Back to the present- “You always blame me for the crimes I didn't even commit. You did it five years ago, and you are still doing it.” Rayan finally spoke up, breaking the long, agonizing silence between them. Anthea, who was busy wiping her tears with the back of her palm, looked up at him and let out a mocking sneer. “Blame? It's such a heavy word, Mr. Allen. I wouldn't call it blame when I have proof of your crimes.” Anthea chuckled while shaking her head. Her voice was still heavy with emotions from the outburst she had a few minutes ago. She even lost track of time because of her trip down memory lane. “Then show me the proof. Tell me what my crimes are. Tell me what I did. Tell me, why did you divorce and leave me? Why Lily? Give me the fucking answers.” Rayan demanded in a frustrated voice while taking steps towards her before caging her between the railings of the balcony and his body. Anthea was caught completely off guard, as she was trapped by Rayan’s tall figure with
Two weeks passed after Anthea had a heated argument with Rayan. Since that night, she hadn't seen or heard anything about him, as if he had vanished to prove his words. One week ago, Anthea and Sebastian decided to throw an engagement party to make everything official. To be honest, Anthea didn't have any plans previously regarding the engagement; however, she was furious with Rayan’s ridiculous words, which is why she impulsively said things about throwing the engagement party and inviting him to her engagement. She did that completely in the heat of the moment and then had to talk to Sebastian and arrange everything within the next two weeks. Nothing was going according to her plan; besides, the things Rayan said that day in the restaurant were stuck in her head. She couldn't understand why he would suddenly declare something like that. His words and actions made no sense to her at all. Besides, he was behaving like he still loved her, and being engaged to Aurelia meant nothing to
“I see you are here to spit nonsense and waste my time.” Anthea scoffed while crossing her arms over her chest. She then walked past him before walking towards the couch placed in the living room and sitting down. “You always think of the worst in me, don’t you?” Rayan’s voice held a hint of pain and frustration as he turned to follow her. Anthea pressed her lips together before meeting his gaze. That was the third time she asked her the same question. "Yes, because you gave me enough reason for that.” Anthea answered without hesitation. Rayan seemed to be at a loss for a moment as he stared at her without blinking, trying to figure her out. “Give me 30 minutes, then I will leave without any words.” Rayan’s voice was firm as he demanded, making Anthea slightly raise her eyebrow at him. Her initial reply was that she wouldn't; however, she was aware of how stubborn Rayan could be. He was here with a purpose, and he would never leave if she didn't listen to what he had to say. “Fine
The next day, Anthea woke up from her sleep from the continuous ringing of her phone. She didn't get a wink of sleep last night because of everything that happened yesterday. Since the moment Rayan left her apartment, she has been in a great dilemma. Her heart and mind had been in a huge war regarding everything she just found out. As the phone kept ringing, Anthea let out a groan before reaching out her hand to grab the phone from the cabinet. She blinked her eyes a few times to get rid of the sleepiness. As she checked the ID, she found it was a call from Emilia. Anthea checked the time and found it was around 9 a.m. in the morning, which made her sigh. “Hey.” She greeted her in a hoarse voice as soon as the call was connected. “You need to check the news; I'm coming over.” Emilia’s worried voice reached her ears, making Anthea frown. She tried to get up from the bed while wondering what Emilia was talking about. “What happened, Emi?” Anthea asked in confusion while removing the
Anthea rang the bell of Rayan's apartment with an impatient expression on her face. Her face had already turned as cold as ice the moment she stepped on this premise. At first, she had gone to his office without any prior notice; however, when she reached there, he wasn't present. Anthea quickly contacted his other assistant to learn about his whereabouts. To her surprise, Layla informed her that he hadn't come to the office besides it being the weekend. However, as far as Anthea remembered, he liked to work on the weekend too and rarely took any day off; therefore, it was a huge surprise for her. She called his number many times, yet all of her calls were directed straight to voicemail, which frustrated her even more. Anthea was on the verge of losing her temper when Layla suggested to her that she go to his apartment to visit him. She thanked Layla and cut the call before thinking whether it was appropriate to visit his apartment or not. She received his address from Layla via text
The moment Anthea stepped inside Nevaeh’s room, her heart dropped to her stomach at the sight of her. The poor baby was sleeping on the small single bed, her face pale and red due to the fever. Anthea walked towards her with small steps while clenching her fists tightly on both sides. Rosie, who was initially sitting beside the sleeping Nevaeh, looked up at her with an with an invisible shock on her face. Anthea spared her a small smile in acknowledgement before directly making her way over the bed and then sitting down on the left side of the bed. Neaveh’s small body was half covered in a blue floral-printed duvet. “Has she eaten anything in the morning?” Anthea asked in a small voice as she placed her hand on Nevaeh’s forehead. Thankfully, she wasn't burning up with fever. Her temperature had cooled down slightly, but there were still traces of fever. "Yeah, but not much. Rayan was able to feed her a few spoons of soup I had prepared in the morning.” Rosie answered with a sigh, gl
Anthea finished making the chicken porridge, along with some boiled vegetables. She then turned to look at Rayan, who was preparing some warm water with honey. Anthea’s heart flipped as he caught her staring at him. “Are you done?” He asked with a smile, making Anthea nod her head. She began to clean the kitchen counter while avoiding his eyes all of a sudden. “Yeah, almost finished. I will go and check if she woke up or not.” Anthea replied after wiping the counter.“You stay here; I will go and check.” Rayan proposed instead, stopping her from moving. Anthea didn't seem to mind it, and she nodded her head. Just as Rayan took a step, they both heard Nevaeh’s crying voice coming from upstairs. Both of them immediately looked in the opposite direction before looking at each other. “She seems to have already awoken. I will go and check on her. Meanwhile, you can bring the food. She must be hungry by now.” Rayan suggested seeing the anxious expression on Anthea’s face. Anthea heaved a
Anthea made Anthea comfortable on the bed before taking the food tray for Rosie with thanks. She carefully placed the food tray between her and Nevaeh before feeding her the first bite. The little girl obediently sat on the bed while her eyes remained glued to Anthea with the same excitement as before. Rayan, on the other hand, was also sitting in the other corner of the bed, watching the scene unfold in front of his eyes with a smile. For some goddamn reason, he was smiling a lot today, which obviously irked Anthea. She tried her best to ignore his stares, focusing all of her attention on Nevaeh. “Do you like it?“ Anthea asked nervously as she fed Nevaeh the first spoonful of porridge. Nevaeh instantly nodded her head with a smile, making Anthea feel relief. She wasn't a bad cook, but for some reason, she felt nervous about Neaveh not liking her hand-cooked food. “It’s yummy. Better than Aunt Amalia. I like it.“ Nevaeh answered in an adorable voice while playing with her pushie. An