Chapter 135
Quinten was gone, but his words were still ringing in Antonio’s head.
Sitting there, he stared at the wall and held onto his blanket. His head. was spinning.
Did he have feelings for Grace?
No. he was all about Livia, always had been.
So why did he flip out when he heard Grace was tying the knot?
It didn’t make sense to Antonio.
His brain was like a blender at full speed, all over the place.
He thought about jetting off to Blenia to find Livia, but he quickly nixed that idea.
Then he thought about calling Grace, telling her to come home, but he couldn’t get past his pride.
He also recalled Quinten’s idea of setting him up on a blind date. Yet, he couldn’t deal with all that yapping.
His thoughts were all over the map, and before he knew it, he was toying with the idea of making Grace his side piece to tick off his blind dates.
Once that thought popped into his head, it was like it was there to stay.
Antonio squinted, lost in memories.
He knew Grace had a thing for him for years, but he never let on.
It had been so long. He was used to her being around, like a little cat he’d check in on now and then.
He got that she wanted to be his wife, but in his eyes, only Livia had what it took to stand next to him.
He’d been holding onto that for years, but hearing that Livia was jetting. off again made him waver.
Since they first met when he was just seven, he’d been waiting for Livia
for nineteen years.”
He figured all this time he’d win her over, but she just thought of him as her best friend.
For an ex–boyfriend who was just plain in every way, Livia ditched him again.
Antonio was worn out.
When she hung up on him, he was utterly disappointed, deciding to let her go and to free himself as well.
Once he made up his mind, he was cooler and surer than he thought he’d be.
No drama or tears. He just slept it off and when he woke up, he was over
her.
The drinking that came after was just to chase away the lonely feelings.
Yeah, he felt lonely. Even a big shot like him, who could get whatever he wanted in Cruxfield, wasn’t immune to those feelings.
Being on top, Antonio knew better than anyone that everyone was just out for benefit.
Lots of people were always around him, but he knew they just wanted hist money and power.
There weren’t many he could trust, but Grace was one of those few.
She liked him for who he was, not because he was CEO of the Kaufman Group.
That was why he kept her close, not for anything big, just so he wouldn’t be alone when he felt lonely.
But when that hope faded, all he had was the bottle to keep him company.
After Quinten’s talk, it hit him that Grace really did mean something to him.
Out of everyone, he’d rather have Grace stick around.
Once he was sure about it, he told Morton to text Grace and ask her out.
A day went by, but there was no response from Grace.
Fed up. Antonio tried calling her straight up, but it went unanswered. In the end, his number was blocked.
Antonio was steaming, but what could he do?
When Daisy came by with dinner, he spotted her, waved, and his mind drifted back to the call he’d made before heading to the hospital.