Chapter 399
Chapter 399
Gregory sensed that something was off about Anathea. “Annie?”
At that moment, Xander’s voice sounded outside the bedroom. “Mom!”
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Xander’s cry was like a saving grace for Anathea. She shoved Gregory aside and went to open the door.
Gregory watched her scurry away from him, his lips pressed into a light line. He realized it was upsetting to be left hanging like this.
Adazed, wounded look flashed in his eyes, and he froze as he processed the feeling. He recalled the times he’d left Anathea hanging whenever she sought him out, all because he’d been busy with whatever activity or work he had at the time.
Now that the roles were reversed, Gregory realized how awful he’d been to Anathea before. This was only one of many horrible things he’d done to her.
The enlightenment struck him like lightning. As it turned out, the indifference, apathy, and neglect he’d shown Anathea all these years were like knives that cut her bit by bit, whittling down the woman who had loved him, wholeheartedly until she gradually lost the will to fight for them.
Gregory’s heart tightened like it might go into arrest. He keeled over in pain, his brows furrowed tightly.
“What’s the matter?” Anathea asked, cutting him a puzzled look.
He shook his head. Suddenly, he couldn’t bring himself to look at her. He stepped back wordlessly, then left the room. He had taken no more than a few steps when he received a new text.
He narrowed his eyes at the text. Ignoring his heartache, he immediately called Theo and Adrian before hurrying downstairs. Before he left, he told Cyrus and Jenny to look after Anathea.
Xander took Anathea’s hand and led her to his bedroom.
“Mom, how do I draw this flower?” Xander asked in bafflement. “I tried to draw it several times, but I can’t seem to nail it.” Anathea was at a loss too. “We’ll have to find a picture of it on the internet and use that as a reference. If only I had my phone…” Alas, she knew Gregory wouldn’t return her phone. As such, she could only draw the flower from memory. However, she still couldn’t nail the drawing despite erasing and correcting the sketch over and over.
Not too long after, Jenny knocked on the door and approached Anathea. “Mrs. Sinclair.”
“Yes?” Anathea asked, setting the pencil down.
Jenny produced a phone and handed it to Anathea. “I brought your phone.”
Anathea’s eyes lit up as she took the device. “Thank you, Jenny!”
“You’re welcome.” Jenny looked a little flustered. “Actually, Mr. Sinclair was the one who told me to pass it to you.”
Upon hearing this, Anathea stiffened and glanced at the door, but Gregory wasn’t there. “Where is he?”
“Mr. Sinclair left to take care of something.” Jenny searched her memory for the expression Gregory wore when he left the house earlier and elaborated, “He looked like he was in a hurry.”
More importantly, she’d noticed that the security detail guarding the villa was double the usual number. Puzzled as she was, she knew better than to make Anathea worry, so she didn’t bring it up.
Anathea didn’t press for details, either. She switched on her phone only to be greeted by a whole slew of texts, most of which were concerned questions from her co–workers at the studio. She also got messages from Evangeline, who wanted to check in on her.
Chapter 399
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Evangeline reassured recuperating.
Anathea that things were
manageable at
the studio
and
insisted
that
Anathea take it easy while
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