Theo said nothing and only stared at Anathea.
+25 BONUS
Her face was pale, and although she’d pulled the jacket tightly around her, it still failed to hide the marks on her neck. A hole had been ripped through the skirt of her dress too. Any grace of a blooming flower she’d had on the dance floor was gone.
Gregory had mercilessly crushed her when she’d just bloomed, and part of all this had been because of Theo.
“I’m sorry,” Theo said, his voice full of guilt as he lowered his head
In truth, he was caught in a dilemma himself.
He knew very well that Anathea was Gregory’s wife, and as Gregory’s best friend, Theo should keep some distance from her.
But for some reason, when he found out Anathea had left Gregory, he couldn’t help feeling chipper. He’d even secretly gone to Syntherra.
However, he couldn’t find any trace of Anathea there. So much had happened before he finally saw her again, only for Gregory to swoop her into his arms and carry her away.
At that moment, Theo had been seized with the impulse to march up to Gregory, but he’d forcefully suppressed the urge. Anathea was Gregory’s woman, and Gregory was Theo’s best friend. No matter how desperate Theo was for female company, coveting his best friend’s wife was out of the question!
Theo had secluded himself in his house since then and spent each day staring at the floral arrangement Anathea had designed
for him.
Fresh flowers wilted quickly, so to extend their lifespan, he’d spent thrice the amount he’d paid for the floral arrangement to preserve those flowers in their most beautiful state.
Staring at the floral arrangement was the only way Theo could appease his frustration, but after some time, he’d grown greedy again. He’d found himself wanting to get close to Anathea. So, when the time came to order fresh flowers for Natalie’s birthday, he’d chosen Eden Studio out of many other floral studios, all so he could see and talk to Anathea.
When Anathea had appeared before him again, she was dressed in a white dress that made her look like a whisper of a silvery moon in an inky night sky. She’d seemed to glow softly, easily catching Theo’s eye.
Many women had surrounded him on the dance floor. His plus–one had even pressed her body tightly against his, her soft, feminine curves rubbing against his arm as she attempted to get his attention while openly asking him to dance.
And yet, he hadn’t taken his gaze off Anathea when he saw her entering the scene.
And when he saw how Gregory mistreated her, Theo had been especially close to losing control of his emotions,
At last, when Anathea was left alone, Theo had instinctively crossed the room to her. Perhaps that moment had set him up for the unintentional mistake that happened afterward, which put Anathea in an even harder position. But he didn’t regret it, for he wouldn’t have followed her otherwise.
Upon seeing her miserable state, he grew even more determined to be kinder to her, especially considering how Gregory didn’t cherish her at all.
When the thought took form in Theo’s head, he belatedly realized that he seemed to have truly fallen for Anathea.
He stared at her and said somberly, “I don’t know what Greg did to make you come back to him, but if you want to leave, I can help-”
“No need,” Anathea cut him off curtly before he could finish speaking. She made it a point to keep the distance between them.‘ Thank you, but I think it’s best if we keep things as they were the next time we see each other.”
She didn’t want to have too much to do with Theo because he was Gregory’s best friend. She was fine with being just a litu more than a stranger to him, but if he were to suggest they become closer, their relationship would be worse than that of
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