+25 BONUS
Chapter 292
“You needed to turn your phone off just to have dinner with a frier?” Gregory asked.
“I didn’t want to be disturbed,” Anathea replied calmly.
“Is it really about not wanting to be disturbed, or are you just so mad at me you can’t even stand the sound of your ringtone?”
Gregory reached out and tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Well?”
Anathea didn’t answer.
Was she angry at him?
Maybe once, but not now. She no longer felt that surge of intense notion. She was probably too tired to be angry.
Wasn’t that how people were? After being disappointed once or twice, they might still hold on to a glimmer of hope.
But for Anathea, it wasn’t just once or twice. She thought she was getting used to it, but it wasn’t acceptance; it was numbness.
When it came to love, she never saw herself as cold, but enough pain had taught her how to be.
Gregory didn’t get an answer from Anathea, so he kept talking anyway. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been trying to reach you tonight?”
As he spoke, he pressed her phone’s power button.
The screen lit up. Chimes and vibrations immediately followed.
Anathea was stunned. There were over 30 missed calls and 15 text messages from him.
But she’d already…
Gregory caught the flicker of surprise in her eyes. He let out a low chuckle. “You blocked me. Did you really think I wouldn’t find another way to call you?”
Back in the car, Martin had watched as Gregory dialed Anathea’s number over and over using his phone, only to be met each time with the same cold, automated message that her phone was turned off.
The look on Gregory’s face had been so dark that it was downright terrifying. Martin had a strong feeling Gregory might hurl the phone out the window in a fit of rage.
“Anathea, you say you’re not mad. So why’d you block me?” Gregory watched her eyes intently, as if searching for the slightest flicker of a different emotion hidden within them.
He wanted to find proof that Anathea still cared about him.
“It was an accident,” Anathea replied with a smile.
She took her phone back and unblocked him right away.
Then, she continued calmly, “Next time, don’t go through so much trouble trying to reach me. You know I agreed to play the part of your wife. I’m not going anywhere.”
This time, it was Gregory who fell silent. He stared at her, his eyes so dark they seemed hollow.
After a long pause, his voice came low and rough. “You still shouldn’t go out alone at night. It’s not safe.”
Not safe?
Anathea almost laughed.
What danger out there could possibly compare to the unpredictable man right in front of her?
1/2
Chapter 292
+25 BONUS
She used to keep thoughts like that to herself. But tonight, something cracked. She blurted out, “You’re more dangerous than whatever is outside.”
The moment those words left her mouth, Gregory’s eyes went completely dark.
He admitted to himself that he had no way of dealing with Anathea who fio longer loved him. But he never expected that she would leave him this powerless.
She actually said he was the real danger?
The bitterness and frustration churning in his chest finally broke free. He suddenly leaned in and kissed her. It was deep, fierce, like he wanted to consume her whole.
Anathea’s lashes trembled, and her fingers tensed, but she didn’t move.
She just lowered her eyes, showing no emotion as he poured out everything in one desperate kiss, only to fall silent again once it passed.
When Gregory pulled away, he’d calmed down. “Anathea…”
His fingers brushed her lips. His voice was laced with a hint of resignation. “You really know how to hit right where it hurts.”
