Chapter 612 Find Her
Dante’s proposal came so suddenly that Anne was caught off guard. She frowned at him. “Stay here for the night?” They were long divorced, and now that she was in a new relationship, staying overnight at Paltrow Manor was inappropriate in every sense. Dante seemed to know what she was thinking.
He stepped back two paces, leaving the room. “It’s yours for the night.” With that, he even closed the door behind him. Anne furrowed her brows and leaned against the door, listening carefully.
From the hallway, the sound of slippers grew fainter until it disappeared. It seemed Dante had left. She let out a soft sigh, locked the door, and turned to look at the baby on the bed. Bella was fast asleep, her little face tinged with a faint blush. It was clear the tranquil surroundings made her feel safe and content.
But Anne had no intention of staying. Standing by the bed, she checked the area outside, ensuring no one was around. She then turned back, picked up Bella, and prepared to leave. Just as she reached the living room, Bella suddenly started crying without warning. Anne froze, quickly patting Bella’s back and whispering, “Bella, darling, Mommy’s taking you home.” But Bella’s cries didn’t stop. Instead, they grew louder and more urgent. Anne panicked for a moment. She thought, “What’s going on? Is she hungry again? That can’t be. It hasn’t been long since her last feeding!” As Anne fumbled in confusion, Bella’s cries startled Dante. He hurried downstairs and immediately took Bella from Anne’s arms. The baby, who had been crying her lungs out, instantly quieted down in Dante’s embrace.
Dante glanced at Anne. “She’s probably feeling unsettled. I’ll keep her with me tonight; she’s used to me.” He glanced at Anne. Her clothes were neat, and she had wrapped Bella up. Dante instantly understood. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, “Were you planning to sneak my daughter away this late at night?” Anne didn’t respond. Dante smirked. Holding Bella in one arm, he grabbed Anne’s wrist with the other and led her upstairs. “It’s the middle of the night, stop making things difficult. If you want to take her, try again tomorrow. I won’t stop you. Sound good?” His tone was light and unbothered, completely devoid of the anger one might expect from catching someone in such an act. Anne was momentarily stunned. By the time she regained her senses, Dante had already pushed her back into the room.
“When will Anne be back?” Yancey looked expectantly at Meryl, who had just ended a phone call with Anne. Meryl glanced at her now–dark phone screen, her fingers unconsciously curling slightly. After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “Anne said she’s not coming back tonight.” “Not coming back?” Yancey’s voice rose in pitch, and he jumped up from the couch, eyes wide. “Why? Is she with Dante?” Meryl pressed her lips together gently. Anne hadn’t given much detail over the phone. She had only said that things were a bit complicated; the baby was clinging to Dante, and she couldn’t leave. It was also too good an opportunity to pass up. For Meryl, this was understandable. As someone about to become a mother, she could empathize with Anne’s attachment to her child. If it were her, she wouldn’t leave her baby either. But for Yancey, Anne’s current boyfriend, the idea of her spending the night at her ex–husband’s home was undoubtedly hard to accept. Yancey rushed to the door to put on his shoes and stormed out before Meryl could stop him.
It was already late at night, and Meryl, being pregnant, found it inconvenient to follow him. After all, this was a matter between them. She had no place to interfere. Meryl didn’t leave; instead, she simply washed up and went to sleep at Anne’s house. However, that night, Meryl didn’t sleep very soundly.
She had an unsettling dream. In her dream, Chandler had cheated on her and was lying in bed with Rachel, wrapped in intimacy. Meryl was shaking with rage in the dream. When she woke up, she felt a lingering sense of loss. Had Chandler been unfaithful…? At dawn, feeling restless, Meryl opened her phone to pass the time. To her surprise, her Twitter had exploded overnight. Sweet Savage had gained tens of thousands of followers after Casey retweeted her post. Meanwhile, a composition she had casually uploaded days earlier had gone viral. Initially, the comments were mostly positive. But soon, accusations of plagiarism appeared. Meryl chuckled softly. She knew better than anyone that her work was entirely original. However, as she scrolled further down, Meryl realized that quite a few people were accusing her of plagiarism. Even last night, Casey had made it to the trending topics on Twitter because of her plagiarism issue. Meryl felt a pang of guilt toward Casey. She hadn’t even met Casey yet, and now her name had been dragged through the mud alongside his. For someone as renowned as Casey, such a wave of negativity was unprecedented. This weekend had been truly eventful for her. Meryl went through the comments one by one and only then realized that the accusation of plagiarism came from someone who had posted on Twitter. The person claimed that the piece was her original work and even provided evidence. Meryl found the original blog and clicked on it, and then she couldn’t help but laugh. The so–called “evidence” was the draft of the composition she had made at the time. She distinctly remembered that she had tucked the draft into her notebook and took it with her, but she had never been able to find it afterward. She couldn’t help but suspect that the Twitter account, the one with the anonymous handle, had quietly stolen her draft. At that time, she had composed the piece while at the orchestra, which meant it was someone from the orchestra who must have taken it. If she remembered correctly, there had been a rule in the orchestra–anyone caught plagiarizing or stealing someone else’s work would be expelled from the group. “Who has the guts to do this?” she thought.
Early in the morning, Dante finished dressing and was greeted by a security guard’s report. “Mr. Paltrow, there was a man outside the estate last night. He seemed suspicious and had been loitering all night.” “Oh?” Upon hearing that, Dante walked over to the window. He lifted the white sheer curtain and looked outside. It was Yancey, standing by the flowerbed downstairs, his head lowered, looking somewhat dejected. Even though the first rays of sunlight were shining on him, he seemed to be immersed in an endless darkness. Dante’s lips curled slightly upwards. “Don’t mind him, just pretend he doesn’t exist.” The security guard nodded, closed the door, and left. In a room not far away, Anne rubbed her reddened eyes and yawned. She hadn’t expected that taking care of a child would be so exhausting. She had barely slept last night. As soon as she lay down, Bella would start fussing, wanting to nurse. Bella was cute, but she could be quite demanding. By the early hours of the morning, Anne was so drowsy that she could barely keep her eyes open, but Bella kept pulling at her. Anne, having never handled such tasks, could only muddle through on her own. She didn’t dare bother Dante and had to handle everything herself. With Bella being so small, born premature, her delicate little body felt like a weightless bundle in Anne’s arms. Cleaning her up had been nerve–wracking. She had nearly dropped the baby. Just thinking about it made her shiver. Just as the sky was starting to lighten and Bella had quieted down for a moment, Anne tried to sneak in a quick nap. She had just fallen asleep when the phone rang again. Anne’s tone sounded less than pleased. Without even looking at the caller ID, she answered curtly, “Who is it?” Yancey paused for a moment, licking his cracked lips before replying, “It’s me.”