Chapter 21
The late autumn rain soaked Antonio’s face and seeped through his collar and cuffs.
He stood there, rooted to the spot, watching the car disappear from his sight.
Before long, another car pulled up. Morton, umbrella in hand, rushed over to shield Antonio from the rain.
Antonio raised his head and glanced around, his thin lips pressed tightly together. Then he headed towards the road- side.
Inside the car, the heater blew warm air in his face, gradually dispelling the chill from his body.
His rain-drenched clothes, however, still clung to his skin. They were damp and sticky, making him extremely un- comfortable.
Morton took out a set of clean clothes from the trunk, but Antonio didn’t even look at them. He just kept a straight face as he ordered the driver to start the car.
All the way, there was only the sound of breathing inside the car.
As they reached downtown, the streets grew busy. The driver braced himself to ask where they were going next.
However, after a long time, he still got no response from Antonio. He could only slow down the car and keep driving forward.
When even Morton was in a cold sweat, Antonio finally spoke, “Hotel.”
His two subordinates finally let out a long sigh of relief. Upon reaching the hotel, they escorted him to his room and then left as quickly as possible.
Antonio was left alone in the room.
He leaned against the sofa in his wet clothes, yanked off his tie, and tossed it carelessly to the floor. He then pressed the space between his eyebrows, but it did nothing to calm the turmoil in his mind.
Ever since their last encounter at the restaurant, for some reason, Antonio had begun to feel dissatisfied with every- thing he had done.
From the trivial, like his daily coffee and meeting minutes, to the big, like socializing during contract negotiations and preparing the banquet of the Kaufman family, he just didn’t feel right.
People came and went around him, but Antonio just felt that there was no one to compare with Grace.
In addition to the inconveniences in his life and work, she also frequently appeared in his dreams at night.
Sometimes Antonio dreamed of the replays of their past, and at other times of some absurd and fantastic adventures.
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In every dream, Grace was there, silently following behind him and calling him Mr. Kaufman.
There were also dreams he couldn’t bring himself to speak of, where Grace didn’t call him that way.
Sometimes she called him Antonio, and other times she called him Darling.
In those dreams, they were husband and wife.
Grace would act like a typical wife, helping him tie in the morning and giving him a parting kiss before he left for work. When he had a break in his work, she would send him numerous amusing stories and gossip. When he returned home in the evening, a hot meal would be waiting. She would take his coat and sit arm-in-arm with him at the dinner
table.
Each time he woke up from those dreams, Antonio would lie in bed for a long time, recalling every detail.
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Perhaps because he had such dreams too often, sometimes he would zone out and start to imagine his future married life.
For the crucial role of his wife, he would first envision a variety of appearances and personalities before beginning to choose the right one.
However, regardless of the process, the final image would inexplicably resemble Grace.
At first, Antonio thought it was because she had been by his side for so long that her sudden departure caused him a sense of loss.
However, as time passed, this feeling only intensified. He finally realized it wasn’t that he couldn’t forget Grace. The truth was, he didn’t want to forget her.
Deep down in his heart, Antonio had been yearning for her to come back and stay by his side.
He longed for her to be his wife, instead of being Devin’s wife.
Though Antonio had realized his true feelings for Grace, he didn’t know what to do.
The reason was that Grace had truly married Devin, not him.
Countless times, driven by impulse, he had rushed to the neighborhood of the Hudson’s villa to find Grace. However, mostly, he could not even catch a glimpse of her. Other times, he would see Devin by her side.
He had been waiting for ages, never finding an opportunity to see her alone.
Until one day, Antonio overheard Zander mutter that the anniversary of Liana’s death was coming. An idea struck
him.
The day before the anniversary, Antonio took a flight and arrived in Millgrad before Grace.
He had heard that Devin was busy with a business project in Daywich and assumed that he wouldn’t be able to spare any time to go back with Grace. Therefore, Antonio went to the cemetery first.
However, to his surprise, Devin showed up anyway.
Overwhelmed by anger, Antonio upset Grace once more.
He lost the chance to have a proper conversation with her.