Chapter 35
Antonio grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into his arms.
“Don’t worry, leave it to me, they wouldn’t have affected you.”
Grace looked at his serious profile and suddenly smiled.
“How amazing are you, after all?”
“It naturally had to wait for you to discover it slowly.”
The frost in Antonio’s eyes instantly dissipated, and he smiled tenderly.
Antonio took action, and shortly after, other news broke out, and hardly anyone discussed the dispute between Grace and Drake anymore.
Alden and Drake both received warnings.
It was a warning issued by the government, instructing them not to do anything that could potentially affect Mrs.
Kaufman’s reputation.
Seeing the warning message, both of them had equally dark and gloomy expressions.
Bryce, who was in closed training, also saw the news and knew that Antonio had taken action.
He, however, did nothing but longingly caress the smile on Grace’s face on the phone screensaver.
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It had been a long time since I had seen her.
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He thought that time and distance could cut off his thoughts, but his longing for her grew deeper and deeper.
Countless memories from the past have been replayed in my mind countless times.
But he constantly reminded himself not to go see her.
He couldn’t let her hate him.
Alden and Drake, however, were not willing to give up.
They bought another villa in Crestwood Heights and lived there for several days, waiting for Grace’s return from her honeymoon.
“Grace…”
Alden’s voice was hoarse, his eyes were bloodshot at the corners, and he stared at Grace intently, wanting to deeply imprint her face in his mind.
Drake’s eyes were also the same shade of dark blue, and his complexion was somewhat pale and fragile.
“Grace, I’m sorry.”
“It was our fault. Arianna and her mother have already been dealt with by us, and they are currently at the police station. She has received the punishment she deserved. We have realized our mistake. Can you forgive us?”
Before the last few words could be spoken, Grace quickly interrupted.
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“Could not.”
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“You should have apologized to me in the first place, but I don’t want to forgive you.”
At that moment, Alden and Drake were both unsure of what
to say.
They truly regretted it, but they were extremely helpless.
They have always been unable to deal with her.
Before they could continue to persuade them, Antonio’s men had already surrounded them.
“Mr. Hawthorne, please leave.”
A group of black–clad bodyguards surrounded the two individuals, mercilessly blocking their way.
Alden pushed aside one of the bodyguards and quickly made his way to Grace, his eyes dark and intense.
“Grace, did you fall in love with Antonio? What does that make us from before? When you came to me that day, were you trying to confess your feelings to me? Was that love letter meant for me?”
His voice trembled as he spoke, and he finally asked the question that had been hidden in his heart for a long time.
“I’m telling you now, I was willing to marry you, willing to wait for you to get divorced and come back to me, willing to be your backup option, don’t give up on me, okay?”
The man, who had always been high and mighty, also lowered his head at this moment, begging desperately.
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Grace, however, did not hesitate to lean on Antonio’s chest and firmly said,
“No, that love letter wasn’t for you. I never thought about confessing to you, nor did I want any alternatives. You’re just my brother, Alden. Stop it, I don’t need you anymore.”
“And you, Drake, you are the same. I have already started a new life, and I have started to like Antonio. You should also move forward.”
She said, holding Antonio’s hand, she wanted to leave.
Antonio turned around and gave them a stern warning, then, as he looked at Grace, his eyes were filled with tenderness.
“Grace, it’s too noisy here. How about we move to a different house?”
“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”
Grace had no objections.
This upscale villa area had good security and environment.
The only ones who argued were Alden and Drake.
They looked at Grace’s back in disappointment.
Only do older brothers?
In the past couple of decades, they never entertained this thought.
From the moment they laid eyes on her, they considered her their future wife.
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How can they accept it now?
Didn’t you apologize? Why?
Alden and Drake were filled with loneliness from head to toe.
When Alden returned home, he unintentionally upset Grace, just like he used to do when they were children. As a result, he wrote an apology letter to admit his mistake.
However, the apology letter was written to fill up a whole box and sent to Grace’s new address, but no one signed for it, and it was only returned the same way.
Mr. Hawthorne, who was always busy with countless tasks, had his office filled with numerous apology letters and love letters, but not a single one was accepted.
However, the jewelry called “Arianna” that was once released by the Hawthorne Group has long since quietly been withdrawn, and the related news articles have disappeared
without a trace.
To win back Grace, he continuously released a series of jewelry and various products called “apologies“.
He hoped that one day she would be able to see these and forgive him.
Antonio protected her so well that Alden attempted to encounter her countless times, but not a single time was successful.
He could only apologize in this way.
Drake publicly apologized to Grace directly during the live broadcast and even announced his decision to retire from the
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industry.
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Faced with the concern of his fans, he simply said, “In the past, I chose to enter the entertainment industry because Grace casually mentioned that I was so good–looking that I resembled a star. I hoped to see myself shining on the screen.”
“Now, if the people who used to want me on the screen no longer do, there is no need to continue.”
His retirement from the entertainment industry came suddenly, without leaving any room for farewells to anyone.
Even though countless audience fans expressed great regret, after a while, the popularity also faded away.
He bought a dessert shop near the Kaufman Group and became the manager, just to be able to catch a few more glimpses of her when Grace came to see Antonio.
She didn’t want to see him, so he could only secretly observe everything about her.
That day, Grace passed by this dessert shop and, as usual, ordered a piece of cake and sat in the shop to enjoy it slowly.
The taste was very familiar, just like the one she made, as Drake did.
Every time she came here, she would have this illusion.
But then, she smiled. How could it be possible? If Dra‘ were to appear here, this dessert shop would surely be packed.
After eating the cake, she counted the time to find Antonio.
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But when leaving, a medical examination report was left behind on the table.
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Drake slowly emerged only after she had gone far away, picking up the report sheet and feeling as if her heart had turned to ashes.
“Was she pregnant?”
He smiled bitterly. Originally, he had thought that one day, he would be able to wait until they separated, wait until she forgave him.
However, it seems that there is no longer this opportunity.
Grace smiled and went upstairs to find Antonio. Unable to resist, she directly hugged him from behind and exclaimed with joy, “Antonio! We had a baby!”
As soon as the words fell, Antonio couldn’t contain the joy on his face and tightly hugged her, kissing her forehead.
“Grace, I loved you.”
The two of them embraced tightly, while Bryce, in the corner of the office, held onto a trophy, feeling bitter inside.
He had just come down from the arena and rushed back immediately, wanting to tell her the good news that he had won the championship. However, he did not expect to receive this terrible news.
However, it was already expected, wasn’t it?
Bryce felt a sourness welling up in his heart, but he still placed the trophy on the table and, gritting his teeth, nonchalantly spoke, “Grace, congratulations to you all. This trophy…
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consider it as a gift from me to the children. Goodbye, the coach is looking for me, I have to go first.”
After saying these words, he hastily fled, returning to the club and sitting in front of the computer like a madman, playing games and almost plunging into a state of madness.
After a long time, he sat weakly in the chair, leaving two silent
tears.
“It was time to give up, Bryce.”
“Yes, it was time to give up.”
He murmured.
After that day, when he reached a certain age, he left the club, took over the family business, and competed with Alden.
But in this way, they also limited themselves and Alden from seeking Grace.
There was no way, he could only give up.
