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Chapter 80
e 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 roadside.
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 uncomfortable.
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.
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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 everything 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. 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.
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.
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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.
After Liana passed away, Grace had never heard Antonio mention her again.
It seemed that in his world, Liana was just a passer–by. Once gone, he would forget her completely, let alone cherish the memory of her.
Therefore, seeing Antonio here, a phrase suddenly sprang to Grace’s mind: out of place.
As the extremely self–centered heir of the Kaufman Group, Antonio was like a square peg in a round hole in this remote town and the surrounding cold, bleak atmosphere.
Even the bouquet of flowers in his hand seemed odd.
Under normal circumstances, Grace would have felt calm upon encountering him.
However, seeing him at the grave of her parents, she felt that he was
up to no good, and her guard went up.
Devin, who was beside her, also frowned and quickened his pace slightly to shield Grace behind him.
The three of them confronted each other in front of the tombstone, silently staring at one another.
Antonio didn’t speak until it rained slightly again.
“You brought him here to visit your parents‘ grave?”
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Grace didn’t look at him. Instead, she lowered her head to tidy up the flower paper in her hands.
Meanwhile, she said in a flat voice, “Is there any problem with a son–in–law paying respects to his parents–in–law?”
“No problem at all!”
Antonio gritted his teeth, and a trace of displeasure flickered over his face.
Grace didn’t care about his current mood and went straight to the point.
“What brings you here, Mr. Kaufman?”
Antonio glanced at her and leaned down to place the flowers in his hand in front of the tombstone.
Then he said in a deep voice, “Mrs. Parrish worked for our Kaufman family for over thirty years, so I came to pay my respects to an acquaintance.”
“Thank you.”
In fact, Grace didn’t believe that a man like Antonio, who had never done anything without benefit, would specially visit Liana’s grave three years after her death.
She was sure that he was up to something, and she did not want to fall into his trap. Therefore, she simply thanked him and ignored him directly, turning with Devin to look at the
tombstone.
The two focused on paying their respects at the gravé, acting as if Antonio didn’t exist.
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At first, Antonio could still endure it. However, when he realized that they had entirely ignored him, a feeling of irritation rose within him, and he couldn’t help but break the solemn silence.
“I still remember Mrs. Parrish’s last words about asking me to take care of you. I didn’t expect that just after three years, you would move away. If she knew about this from above, who knows what she would feel.”
His meaningful words did not receive any response.
Devin and Grace, as if they hadn’t heard it, devoutly bowed to the tomb.
After cleaning the tombstone and putting down all the offerings, Devin helped Grace slowly stand up.
As the rain grew heavier, the two quietly turned and walked down the hill.
Being left behind and watching their departure, Antonio was so angry that even his face contorted.
He strode forward and caught up to them at the cemetery gate.
Then he grabbed Grace’s arm and asked in an angry voice, “Are you ignoring me?”
Grace stopped and side–eyed the hand on her arm.
Then she said in a cold voice, “Making a scene at my mother’s grave on the anniversary of her death, Antonio Kaufman, do you think it’s funny?”
They had known each other for so many years, and this was the first time Antonio had heard her say his full name.
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In the past, whether as a maid during their school years or as his assistant later, Grace had always addressed Antonio as “Mr. Kaufman.”
No matter when, where, or under what circumstances, this title of address always carried with it a sense of forbearance and respect.
However, this time, Antonio couldn’t help but shiver at the sound of her calling his full name in such a cold voice.
Devin stepped forward and patted away Antonio’s hand. Then he embraced Grace and quickly led her to the car.
Amidst the rain and the sound of the car engine, they headed towards downtown.
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