Chapter 488
Instantly, the air in the villa became tense.
A strange glint appeared in Annabel’s eyes when she spotted Anthony. Quickly, she avoided his eyes and cautiously asked, “Mr… Mr. Bailey, I… May I speak to you in private?” Her tone was meek and low.
After a moment of hesitation, Anthony put down the document and walked out. When he walked past Charmine, he halted and reminded in a deep voice, “I’ll fix this soon. Remember what I said to you.”
Charmine frowned. What did he say? He had said too many things to her…
Meanwhile, Anthony said to Annabel, “Follow me.”
He walked in front of her toward the rockery pond. Annabel nodded at Charmine politely before following behind him. 1
Charmine felt unusually anxious as she stared at their retreating forms. She could clearly feel that Anthony’s interaction with Annabel was different-especially with the way he looked at her-and his action was very strange.
There must have been a story between them…
Furthermore, now that Anthony was walking in front, with the small figured Annabel following behind, the scene seemed as if it could only make sense for him to protect her from others.
Charmine’s hand held onto the door tightly. 1)
Beside the rockery pond, there were just the two of them. Anthony stood by the pond with one hand in the pocket. He said nothing, but he exuded an air of authority. Annabel stood behind him, uneasy and anxious. After a while, she built up her courage to say, “ Mr. Bailey, I wouldn’t…have looked for you if I had other options. I know that I’ve wronged you ten years ago…”
Although the two of them were not in a relationship back then, Anthony would always show up to protect and help her. His life was boring back then, consisting of only work, study, and business. She promised him to show him other things in the world, such as the roadside stalls and the little things in life. However, the next day after she made such a promise to him, she took five million and left Burlington…
Annabel lowered her head with guilt. “I know I wasn’t worth five million-accepting the money was an insult to myself. However, I had no other choice back then as my Grandma was diagnosed with kidney failure, and I needed a large sum of money to treat her. Also, I was aware that I wasn’t good enough for you, that being with you would only add to your trouble, SO I…”
Anthony remained silent, his cold back showed not a single emotion. 1
Annabel continued in a hoarse voice, “I was planning to stay out of Burlington forever, but Grandma died five years ago… She wanted to be buried back home and didn’t want to die in a
foreign land. She insisted on coming home every day, and I cannot let her die unpeacefully, so I had no choice but to bring her ashes back to Burlington.
“‘I know you have a new life now, and I’ve never thought of disturbing you nor breaking my promise to Ms. McKenzie and your mother. However… As you know, I was an orphan since young as my parents left me when I was little, my Grandpa being the only parent who raised me. When I brought back her ashes, I realized that my parents came back, and it turns out that they were captured and forced to work as slaves in illegal brickyards. Those people didn’t let my parents come home until they were completely worn out…” 1
Annabel’s eyes reddened as she spoke, “I had no one after Grandma died, and they were the only ones I had- I can’t leave them here. Sadly, I’ve spent the whole five million on Grandma’s treatment, and I don’t have much left to bring them out of Burlington with me, so I had no choice but to stay in Burlington five years ago.” 1
Anthony’s expression turned grim the more Annabel spoke, especially when he heard those words: ‘five years ago’. The hand inside his pocket jolted. Five years ago, she came back to Burlington. Was she truly the one who birthed Chris? Was it true, then, that Chris was her son? That Annabel was the woman he slept with?
