Chapter285 I Will Never Love You In This Lifetime
The doorbell rang at ten in the morning. Anna had finally managed to settle Penny down to finish her meal when Sara sprang to her feet and rushed to the door. She peeked through the peephole and immediately transformed, "It's Mr. Vittorio! Ah! Mr. Vittorio is here, and I haven't even changed or put on makeup! I can't meet my idol like this! Wait for me, Anna, just give me three minutes!" With that, she dashed upstairs.
Anna rolled her eyes; it was hardly a blind date. Why such a fuss? Strangely, answering the door wasn't Giorgio—why would he come over? Was he here to return her phone?
"Penny, open the door and grab Mommy’s phone. Tell him Mommy is not here, then ask Giorgio to leave, okay?" Anna instructed.
"Okay, Mommy," Penny agreed, sliding off the dining table and toddling to the door.
Anna quickly found a wall to hide behind. The door opened with a click. Standing outside were a stern-faced man and a boy, both emanating a strong aura. The little girl greeted them cheerfully, "Giorgio, Charlie! What brings you guys here?"
Charlie looked at Penny, his icy expression cracking slightly, "I’m here to find Anna."
Giorgio's heart softened when he saw the small, delicate girl. He hummed softly, "Where is she?"
Penny glanced toward the dining room and spilled the beans, "Mommy's hiding behind the wall."
Continuing in faithful detail, she added, "Mommy told me to get her phone and to tell you she’s not here so you would leave early."
Anna coughed violently from behind the wall. What a silly child, spilling everything her mother had said! Desperation and anger welled up in her; she wished she could put Penny back in her womb and start all over. Nine months for this foolish child!
Giorgio's penetrating gaze narrowed, directed at the small glimpse of hair peeking out as he scoffed cynically, "Teaching your child to lie so easily, that's how it is?"
His tone was saturated with irony. Clearly, he was referring to the incident with Giuseppe, accusing her of habitual lying.
Anna infuriated, stepped out from hiding, her gaze fixed firmly on Giorgio. "I didn't want to see you, that's why! Not because I'm teaching her to lie! Besides, how I raise my daughter is none of your business," she retorted sharply, her hostility evident.
Penny looked utterly bewildered, "Why is Mom blowing up at Giorgio like she's got a firecracker lit under her?"
Charlie was just as surprised, "Anna's got quite the temper. What on earth did Dad do to set Anna off again?"
In front of their children, the woman utterly trampled on his dignity.
Giorgio's face turned cold as he stepped inside, cornering Anna against the wall behind her, "Don't want to see me? Who is it you want to see then? Giuseppe? Or some other man?"
His movements were too swift, his voice too cold.
Anna shrank back in fright, staring at the tall, brooding man before her, her heart filled with confusion and discomfort, "I... Just talk, will you? Why stand so close?"
"Close? Isn't it true that you've been even closer to other men? And now you're playing coy in front of me? Don't you think it's a bit contrived? Huh?"
His rapid-fire questions left Anna perplexed and her temper flaring.
He had lost his mind; where had she been acting, coy or artificial?
"Move aside. I have nothing to say to you."
She tried to walk away.
Giorgio yanked her back sharply, his intense gaze locking onto her, "No words? You haven't answered a single one of my earlier questions. Shall I repeat them?"
Anna was speechless.
Was he really sick in the head? How was she supposed to answer those ludicrous questions? And why should she even respond to him?
Moreover, the usually composed, emotionally reserved Mr. Vittorio was now acting way out of line, far too uncharacteristic.
Suddenly, Sara's words from last night flashed through her mind, and she blurted out instinctively, "Mr. Vittorio, if you care so much, ask all these questions, and get so angry, could it be that you like me?"
“Do you like me?”
The question lingered in the air, clear and audible.
Giorgio's face darkened.
Tom had asked him something similar before, and now she was asking him outright.
After causing drama with Giuseppe and showing disrespect to him in front of their children, what right did she have to ask such a question?
His gaze piercing her coldly, Giorgio sneered derisively, "You really flatter yourself, thinking I'd like you. Never in this lifetime."
His words, cruel and cutting, pierced Anna's heart like sharp swords, leaving her reeling in a whirlwind of emotions. Feeling a sense of mockery and coldness, her heart clenched. Despite knowing the truth all along, she couldn't help but wonder why she had demeaned herself by asking such a question.
Knowing the answer yet, why did her heart feel so sour?
Watching the scene unfold, Charlie and Penny's faces turned desolate, pale, filled with utter despair...
‘What kind of man is this?’
Sara, who had witnessed everything from the hallway, froze on the spot.
‘Mr. Vittorio... He is just too heartless!
And to think she had been convinced the night before that he fancied Anna!’
The air was thick with silence, stiff and heavy.
After what felt like an eternity, Anna composed herself with an icy indifference and looked at Giorgio, saying, "Well, that's a relief. I actually thought you liked me for a second there. You had me scared."
Being adored by a selfish, shameless, conceited, love-blind, heartless, domineering jerk like you has just been too exhausting.
"Thank you, Mr. Vittorio, for not gracing me with your affection. I'm endlessly grateful," she seethed through clenched teeth, dripping with sarcasm and disdain.
Giorgio's face turned icy.
For years, women had only praised his virtues, begging for his affection. He had never been scorned and accused like this!
Annoyed, he let go of her and stepped back.
"I just found out today that you're not only lacking in self-respect but also blind," he said, implying that she couldn't see his true character and instead fancied idiots like Giuseppe.
With a cold, distinguished air, he turned and left, hurrying away to avoid losing control and harming her if he stayed any longer. Anna stood there, dumbfounded, questioning her own perception.
"You're the blind one! You're practically a disabled person! How else could you have failed to recognize your own wife before? Waste of space! Jerk!"
No matter how Anna cursed, Giorgio ignored her completely, his noble presence quickly vanishing from sight.
Charlie was left in a state of deep self-doubt, looking at his father's retreating back and then at Anna's cursing figure. He remembered a time when anyone who dared talk back to his dad would be thrown to the sharks. Now, Anna was berating him fiercely, yet his dad didn't retaliate.
And Anna, she was normally a kind and gentle girl. Why was she so harsh on his dad?
What was going on with these two?
Ten minutes later Sara finally gathered the courage to approach, "Anna, stop being angry. He's gone now. Why are you still cursing him?"
"If I don't curse him, I won't feel better," Anna continued to vent, "Always meddling, quick to violence, he thinks everyone's his plaything. And he has the nerve to say he could never like me, as if I would ever like him! If he's so capable, let him stay miles away from me before saying something like this. All flirt and no responsibility — what a complete scoundrel, a bottom-of-the-barrel jerk!"
Sara hesitated before asking, "Anna... um, are you upset because he said he didn't like you?"
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