Chapter 153 Related to Him
But in an instant, Anthony's expression returned to normal, and he smiled somewhat bitterly. "Arabella, I know I did foolish things and hurt your heart, but I'm truly sincere about wanting to get back together with you now. Your reaction really breaks my heart."
Arabella didn't look at him anymore, only saying to Percy, "Dad, I've already remarried. It's impossible for me to get back together with him. Absolutely impossible."
Percy seemed relieved and nodded. "I understand."
Anthony frowned slightly. "Dad, everything I told you before was true. Arabella is being deceived right now—I'm the one who loves her most."
"What did you tell my dad?" Arabella had zero good feelings toward Anthony now. Hearing this, she instinctively knew he couldn't have said anything good.
Anthony looked at her with apparent helplessness and sighed. "You married Alexander, and if you two truly loved each other, that would be one thing. But that man is clearly gay. You two have a marriage of convenience—am I right?"
Arabella's heart jolted. She'd never mentioned this to anyone except her two close friends, Philip and Daisy. But Philip and Daisy would absolutely never betray her. Where had Anthony heard this news?
"Arabella," Anthony grabbed her hand, looking deeply devoted. "I only want your happiness, but from what I can see now, only I can give you that happiness."
Arabella looked at the hand holding hers. That palm that had once been dry and warm now only made her feel disgusted. She broke free without hesitation and said expressionlessly, "Anthony, enough. Wasn't what I told you before clear enough? There's no possibility between us anymore."
Anthony said, "Is it because of Cassidy? You don't need to worry—I've already divorced her. From now on, I'll only love you. Arabella, please give me another chance."
Arabella stared at him steadily. "Anthony, you're not welcome in my home."
That one sentence made her attitude clear.
A flash of hurt crossed Anthony's eyes, and his face showed pain as he nodded. He sighed, "I know I hurt you deeply. I can understand why you won't turn back, but I'll make you see that this time, I truly want to spend the rest of my life with you."
After speaking, he nodded to Percy. "Dad, Arabella rarely comes back to visit. Don't let me ruin your time together. I'll leave first."
He turned to go, even greeting Marilyn as he passed through the kitchen.
Marilyn quickly followed him out. "Anthony, stay for dinner! I made several dishes! Anthony!"
Anthony's figure disappeared outside the door. Marilyn sighed and turned back to look at Arabella and Percy disapprovingly. "If you ask me, keeping up this attitude isn't right. Someone of Anthony's status, humbling himself like this..."
Arabella cut her off. "Marilyn, this is my business."
Her voice was quiet, but times had changed. Thinking of her position in this household, Marilyn swallowed her words and returned to the kitchen to cook.
Percy looked at his daughter with concern. "Arabella, if you don't want to get back together with him, you'd better make it clear. He's been coming around very frequently lately. You can't hit a smiling person, and I can't very well throw him out."
Arabella nodded. "Dad, I understand."
Percy felt confident about his daughter. He trusted her upbringing—she wouldn't deliberately string Anthony along. Her attitude clearly left no room whatsoever.
Arabella left after dinner. The moment she stepped out of her father's place, her smile dropped and her brow furrowed with worry.
From Anthony's behavior, he didn't seem like someone who would listen to reason. She'd told him repeatedly in no uncertain terms, but he still wouldn't give up. If he really started blocking her path every few days, or even did something more extreme, what should she do?
Call the police? In Majestic City, no one could touch Anthony. She knew better than anyone how much money Anthony spent each year maintaining those relationships.
While she was thinking, a figure suddenly appeared ahead of her.
Arabella stopped abruptly, staring at the person in shock. "You didn't leave?"
Anthony smiled slightly, adjusting the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. He casually dropped the cigarette he'd been holding and slowly crushed it underfoot.
As if he'd been waiting for her all along, smoking out of boredom, and now that she'd arrived, there was no need to continue.
Seeing Arabella take a step back, he stepped forward and said gently, "I was waiting for you."
Hearing such words now made Arabella instinctively feel disgusted. "What are you waiting for me for?"
"It's been so long since I've seen you," Anthony raised his hand, barely touching her face as he stroked it, looking deeply devoted. "Arabella, I've missed you so much."
Arabella's face turned cold. "Anthony, don't you understand human speech? I told you—we're divorced. I have no lingering feelings for you whatsoever. I love my current husband. I hope you'll stop disturbing my life."
Anthony raised an eyebrow and showed a meaningful smile. "Oh? Is that so? A marriage of convenience counts as love? He doesn't even like women—will he cherish you? Can he satisfy you in bed..."
Before he could finish, Arabella slapped him!
Anthony's eyes turned cold as he stared at her like a venomous snake. "Do you know what you're doing?"
Arabella's hand was trembling. From anger, her whole body was shaking slightly too. She glared coldly at Anthony. "Don't use your shameless thoughts to insult me and him!"
Anthony laughed mockingly. He rubbed the red swelling on his face. "You hit pretty hard."
Then he looked up, watching Arabella with amusement. "Fine, let's not mention that—after all, you're not someone who can't accept Platonic spiritual love. I'll just ask you this: do you know what kind of person you're defending? You don't even know who he really is, yet you love him?"
Arabella looked at him coldly. "I know him better than you do!"
Anthony let out a soft "heh," looking at her meaningfully. "Haven't you ever wondered why it was so coincidental that he appeared by your side right after you divorced me? When you were helpless, he showed up like a savior to support you—that's because all the misfortunes you suffered were caused by him!"
Arabella paused, staring at Anthony. "What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what I said. The car accident your parents suffered was because of him. Your mother's death, your father's paralysis—he caused all of it." Anthony looked at her and smiled coldly. "Do you still think he's your true love now?"
He stepped forward and grabbed Arabella's shoulders, looking down at her seriously. "Arabella, only I truly love you. I'll never hurt you. Come back to me—we can be just like before, okay?"
Arabella frowned and pushed him away forcefully. "Anthony, are you crazy? Have you forgotten what you said when we divorced?"
"I was blinded by Cassidy then! I thought I loved her, but I was wrong!" Anthony looked at her urgently, as if trying to prove something. "Arabella, give me another chance. I'll make you happy! I'm more suitable for you than that scheming man!"
"You think I'd believe your lies?" Arabella frowned at him. Even now, she remained very calm, looking at Anthony as if he were a stranger. "You came here to tell me these things just to drive a wedge between us. Alex is different from you—he's a kind person. He wouldn't do such things!"
Hearing Arabella praise Alexander, Anthony's face darkened and turned cold. "Alex? Calling him so intimately... heh, if I didn't have evidence, would I tell you this? When the accident happened, the hit-and-run driver fled, but that truck was registered under Alexander's name! Here's the registration—see for yourself!"
He pulled out a registration document and handed it over.
Arabella took it, originally just glancing at it casually. She wouldn't believe a single word Anthony said, but when she saw Alexander's name appearing after that familiar license plate number, she froze!
How... how was this possible?
"You forged this." After a long moment, she looked up at Anthony. "I don't believe this document, even if you had it notarized."
Anthony stared at her. "You trust him that much? No doubt at all? I can guarantee that not a single word I've said is false, and the registration is real too."
Arabella's lips curved mockingly. "I know him."
After saying this, she turned and walked away.
She'd been worried Anthony would stop her, but unexpectedly, he didn't interfere—just quietly watched her leave.
Only after Arabella's figure disappeared at the street corner did he slowly raise his hand and tear that registration document to shreds.
That thing was forged by him, of course.
He'd thought that planting such a seed of doubt would break them up no matter what, but unexpectedly, Arabella didn't believe it at all.
She trusted that man to this extent?
A homosexual who couldn't even count as a real man, yet she'd rather be with someone like that than choose him.
Thinking of this, Anthony's expression grew terribly dark.
Recently, he'd suddenly noticed more people around him. At first, he hadn't been aware of it, but his personal bodyguards had confirmed it and told him. Just the people watching him from the shadows numbered no fewer than six.
He wasn't sure who had sent these people. Originally he'd thought it was the Green family, but after testing them, he'd dismissed his suspicions about the Green family. Besides, the Green family had no need to monitor him.
Other than the Green family, he couldn't think of anyone else who would dare monitor him so brazenly.
Later, he'd thought of Blake, the lawyer behind Alexander.
Blake's background was mysterious, but for a lawyer to have such significant international influence at such a young age, his background was definitely extraordinary.
Thinking about how every time he'd tried to pursue Arabella recently, something would inexplicably happen, he suspected Alexander had asked Blake to create obstacles for him.
So he'd investigated Alexander and Blake in return.
Though he still hadn't found anything concrete, he'd unexpectedly heard a piece of news. Alexander was gay, and he and Blake were actually a couple. Arabella was just their cover.
He'd thought that pointing this out to Arabella would make her furious, and combined with his lie that Alexander was the culprit behind her parents' car accident, she would definitely turn to him.
But he never expected that even using so many tactics, she still wouldn't turn back.
Was that man really so wonderful?
Anthony stood there for a long time, then left in frustration.
---
Arabella actually wasn't as calm as she appeared on the surface.
The car accident from three and a half years ago was her eternal pain—one accident that destroyed her family. She'd long since categorized that car accident as an accident, just something her parents happened to encounter. She'd spent a long time convincing herself to believe it was just her parents' fate.
But Anthony had suddenly brought her this news.
Reason told her she couldn't believe a single word Anthony said, but... her heart still harbored a trace of doubt.
When she got home, Alexander was helping Becky with homework. Seeing her, he said happily, "She got all one hundred and twenty math competition problems right. I think she has real potential in mathematics."
Arabella paused, also happy for Becky. "Should I sign her up for a math competition class?"
Alexander said, "I'll arrange it."
Arabella nodded. "Okay, just let me know when it's time to pay the fees—we'll split it fifty-fifty."
Alexander just smiled without speaking.
He looked down at Becky. "You did well on your homework today. Get some rest early."
Becky nodded obediently.
Alexander got up and came out, closing Becky's bedroom door, then looked at Arabella sitting silently on the sofa.
"What happened?" He poured her a glass of water and handed it to her while asking.
Arabella took the glass and forced a smile. "Nothing."
"Something clearly happened." Alexander sat beside her, gripping her shoulders to make her face him. "You've been gloomy ever since you got back, smiling worse than crying. Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Arabella hadn't expected him to see through her act and didn't know how she felt.
Seeing her silence, Alexander could only back down. "If you don't want to talk about it..."
But Arabella spoke up then. "Anthony came to see me..."
"He still hasn't given up?" Alexander's brow immediately furrowed.
"Right, he said..." Arabella hesitated repeatedly but finally decided to speak. "He said the car accident my parents suffered back then was related to you, that the hit-and-run truck was registered under your name..."
Alexander's eyes immediately turned cold. "He's got some nerve."
But he instantly realized Arabella's off mood since earlier and immediately stopped worrying about Anthony's pettiness, becoming anxious instead. "You don't believe him, do you? I only returned to Majestic City this year. Before that, I couldn't get away from my previous job, so I couldn't possibly be related to the car accident. Besides, my business... I've never bought a truck."
Hearing his words, Arabella felt strangely much more relaxed. She didn't know why—rationally, she'd known Anthony was lying, but she'd wanted to hear him deny it personally. Hearing his denial, her whole heart settled.
Seeing no strange expression on her face, Alexander also relaxed. He spent more time talking with her, the main theme being that Anthony was unreliable and she shouldn't be fooled by him again. By the end, Arabella couldn't help laughing.
She looked seriously at Alexander and promised, "Alex, I trust you."
Alexander's heart stirred. She was tilting her head, looking at him earnestly, those beautiful eyes filled with complete trust.
No man in this world could withstand such a look from the woman he loved.
Alexander's breathing became unsteady for a moment. His tenderness toward her, his deep hidden devotion—in this moment, all transformed into a roaring impulse that took control of his entire body.
He couldn't help raising his hand, his strong arms pulling her tightly into his embrace.
His expression was solemn, like making a promise. "Arabella, I will always be worthy of your trust. You can always believe that I will never hurt you."
In this moment, Arabella even forgot how to react. Her head was pressed against his shoulder, her eyes wide open, filled with shock and disbelief!