Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 432: The Man I Once Loved

"I don’t know how he found out, but I’m sure that he knows. Bradon probably told him. Either that, or he found out from all the gossip that flies around. It’s not like the whole organizing team is sworn to strict silence or anything," Diana said before grinning at me.

"I guess..." I murmured softly.

"If you’re worried about him, why don’t you meet up with him and tell him about the wedding yourself?" Diana suggested.

Her abrupt suggestion caught me off guard and I wasn’t sure how to respond for a few seconds as I stared blankly at her. At first, I thought that she was just joking, but the serious look on her face told me that she truly meant it. Diana nodded her head a few times as if she wanted to encourage me.

"I guess you’re right. I should talk to him. After all, we’re not supposed to be strangers..." I agreed with her after a moment of pause.

"That’s right. Invite him to your wedding properly. Turn down his proposal, and tell him the truth about all that he needs to know so that he can move on. You want to help him move on too, don’t you?" Diana asked knowingly.

"Yes. I should do at least that much for him," I replied.

Although the one that I had fallen in love with was Bradon, it didn’t change the fact that there were many instances in the past when we were both younger that Anthony was nice to me and helped me out. Even now, I couldn’t see Anthony as someone with ill intentions.

"You can do it. Try to make peace with yourself as much as possible so that you can move on into the next phase of your life without any regrets," Diana advised.

"Why do you suddenly sound so wise?" I asked her jokingly.

Instead of replying to me, Diana simply laughed before winking at me.

...

It wasn’t hard to get in touch with Anthony, and that was because he did not spare efforts to get in touch with me. Anthony called me many times, and texted me even more frequently asking if we could meet up. I wondered what he wanted to do or say when we met up. There was a part of me that guessed that he would probably apologize for what he had done that day in the hospital room. However, I also feared that after apologizing he would profess his love for me again, and then I would have ot turn him down.

He must have heard already that Bradon and I are getting married. Even if he had any doubts before about the status of our marriage and our relationship, he would be forced to accept it for what it is now. We’re even having another wedding just to make sure that it is real. A sinking feeling developed in the pit of my stomach when I realized just how much Anthony must have been hurt by the news.

Before I would change my mind, I lifted up my phone and texted Anthony back. His response came back almost immediately as if he had been anxiously waiting for my reply. After I told him that I would meet him, it didn’t take us long to decide on a time and place.

When the time came close for me to meet up with Anthony, I sent Bradon a text to inform him that I would be meeting with his brother. It wasn’t like I was asking for his permission, but I thought that Bradon would probably want to know. On top of that, if anything were to happen, I wanted him to know where I was and who I was with. By the time that I arrived at the exclusive hotel lounge that Anthony had invited me to, I realized that I didn’t feel perfectly safe being alone with Antony anymore.

"You’re here," he said, before greeting me with a warm smile.

"Yes. Sorry for now replying, I’ve been a little busy..." I apologized before I could stop myself.

"There’s nothing to be sorry about. Have a seat. I’m sure all the wedding preparations are keeping you busy," Anthony said as he gestured for me to take a seat on the sofa opposite to where he was seated.

"Yes, you’re right..." I mumbled as I sat down.

I didn’t miss the slight jab that he made at my upcoming wedding. There was no use beating around the busy or pretending that the wedding wasn’t coming up in just a couple of days.

"I’m happy that you finally agreed to meet with me," Anthony said before showing me one of his very charming smiles.

"I’m glad to see that you’re much better. In fact, you look like you’ve fully recovered," I said observantly.

"The doctors did a great job," Anthony replied flatly.

I knew that this was the time for me to start on the topic that we really needed to talk about. It seemed like Anthony was waiting for me to make the first move, and I hated myself for hesitating despite having planned out this conversation countless times in my head.

"You must have been quite shocked to find out that I’m actually dating your brother. I’m sorry that you had to find out the way that you did. I should have been more straightforward and honest about it and told you sooner," I apologized sincerely.

I hated how formal I sounded. Rather than sounding like I was apologizing to a close friend, it probably sounded like I was apologizing to a customer after messing up his orders.

"You’re right. I had no idea that all of that would happen while I was in the hospital," Anthony replied.

"I had no idea that taking my sister’s place in her wedding would lead to this. I’m honestly very surprised about it myself. At first, I thought that I would be marrying you..." I confessed honestly.

"Did you agree to go along with the plan because you thought you were going to marry me?" Anthony asked.