Chapter 2: Have nightmare

“Anthony, I will never love you. All my life, I want most to stay away from you.”

Anthony woke up in the night. His unbuttoned shirt was rising and falling with his heavy breaths. The forehead was soaked with sweat. Anthony took off his shirt and threw it on the floor to reveal his perfectly wet body. He grabbed his forehead and decided to get off the bed. After that, he headed over to the liquor cabinet.

Anthony took the bottle of wine out of the cupboard with an absent-minded look. He looked at the glass on the table and decided to leave it alone. Tonight, he wanted to borrow alcohol to free himself from his crazy thoughts. Anthony sat in a chair near the window and looked over the glittering city. A man gulps down a whole bottle of wine in the dark room. The glittering beauty of the city did not make Anthony feel excited but only made him see the deadly struggle in his heart. Tomorrow, the person he loves the most will marry someone else.

The wedding card was still lying on the table and showed no sign of being touched. Anthony looked at it silently. With an urge in his heart, he took it and gently opened it. Inside, the name of the girl he loved appeared meticulously and beautifully. From the name, he could see her smile filled with happiness. However, why was the groom's name not him?

Anthony leaned back in his chair. He put his arm over his eyes and recalled what had happened that day, the day she risked everything to leave him.

Anthony was in the car and was on his way back to the mountain mansion. He flipped through the pile of documents in his hand. Anthony smiled with sparkling eyes and thought of how delighted the girl he loved was when he gave her this good news. The thought of her smiling happily and hugging him to thank him made him feel that the fatigue of the day had mostly dissipated.

The car slowly entered the security door. The driver unconsciously tilted his head slightly and moved forward to see the scene in front of him. Then, the driver's hands trembled slightly and his eyes widened. Anthony was too focused on the paper in his hand to notice the driver's anomaly.

"Boss!" The chauffeur's trembling voice awakened Anthony's dream, causing him to frown.

"What?" Anthony put the document in the paper sack.

“The mansion is on fire!”

Anthony quickly turned his gaze to his house. From inside the car, he could see a window in the upper room emitting white smoke and flickering flames. His heart constricted for a moment, so Anthony didn't think much of it, but quickly opened the door to get out of the car when the car was still not completely stopped.

"Boss!", the driver slammed the car and got out of the car to follow Anthony.

In the house, the noise and screams of the maids encroached on the space. Everyone was holding buckets of water in hopes of putting out the fire in the upstairs room. Anthony pushed the crowd away and ran upstairs. His long legs exerted full force only because his heart was urging him to hurry before he regretted it. Anthony saw a group of people standing in front of the closed door and banging on it.

"Mistress! Open the door," the housekeeper really wanted to swear, but because of his identity, he didn't dare say it. He did not dare to think about the consequences he would bear when something happened to the person inside.

"Boss!" Everyone saw Anthony appear as if they saw hope.

"Break the door," Anthony didn't say much. He and the bodyguard used their bodies to push hard on the solid door. The strength of the large men caused the latch of the door to surrender.

Gray smoke suddenly burst out. In an instant, everyone there had to cover their noses. Some people did not react in time, so they were choked by the smell of smoke, their noses were itchy, and their eyes were red. However, Anthony didn't care about that. He ran inside, making everyone unable to stop him.

On the bed, a girl in a white dress was lying still. Fire formed a circle around her and burned her bed sheet and dress a lot. Anthony rushed through the fire to hold the girl in his arms. Outside, people quickly put out the fire, causing the fire to calm down a lot.

“Regina, hurry up. I'll get you out," Anthony shielded Regina from the flames like a snake trying to attack them. However, Regina's laughter stunned him.

"Anthony, you let me go. Let me die,” Regina whispered. Her throat had become hoarse from inhaling so much smoke in the room.

"I'll take you out. Say no more,” Anthony picked up Regina and was about to risk jumping over the fire to get her out.

"Anthony, don't be so stubborn. I will never love you. I just want to stay away from you even if I have to choose death,” Regina moved her lips and passed out in Anthony's lap. Little did she know that her words made not only his heart stop but his whole body stiffen. His eyes were red but he knew it wasn't because of the smoke in the room. However, he hugged her body tightly and rushed through the fire to exit the room.

Outside, everyone quickly gave Anthony and Regina first aid. Anthony snatched the handkerchief from the servant's hand to wrap Regina around. The white dress that was caught in the fire revealed a few sensitive places. Anthony picked Regina up and carried her to another room. However, his whole body stiffened. He handed her over to the servants and asked them to take good care of her. Then he returned to his room. Everyone was surprised but they looked at Anthony's straight and lonely back and didn't dare to ask much. If it was normal, he would wash and take care of Regina himself.

Anthony closed the door to the room. Outside the door, the noisy scene did not stop. Inside, Anthony slid across the door from time to time. His whole body was shaking. His breath was ragged and a growl in his throat. Anthony pulled his legs closer to him, one hand wrapped around his legs, the other clutching the spot where his heart was pounding. His hair fell so that no one could see his expression clearly. Now, he looked like a ferocious beast suffering from a hunter's wound.

“Please let me go. Do not touch me. Let me die,” were Regina's words when Anthony was about to carry her to another room to shower. Even subconsciously when she fainted, she still wanted to stay away from him. Until now, although Regina firmly resisted Anthony's intimate actions, she never sought death. Now, the image of Regina so weak before death made Anthony more afraid of not being able to see her than of not having her.

Anthony regained his composure and stood up. He took off his clothes and went to the bathroom. He wanted to use cold water to calm his mind. The water flowed from the top of his head to his shoulders and then his biceps, which were badly burned because they were used to protect the girl he loved. The pain of the flesh is nothing compared to a hundred knives in the heart.

After successfully dealing with preventing the fire from spreading to other places, Anthony sat on the bed and stroked sleeping Regina's hair. He heard the servant say that she set herself on fire because she had seen the news that her family’s company had fallen to him. This probably reached Regina's limit. She was sold here to save her family's company but was eventually brought down by him. To be more precise, Regina had never tried to put her trust in Anthony. She saw him as a venomous snake that just wants to swallow its prey with all sorts of tricks. He couldn’t deny that's exactly him. However, Regina was an exception to Anthony and she did not believe in it. Perhaps the other side of love is letting go.

Anthony announced that Feline company has paid off its debt so he didn’t need to keep Regina. The day she got in the car and left the mountain mansion, Anthony stood silently watching her through the window in the room. That day, he dismissed all the servants. Anthony hired servants to take care of Regina even though he didn’t like noise and crowds. Now that she's gone, there's no point in keeping them.

It's been three months since the incident happened. Anthony returned to his dangerous everyday life. He did not care about his life, causing his grandfather and uncle to worry and advise him a lot. Every night, Anthony would drive and secretly watch Regina from afar, secretly watching her happy with her predestined fiancée. Anthony watched as Regina's face became more rosy and fuller. Maybe leaving him was a good thing for her. Regina's vitality when she was with her fiancée made Anthony jealous. He wanted to get out of the car and lock her up again so that she would be his own forever. However, Anthony wanted Regina's heart, not her body. Until one day, a wedding card was sent to him.

Anthony escaped from the memory. His hands were restrained from wanting to crumple the card, but Regina's beautiful name made him unable to bear it. One night passed, and Anthony was getting ready to go to his lover's wedding. A bell rang. The name on the phone made him frown.

“… Prepare to go. I'll be there in ten minutes. Don't let him get away," Anthony put the phone in his pocket. He looked over the wedding card and took it.

The butler was already waiting from outside. The butler followed Anthony's grandfather's orders and cared for him from an early age. The things he went through with Regina hurt the butler. Anthony took the card and gave it to the butler.

“You brought her a wedding present for me. I have a business to take care of," Anthony didn't wait for the butler to say a word. He got in his car and sped off to the weapons trading site.