Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 421: Confession

"I mean, why did you want to pick me up? Did Diana ask you to do it?" I offered the first explanation that I could think of.

"Diana? This has nothing to do with her," Anthony replied.

"Then... why?" I asked as confusion flooded every cell of my mind.

"Because I want to. It’s a real shame that I have to tell you like this and in this state, but I’m in love with you, Dahlia," Anthony said as he reached for my hand.

At first, I was convinced that I did not hear him right because there was no way that Anthony was in love with me. For a moment, I didn’t quite know how to react. I felt Bradon stiffen by my side, but my attention was focused on the look of hope that shone brightly in Anthony’s beautiful eyes. It felt like he was waiting for me to acknowledge and accept his feelings for me. However, his confession only spelled out the word ’doom’ in my mind.

"I..." I murmured before I closed my mouth again.

My mind kept telling me that it was impossible for Anthony to be in love with me. I just didn’t know how to respond. My mind spun in circles as Anthony kept staring at me, waiting for my answer to his confession.

"I thought that you were in love with my sister. You are in love with Diana," I said as if stating a well-known fact.

"That’s not true at all. I’ve always been in love with you," Anthony replied smoothly, as if expecting that exact response from me.

"But you..." I mumbled as I tried to recall things from the past.

"I was always in love with you, but I knew that I had to marry your sister one day. I didn’t think that it was right to tell you, or to burden you with my feelings," Anthony explained passionately.

It felt like my brain was suddenly overloaded with information that I didn’t know how to process. The last thing I expected to happen when Anthony recovered from his coma was for him to confess his love to me. However, it was already too late, and I had found out the truth-that the man I was actually in love with was Bradon and not Anthony. Through the fake marriage, I got to spend time with him and truly fell in love with Bradon in the process. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Fate was cruel and always playing twisted games with us. Anthony’s confession came too late, and there was no way that I could reciprocate his feelings. I glanced over at Bradon as I begged for him to intervene. To my surprise, Bradon looked very troubled, and he wasn’t even bothered in hiding it. I knew right then that I had to divert the conversation somehow before Bradon exploded and simply told Anthony the uncensored version of the truth.

"Thank you for letting me know. For now, I think it would be best for you to focus on your recovery. Let’s talk about this again when you are better," I said before offering him a polite smile.

"You’re right. There’s no rush now that you’re back here," Anthony replied with a gleeful smile.

I was surprised that he was willing to let such an important matter slide just like that but was thankful for the outcome because it bought me some time.

"Is that why you called Dahlia’s name like that when you first woke up?" Bradon asked.

I turned to glare at him for continuing the topic before turning my attention back to Anthony. It seemed that Bradon had not completely forgotten why we visited Anthony, and I couldn’t deny that there was a part of me that was curious to hear Anthony’s response as well.

"Yes, I felt excited to see her. Also, I thought that it was the same day as the accident and that I finally got to see Dahlia after so long," Anthony replied.

"I see. You should rest," Bradon said curtly to close the conversation.

"We’ll come by to visit you later..." I said the only thing that came to mind.

Anthony waved his hand slowly to us as Bradon ushered me out of the hospital room. My heart pounded in my chest and my head felt so heavy, like I was about to get sick. Bradon supported me by the arm as if he knew what I was going through.

"Did you know about this?" I asked the moment that we were in the private space of the back of his limousine.

"Not until he woke up and said your name," Bradon replied admittingly.

It seemed that Anthony kept his true feelings even from his trusted elder brother. I never realized before that Anthony had feelings for me. From my perspective, I always saw how happy he was when he was with my sister and how he always treated her so well. I thought that the two of them were in love and that their marriage was truly for the better.

"I just can’t believe it..." I murmured.

"It is what it is. What are you going to do about it?" Bradon asked.

His question stopped me in my thoughts because it made me realize that I was thinking too much about the past and not enough about the present and the future. It no longer mattered that I hadn’t realized Anthony’s true feelings for me because what mattered more was what I was going to choose to do with that knowledge.

"I’m not sure..." I said, more to myself than as an answer to Bradon.

"You told him to focus on his recovery first simply just to buy time, isn’t that right?" Bradon asked knowingly.

"Yes. I just feel like I need to think this and everything over," I replied truthfully.

"Including us?" he asked immediately.

I bit my tongue and cursed myself silently for not watching and picking my words carefully. The time that I gave myself to make my decision about what to do about my relationship with Bradon had come to an end the moment that Anthony opened his eyes and regained consciousness.