Chapter 469 Marital Relationship
Even without Elissa saying anything, Anne wouldn't have believed Willard had a psychological disorder.
"I know, Elissa. I'm heading back right now."
Elissa couldn't rest easy and had already sent someone over.
"Felix will escort you back. I'm sending you the photos now."
"Alright, don't worry about me, Elissa. I'll be fine."
Elissa was still concerned. "Come back as soon as possible. Send me your flight details and I'll pick you up at the airport."
Anne wasn't going to argue with her now—she was pregnant, after all.
"Of course, Elissa. I understand."
After hanging up, Anne pulled Thora along with her, but Willard blocked their path again.
"Ann, why are you ignoring me?"
Anne didn't respond and kept walking forward. Willard grabbed her other hand.
"Ann, what did I do wrong? Can't you just tell me straight? I'll go buy you those pastries right now, okay? Please don't be angry."
Anne had put up with Willard long enough. He simply didn't love her, so she wanted to end this marriage that never should have happened with some dignity. His parents and Uma had always been kind to her, and she didn't want things to end badly because of the issues between them.
But he kept pushing, again and again. No matter what she said or did, he continued to disturb her peace, forcing her to drop all pretenses.
"Willard, do you know what real despair feels like?" She hesitated. "Two years ago, in that alley, I saw Quinton."
Willard's pupils contracted sharply. He should have kept up the act, but somehow, looking into her emotionless eyes, he faltered. Yes, even he was backing down now.
Sensing the grip on her wrist loosen, Anne pulled her hand free.
"I think you did the right thing—keeping me at arm's length, reminding me we were family and couldn't have those kinds of feelings. As it turns out, you were right."
"Ann..."
Willard wanted to say something but didn't know what.
"Don't we have any chance to start over?"
Anne laughed bitterly. "Can you go back to the day I was hurt and change what happened?"
"I..."
Anne turned to leave again with Thora, not looking back. Willard didn't know what to say but still reached for her. Suddenly, another hand appeared, separating him from Anne.
Willard was stunned. "Felix?"
"That's right, Mr. Larson. It's been a while." Felix then smiled at Anne. "Anne, Mrs. Peterson sent me to get you."
She knew Felix was following Elissa's orders.
"Thank you for coming."
"No trouble at all." As long as it wasn't mining ice in the Arcturus, Felix would do anything Elissa asked.
"Let's go."
"Sure."
Anne had barely taken a step when Willard blocked her path again.
"Ann, let's sit down and talk this through properly."
"I have nothing to discuss with you." Anne was completely fed up. She used to love him so much, but now she felt nothing but revulsion.
"After you lied to me repeatedly and never once were honest with me, the only option left is for us to go our separate ways."
"I'm not—"
"Willard, you faked a mental disorder, faked injuries, faked amnesia—what's next?" Anne was so angry that tears streamed down her face. "I don't feel any guilt or remorse from you at all. You're actually pretending like nothing ever happened.
"If you had just told me the truth when our three-year agreement ended, if you had given me one sincere apology, I wouldn't hate you as much as I do now—wishing you were dead.
"Wishing I could go back in time and shake sense into the version of myself that fell for you! Liking you wasn't some unforgivable crime, yet I had to suffer so much because of it.
"We're already divorced, but this never ends. Do you have to drive me to my grave before you'll let it go?"
Anne was crying so hard she could barely breathe. Willard looked pained and reached out to wipe her tears, but Felix shoved him hard.
Caught off guard, Willard stumbled backward several steps. Hayes steadied him, and when Willard looked up, anger flickered in his eyes. But when his gaze fell on the scene before him, he was clearly taken aback.
Felix seemed even more frantic than him, fumbling for tissues to give Anne.
"Don't cry, Anne. If you're like this, Mrs. Peterson will punish me."
He really didn't want to go to the Arcturus.
"I'm here to help you leave. Don't cry—it's okay. Mr. Larson can't take you away. Please don't be upset."
Anne wasn't really crying—her tears were just flowing uncontrollably from the emotional outburst. Felix's clumsy concern actually made her tears stop.
"I'm fine. I'll tell Elissa this isn't your fault—you did great."
Felix scratched the back of his head, looking a bit embarrassed. "It's all part of my job, but I appreciate the praise."
"I need to stop by the set to let them know I'm leaving."
"Of course, I'll come with you."
Felix escorted Anne away. When Willard tried to follow, Felix immediately turned to block him, letting Anne go ahead while he covered their retreat.
Anne quickly left with Thora. If she stayed, who knew how long this would drag on.
Willard watched the car disappear and immediately got in his own vehicle to pursue them. But Felix blocked the car, buying time.
Hayes tried to pull him aside, but Felix wouldn't budge. He stayed put, deflecting Hayes's attacks without leaving his position. They were evenly matched—Hayes couldn't gain the upper hand.
Willard lost patience waiting for them to settle it and abandoned that car for another one, giving chase.
Felix dodged one of Hayes's moves, hailed a taxi, and followed.
Anne hadn't expected Willard to catch up so quickly. She'd barely had time to apologize to Isaiah when he arrived. Fortunately, Felix got there too and blocked Willard again.
When Simon found them, he saw Felix and Willard in a tense standoff. Felix showed no regard for Willard's status whatsoever.
Simon thought, 'Felix is way too reckless!' He then quickly intervened. Even though he needed to watch Willard to prevent him from doing something crazy that might hurt Anne, there had to be limits. Given Francis and Willard's relationship, not to mention Willard's position, he wasn't someone a bodyguard could just manhandle.
Simon said, "Felix, there's lots of good food around here. Want to try some?"
Felix refused, "No."
Felix had one mission: get Anne back to Elissa. Once he did that, Elissa would get him whatever he wanted to eat—no need for this foreign junk.
Felix asked, "Anne, are you all set? If so, let's go."
Anne immediately told Isaiah, "I'm sorry, but I can't continue with the rest of the shoot. I'll pay the penalty fees and find someone to take over. I'm really sorry."
Anne always put work first, especially since Madison had arranged this shoot—she shouldn't abandon it halfway through. But she simply couldn't stand breathing the same air as Willard anymore.
"Ann, you don't need to do this... I came here just to talk things through. I never meant to interfere with your work—you don't have to quit the shoot because of me." Willard looked somewhat dejected. "Finish your work first. I'll leave."
He actually left after saying that, but Anne didn't feel any more relaxed. In the end, she apologized and returned to the country with Felix.
Thora had been silent the entire time—so silent that Anne finally asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"
Thora shook her head. Based on everything that had happened recently and the conversation between Anne and Willard, she'd pieced together the whole story. So Willard had done even worse things—no wonder Anne just wanted to get away from him and couldn't bear to see him, not even for a second.
"Ms. Waverly, you've been through so much."
Anne was confused by the sudden hug and the comment.
"What brought that on?"
Thora didn't want to mention Willard and upset Anne further. She shook her head and said, "Nothing really. I was just thinking about how I once traced your journey from entering photography to where you are today—it wasn't easy."
Anne could tell Thora was trying to comfort her and smiled.
"Thank you. I'm okay."
Francis couldn't stop Elissa from going to the airport to meet Anne. He'd arranged everything, but while he was in the shower, she left the hotel on her own and took a taxi to the airport. She planned to wait for Anne to land in Seaside City, then return to Maple Valley together.
When Francis reached the airport, he found her sitting on a metal bench in the public area. It was the early hours of the morning with few people around. She wore a simple black tracksuit in a loose fit that hid her belly, with a black cap on her head.
It was early summer and not cold, plus pregnancy made her run warm. But Francis thought she looked lonely and desolate.
"Honey."
Francis offered her a bottle of warm milk. Elissa didn't take it.
"Still angry with me?"
Francis crouched in front of her and saw her red-rimmed eyes, sighing with heartache. He'd cursed Willard countless times in his mind.
"It's okay if you don't trust me, but don't punish yourself. You have Anne to worry about now, and your family too."
Elissa paused, taking a moment to understand what he meant by family.
"You found my birth parents?"
But she'd clearly said she didn't want to look anymore.
"I did," Francis pressed the warm milk into her hands. "Actually, your family contacted me."
He added, "Anne photographed you before and entered the photo in a competition. One of the judges is a big name in photography who has close ties to your family."
Elissa said nothing, unsure how she felt.
Francis touched her head gently. "I'll always be here with you. You don't need to worry about anything."
"Plus, I have an idea. Want to hear it?"
Elissa had been struggling to control her temper and emotions lately. She'd been trying to process everything, but then Willard had hurt Anne like that.
Sometimes people were gentle with the outside world but stormy with those they loved most.
Elissa had become prone to tears too. She rubbed her eyes hard. "I'm sorry for taking my anger out on you when you didn't do anything wrong."
She continued, "From your perspective, you weren't wrong either. If my friend had become the other woman, I would have unconditionally taken my friend's side too. Besides, you didn't completely side with him."
Francis opened the milk bottle and held it to her lips. "Drink some."
Elissa drank. Francis relaxed slightly, gripped her hands tightly, and said, "I still need to defend myself. I never really sided with Willard. I've always been on your side."
Elissa said, "Allowing something to happen is a form of taking sides."
Francis suddenly thought of how Willard had stood by and watched Anne get hurt with cold indifference. That was indeed more hurtful than simply not caring or not knowing.
"You have a cousin..." He whispered a few sentences in her ear. "The DNA test results are in, so he went to find Anne. I think that'll be enough to make Willard suffer."
Elissa wasn't so optimistic. "He doesn't even take me—Anne's sister—seriously. You really think he'd be scared of a cousin?"
"This is different," Francis said. "Just wait and see."
"But Anne's already on the plane back, isn't she?" Elissa suddenly spotted the flaw. "Where would my cousin find Anne? A lot can happen during such a long flight."
Elissa checked the time. Eight hours had passed since Anne sent her the boarding message. It was almost dawn here, so it should still be night where Anne was.
And while most passengers on the plane were sleeping, a tall figure appeared and stopped in front of Anne's seat.
Anne was still asleep. Thora woke up needing the bathroom and was startled when she opened her eyes. But she was quickly distracted by the man's handsome face.
"Hey gorgeous, do you have a girlfriend?"
The man didn't even glance at her, his gaze fixed on Anne's face.
Thora followed his gaze and was amazed to notice they looked somewhat alike.
"It's true that beautiful people all look similar. You and my boss look like you could be siblings."
The man spoke, "Really that similar?"
Thora nodded excitedly, thrilled that the handsome guy was actually talking to her.
"Yes. And while you and my boss just have a general resemblance—like relatives—you look even more like my boss's sister."
The man only asked, "I'm in first class. Could we switch seats?"
Thora wouldn't switch. First class? Big deal. She'd flown on private jets before.
This strange man was obviously interested in Anne—how could she deliver a lamb to the wolf?
"Sorry, I'm traveling with my boss. It wouldn't be convenient to switch."
The man kept staring at Anne, his gaze direct and intense. This finally annoyed Willard in the seat behind them, and he walked over.
"Didn't you hear her say no to switching?"
The man looked up, his eyes sharp and cold—exactly like Elissa when she gave someone the cold shoulder.
Something felt off. Willard looked at Anne again, then at the man.
Though Anne's eyes weren't very similar to Elissa's, there was something about the overall combination of her features that resembled Elissa. That's why he'd later suspected they might be related.
And this man had five or six points of similarity with Anne, which meant seven or eight with Elissa. Their eyes were almost identical.
"What are you to her?" the man suddenly asked.
Willard sensed hostility, but not the kind where males fight over a female. It was more like disapproval—the way a woman's father might always find fault with her boyfriend.
Willard found his own thoughts amusing.
He finally replied, "The woman you're interested in is my wife."
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