Part 100

"Those two women were the answer to my mother's prayers," she said, anger flaring in her voice.

Antony was taken aback. "No, darling. Your mother's prayers will never be answered like that."

"Alright, they did come with certain intentions. But can't you see me? To me, they are nobody. In my eyes, in my heart, in my mind, there is only Claire, Claire, and Claire. There's no other woman." Antony coaxed her in a soothing tone.

Claire couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Don't sweet-talk me," she replied with a hint of amusement.

Antony shook his head. He stepped closer to his wife. Claire still had her arms crossed over her chest, and to maintain some distance from him, she leaned her body back.

"I'm not sweet-talking you, darling. I'm speaking the truth. If only there were experts who could read my mind and heart, you could ask them. I'm sure they would tell you the truth. And if they lied, I would bribe them to say what I want them to say," Antony said again.

Claire rolled her eyes. Antony then extended both of his hands and cupped her face. "Why did you leave?" he asked, wanting to know.

"I just felt tired," Claire replied candidly. Her arms had dropped from their crossed position and were now gripping the sides of Antony's shirt tightly. "I'm scared," she added. Her eyes began to well up with tears. Claire wanted to hide it, but Antony wouldn't let her.

"Scared of what?"

"I'm scared of losing everything in an instant." She confessed, her gaze unwavering. "My happiness suddenly vanished with Anastasia's arrival and what she whispered in my ear afterward," she answered honestly.

"What did she say to you?" Antony asked.

He was shocked, not expecting to hear his wife say that Anastasia had said something to her without his knowledge.

"She said that woman is your ex-wife, Flavia's mother. Just with those two sentences, all the worst thoughts came flooding in," she admitted softly. "What if Flavia ends up preferring her over me? What if you become uncertain and return to your old love? And what if what my mother said turns out to be true, that she'll be a thorn in our marriage?" She looked back at Antony, fear unmasked in her eyes. "And then I started thinking of other things," she said challengingly.

"What is it?" Antony asked again, eager to know.

Claire shrugged. "I'm in control of myself. If you really want to go back to her, I'll let you go. There are plenty of other men out there who could become my husband," Claire replied flatly, causing Antony to tense up immediately.

"That's not going to happen. I won't allow anyone to take my place as your husband."

Claire shrugged again. "There are still others," she answered, her tone still flat.

"What others?" Antony pressed on.

"If you waver and think about going back to her, even a little bit of that feeling I get from you, then I swear I won't give myself to you at all. You won't be able to touch me, not even a little. Not once will I give you your rights until you erase that woman from your mind."

Antony smiled. "But I can touch you," he said, his thumb gently stroking Claire's cheek. "Does that mean you're sure that woman is not in my thoughts and heart at all?" Antony asked, wanting to know.

Antony leaned in closer, bringing the lower part of his body toward Claire so she would know how much he needed her. Claire's eyes widened. But Antony laughed.

It wasn't that Claire didn't know what the man wanted from her; she just wasn't going to give in that easily.

Claire then brushed Antony's hand away from her face and pushed him back.

"Claire..." the man whispered.

"No, Sir. It's not that easy," Claire replied sharply. "What resolution did you finally reach with them?" she asked, wanting to know.

Antony shrugged again. "Just a little threat, which will become a reality sooner or later because they've already bothered me," he answered honestly. Claire narrowed her eyes as she looked at Antony.

"And what about Flavia? What about her mother? What are you going to do about them?" she pressed on.

Antony shook his head. "My mother will handle that. I won't expose my daughter to a woman who doesn't even acknowledge her existence," he said, his tone turning sad.

Deep down, Antony truly felt guilty. And that feeling resurfaced now, the guilt he felt for his daughter, Flavia. Guilt for the years he had allowed her to live without his love simply because of his ego.

Claire moved closer, cupping the man's face with her hands.

"Why?" she asked, wanting to know.

Antony captured her hands with his. A sad smile appeared on his face. "I just feel regret," he confessed softly. "A child cannot choose what kind of parents they are born to. And Flavia, she suffers alone because she has parents like me and her mother.

"That girl is suffering alone without the love and hugs of a mother or the protection of a father. I truly regret it now. And seeing that woman makes me feel even more guilty toward Flavia."

"I wish I could turn back time." He continued softly.

Claire tried to stroke that face to calm her down. "Flavia will know, in time, that you love her too." She said soothingly.

"And she will also know that I can give her a mother who can love her. Even if that mother is not the woman who gave birth to her." Antony said solemnly to Claire.

Claire smiled, a single tear trickling down the corner of her eye.

My God, was it wrong of her to love that father and son pair? She asked herself silently.

"Do you forgive me?" Antony asked hopefully.

"I was never angry with you" Claire replied embarrassed. Antony wrinkled his forehead looking at Claire confused. "I was angry with myself, but I took it out on you." He continued. "I loved you guys too much, and I was afraid of losing you. That's why I was overreacting and being childish."

A happy smile returned to Antony's face. He quickly hugged Claire tightly and hid his face in the crook of her neck.

"I love you very much too. More than I love myself." The man said earnestly.

Claire also grabbed the man's body and hugged him tightly. "Don't ever look at any woman. Don't even think about it." Claire threatened.

Antony chuckled with his body still hugging the girl tightly. "I swear, Cara Mia. I will never look away. Let alone mentioning another woman's name, not even imagining it." He said solemnly.

Claire made space for her embrace. She raised her head and looked at Antony with a puzzled look. "Who is Cara Mia?" he asked curiously.

Antony then laughed. "Cara Mia, it means my dear. My darling is you, my wife."

"Alright, I'll take that call." Claire replied and Antony smiled. He took her body in his arms again.

"Alright, Cara Mia. My darling, my love, my beloved, my Claire." He said with a heavy heart. "Forgive this husband of yours for hurting you on our wedding day. I hope this will never happen again in the future." In Antony's arms, Claire nodded as she muttered the word amen. "And I hope there will be no more running around in the future." Antony spread their bodies so that he could see Claire's face directly. "It's lucky for me that I've brought all your identification cards. Otherwise, I didn't know where you would run to. You could have fled abroad." He said.

Claire chuckled and then nodded. "I originally intended to go to South Korea. Hoping to meet Abigail's favorite handsome Oppa there. But then I realized that all my documents are with you." She replied shyly.

Antony laughed again and hugged his wife's body. "We'll go to South Korea if you really want to go there. But don't expect to meet Abigail's Oppa-Oppa there, because I swear, once we set foot in the hotel room, I will never let you out of there until I feel full of you." The man said in a threatening tone.