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Chapter 26
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Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 27
Anathea felt as if her heart might burst from anxiety. She was shivering, though she didn't know if it was because of the cold. The next second, Gregory wordlessly tossed the towel on her, then grabbed his clothes and headed straight for the bathroom.It wasn't until the bathroom door clicked shut that Anathea snapped out of her daze. She let out a breath of relief. Wrapping the towel around herself, she stood up slowly and changed into her pajamas.The sound of running water from the bathroom prompted her to glance at the tightly shut door. Indecipherable emotions flickered in her eyes. Was Gregory planning to stay the night?She didn't dwell on it. It didn't matter where he slept. It had nothing to do with her.Anathea used to wait for him in their bedroom and greet him at the door when he arrived home. She'd take the jacket he shrugged off and hug it close, then run him a bath. Doing all of that had given her a sense of belonging and reaffirmed her role as Gregory's wife.But
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 28
Anathea didn't want to lose any more family than she already had. Having made her decision, she closed her eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.When she woke up the next morning, Gregory had already left. She paid no mind to it and got out of bed to wash up. She thought he'd left for work, but when she went downstairs, she saw him slowly eating breakfast at the dining table."Good morning, Nat. Come here and have breakfast," Brisa said as she beckoned Anathea over with a wave. She then turned to Gregory and said, "Your wife's here."Upon hearing this, Gregory gave Anathea a cursory glance and returned to reviewing the company's finances. Anathea brushed off his cold indifference; she was already used to it. However, Brisa took offense to his attitude and snapped, "What's the matter with you, you punk? All you ever do is work, work, and work! What, is the company going to collapse without you?"Gregory made no retort and simply listened while Brisa nagged. When she took a break i
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 29
Anathea's face darkened. When Natalie spotted her, she stopped fixing Gregory's tie and greeted her with mild amusement. "Ms. Jacobson."Gregory turned around when he heard her and clenched his jaw. "What are you doing here?"He sounded displeased that Anathea had come and ruined things for him and Natalie. Snorting, Anathea handed him the folder and said expressionlessly, "You forgot your documents. Grandma had me bring them to you."Gregory made no reply and reached for the folder, waiting for Anathea to shove it into his hand. However, she turned and handed the folder to Martin instead. She smiled and said, "Thanks for your hard work, Martin."Martin blinked in bewilderment, though he took the folder without question. "All in a day's work, Mrs. Sinclair. Would you like a ride back to the city?""No, thank you. I can drive myself," Anathea answered. She then spun on her heels and returned to the house without sparing Gregory another glance.Martin was puzzled as he watched An
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 30
Anathea lowered her gaze. Of course she remembered Evangeline's dream. When Evangeline had first approached her with the grand idea, she'd insisted that Anathea jump on the bandwagon, claiming the idea wouldn't work without a bona fide genius like her.It had been five years since they'd had that conversation, and Anathea had forgotten the details. Even her passion for floral designing had been overtaken by her love for Gregory and Xander. In the end, she'd been left dreamless and scarred.There were times when she desperately wanted to break off her shackles and be free to do what she wanted. "Am I really qualified?"Unfortunately, she spiraled into self-doubt. She took out her résumé and scanned past the awards she'd won five years ago, her gaze landing on the blank space that should have been filled with her working experiences. She confessed, "There's a five-year gap in my working experience."Anathea had to admit that she'd been stuck in the same place for five years while
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 31
Evangeline gave Anathea a tour of the studio. It wasn't too far away from the Sinclair residence. It would take Anathea just over ten minutes to get to work by car."Everyone," Evangeline announced as she led Anathea to the center of the studio bullpen, clapping her hands twice to get her employees' attention. "This is our new floral designer. She'll be working with you from now on!"Anathea smiled courteously and nodded once in greeting. "I'm Anathea Jacobson. I'm glad to be part of your team, and I look forward to working with you all."Her introduction was met with wholehearted applause."Nice one, Ms. Holstrom! Where did you find such a delicate doll of a floral designer?" someone praised."She's my junior," Evangeline explained, wrapping an arm around Anathea as if showing her off. "Bet you're jealous, huh?""More like very jealous!"Another person piped up happily, "Knowing I'll have a babe for a colleague makes me want to show up to work every day!"A blush crept over An
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 32
For the last few days, Anathea had been getting up early to go to work and hadn't returned until late into the evening. Xander had gone to bed without bedtime stories during her absence, and he was starting to feel neglected, which explained his sudden needy behavior toward Anathea.However, Anathea gently nudged him away and said, "Start dinner without me, Xander. I need to take care of something."Anathea had just received a customer's order details for a floral arrangement. She needed to pick out the materials to complement the venue of choice and come up with a design proposal.Xander froze. He'd heard Gregory humor him with the same excuse plenty of times whenever he went into Gregory's study. "I need to take care of something," the man would say impassively."Mom…" Xander pouted, looking like an abandoned puppy. "It's been so long since you spent time with me. Can't you have dinner with me tonight?"Anathea grew exasperated when she saw the tears in Xander's eyes. He looked
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 33
For a moment, the air went still, and the tension at the dining table thickened. Most of it came from Gregory, though it lasted only a few seconds before he returned to eating his dinner in silence.Xander blinked and wondered if he'd said something wrong.Natalie was the first to break the silence, sounding baffled as she mused, "I didn't think you'd find a job, Ms. Jacobson. Are you…worried that the Sinclairs can't provide for you?"Anathea heard the provocation in Natalie's words, yet smiled and said, "Yes."Even if the Sinclairs gave her 100 thousand dollars every month, it would take her two and a half years to come up with the money for Fiona's surgery. But Anathea didn't feel like bringing this up.Natalie was surprised by Anathea's frankness. She went still at first but quickly regained her composure. She gave Gregory a subtle look and said, "I'm assuming you haven't told Greg about your new job, Ms. Jacobson."Anathea didn't think telling Gregory about her new job was ne
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 34
Anathea's brows furrowed at Gregory's tone. He hadn't been all that surprised or angry when he first learned about her recent employment, so why was he getting so worked up now? It was as if he'd turned into a different person entirely.He stared at her intently as if he could see through her and continued darkly, "Or is this another one of your dirty tricks?"Anathea was used to hearing his accusations, and she wasn't in the mood to explain herself. She raised a hand and shoved him away. "It's none of your business. If you're done throwing a fit, Mr. Sinclair, I suggest you leave.""Why should I leave? This is my room, after all," Gregory countered, his gaze growing more suspicious as he assessed her. "I presume you're in a hurry to get rid of me because you're hiding some big, dark secret."Anathea didn't, and she had no desire to understand the inner workings of Gregory's twisted mind. But at that moment, her phone chimed with a new message. Gregory snatched it out of her hand
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Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 160
"Speed up," Gregory said suddenly.Dexter flinched in surprise and glanced uneasily at the current speed. It was already close to 60 miles per hour."Speed up!" Gregory ordered again."Yes, sir!" Dexter's heart skipped a beat as he pressed down harder on the gas.What was originally a 30-minute drive was cut down to 15.By the time Dexter finally brought the car to a stop, his facial muscles were twitching, and his right foot wouldn't stop shaking.Cyrus looked surprised when he saw Gregory. "Mr. Sinclair?"Gregory rarely came back this early.Gregory stepped out and slammed the car door shut behind him with a loud bang. His heavy footsteps echoed as he strode into the house."When was the last time Anathea came back here?" he asked."About a week ago. She hasn't returned since the day she left." Cyrus was confused. "Is something wrong?"Something was very wrong.That meant ever since that night Anathea had walked out, she hadn't come back. If it hadn't been for that whole
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 159
As Gregory watched Xander's face scrunch up in distress, he was at a loss.Because of his busy work schedule, he rarely had time to spend with Xander. To him, Xander was just someone he was connected to by blood. There wasn't much emotional attachment beyond that.As the CEO of Sinclair Group, Gregory could handle major projects and manage relationships with shareholders and directors with ease, but he had no idea how to handle a crying child. Right now, watching Xander cry so hard, he didn't know what to do.Xander continued sobbing while repeating, "I want Mom! I want Mom! Did I make her angry? Is that why she doesn't want me anymore?"Gregory's head was pounding from the sound of Xander's crying. He glanced at his phone and saw that Anathea still hadn't responded to his message.What was going on with her?A cold anger formed at the edges of Gregory's brow.Could Anathea really be so heartless that she didn't care about Xander at all? If she didn't care about Xander, did that
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 158
Gregory's expression darkened in an instant. He quickly stood up and called the family doctor, Mateo Nielsen, to head over to Xander's location.When they arrived at Natalie's house, they found Xander collapsed on the floor. His face was flushed bright red."Xander!" Gregory rushed forward and lifted him into his arms. When he checked Xander's forehead, he found it burning hot.Xander had a fever."Dad…" Xander weakly opened his eyes. His throat felt like it was on fire, and his whole body ached.Usually, when he felt like this, Anathea would be by his side. She would stay up all night to care for him and check his temperature again and again.He suddenly missed her. "Where's Mom? I want… Mom…"Gregory didn't respond. Instead, he handed Xander over to Mateo, who quickly started checking his temperature and running tests."Mr. Xander has been eating too much unhealthy food lately, which caused an infection and triggered this high fever," Mateo explained. He gave Xander an inject
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 157
Every year on their wedding anniversary, Anathea would cook an entire feast by hand, bake a cake, and wait for him to come home.She'd been a devoted wife, always doing her part to hold the marriage together. That was proof of just how much she cherished it.Gregory's eyes lingered on Anathea's WhatsApp profile picture. It had been taken five years ago on their wedding day by a staff photographer.She was sitting in front of the wedding cake in her wedding dress. With her eyes gently closed, she clasped her hands together as she made a wish.His finger brushed lightly across her serene profile on the screen, as if he could sense the joy she'd been feeling in that moment.He couldn't help but wonder what Anathea had wished for that day. Probably a long, happy marriage with him. Yet they didn't even have a single wedding photo together.Gregory pressed his lips into a thin line.When Anathea prepared all those things on every anniversary, she must've been hoping he'd make even the
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 156
Gregory rubbed his temple.Only now did he realize just how ridiculous and irrational his actions had been. Everything he'd done was completely unlike him. But why?He couldn't make sense of it.As Adrian studied the flicker of emotions on his face, a glint of mischief lit up his eyes. Smiling, he asked, "Greg, wanna guess what I just saw in you?""What?" Gregory frowned. He had a feeling this wasn't going to be anything good.Just as he expected, Adrian said, "A jealous husband. That's what I saw."His words were like a stone tossed into a seemingly calm lake—one that had long been churning beneath the surface. At once, wave after wave stirred in the silence of Gregory's chest.He froze.A jealous husband? Was he jealous over Anathea?The realization hit him like a jolt.As Adrian watched him, he'd already pieced things together in his mind. Gregory's feelings for Anathea weren't just about possessiveness. He likely had had feelings for her for a while now, though he had
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 155
Gregory paused for a moment at Adrian's words. He tightened his grip on his phone and replied coldly, "I'm coming over now."In the garage, the silver-black Maybach gleamed under the lights."Who would've thought this car would end up rear-ending someone like that?" Adrian clicked his tongue. "I remember your driving skills were always top-notch. How could you crash this badly?"Gregory didn't answer, but Adrian didn't need him to. He quickly accessed the Maybach's dashcam footage and saw the scene from the accident."My God, you actually did it on purpose?" Adrian exclaimed. "Greg, you've got quite the temper!"Gregory pressed his lips together. His tone was laced with displeasure as he asked, "You called me here just to show me this?""Of course not." Adrian chuckled. "Let's see what really pushed the usually unflappable Mr. Sinclair to lose control."As he said that, he pushed the laptop toward Gregory and hit the play button.The video showed Anathea and Thomas maintaining
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 154
Gregory liked resilient and tough women, didn't he?As she talked, Natalie casually brought up the "Modern Tranquility" exhibition. "With Ms. Langley's piece anchoring the show, it was a huge success. Looks like it didn't make a difference whether Ms. Jacobson's work was there or not."She said it lightly, but her words were deliberate. The implication was clear—Anathea was replaceable.In reality, once Anathea's work had been taken out, attendance for the exhibition had dropped by nearly half. But Natalie only paid attention to the high-profile guests. Ordinary people didn't count in her eyes.Gregory didn't respond. He remembered agreeing to remove Anathea's piece. He could still recall the look in her eyes back then—stubborn, but faintly pleading. And he'd ignored it.He pressed his lips into a firm line.Natalie tried to continue the conversation, but Gregory leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed. He was clearly no longer interested in talking.Seeing this, Natalie fe
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 153
Compared to Theo's agitation, Gregory remained calm. "So? What's the issue? Isn't this exactly what all of you have been pushing for?"Theo was caught off guard.That was true. Both he and Eleanor had repeatedly urged Gregory to divorce Anathea and marry Natalie. But now that Gregory had agreed to take Natalie to the party, Theo had turned around and asked if he even knew the real purpose.It was a little contradictory."I…" Theo opened his mouth but couldn't find the words. Still, uncertainty lingered in his voice as he asked, "Have you… really moved on?""Yeah." A flicker of something unreadable passed through Gregory's eyes.Noticing no hesitation in Gregory's response, Theo assumed he was finally getting things back on track. After a reassuring pat on his shoulder, Theo took a seat when Eleanor called them to eat.Natalie was thrilled that Gregory had agreed to attend the party with her. It was as good as acknowledging her as his wife.Delighted, she took the initiative to
Why the Crocodile Tears? Chapter 152
"I asked him to come. It's been a while since we've all had a meal together, and I thought it would be nice to catch up. It's not too much to ask, is it?" Eleanor said, glancing over at Gregory.Gregory's expression stayed neutral. He walked up to her and greeted softly, "Hi, Mom."Eleanor nodded, a faint smile tugging at her lips.The harmony they displayed in front of others was in sharp contrast to the tension in the car the other night. It was almost jarring.But neither of them seemed to mind. They wore the masks of a devoted son and a kind mother without missing a beat."Greg, take a look. What do you think of Nat's work?" Eleanor asked.Natalie looked up at him with eyes full of hope. She didn't care what the others said. She only cared about what Gregory thought.Gregory merely glanced over briefly and muttered, "It's fine."The same piece everyone else had raved about got a measly "it's fine" from Gregory. Eleanor's smile froze, and Blake looked just as uncomfortable.
