” he said brightly.
One would have almost believed him if not for the bright-red specks of blood around his mouth. His smile was almost a grimace.
As he spoke, Anthony occasionally drew in his breath sharply through his teeth. He was clearly in agony. Looking at the sorry sight he made before us, I felt a surge of pity well up within me.
Anthony, are you sure it doesn’t hurt? I wondered.
Audrey was clearly moved. Her large eyes blinked rapidly, tears glittering in them.
Noticing Audrey’s distress, John hastily picked her up, soothing her. He pressed Audrey’s head into his chest, then turned to look at Anthony scornfully. “I raised Audrey for six years and can count the number of times I’ve made her cry on one hand. Look at her state after just meeting you once. Do you think she’s really better off with you?”
Without waiting for Anthony to respond, John turned to me. “Let’s go,” he said curtly.
Anthony was clearly incapacitated and could not restrain John. I thus followed John out obediently.
John had parked his car outside the villa. Once the three of us had gotten on, he immediately stepped hard on the accelerator. The car flew towards the suburbs.
“Where are you bringing me to?” I asked curiously.
John gave me a look through the rearview mirror. He then said blandly, “To the airport. I’ve hired a private plane for us. It’ll be arriving shortly.”
John was evidently in a foul mood. I couldn’t tell whether he was jealous of the liking that Audrey had taken to Anthony or if other matters were weighing on his mind.
The car rounded a corner. A gray van appeared bearing the Featherstones’ license plate, which I recognized as the van which had sent Gregory to and fro. I hurriedly wound down the car window, and in that split second in which our vehicles crossed, I caught sight of Gregory’s round face.
Accompanying him on both sides were Tiffany and Thora.
As the distance grew between us, I felt a deepening sense of despair. I hadn’t gotten to interact with Gregory much but felt an attachment to him nonetheless from our brief meetings. Now that we were leaving without a word of goodbye, I wondered if Gregory would miss me.
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